what happened here?

All about flies Fly Swaps
1

blow this off as bs if ya wanna and are satisfied w/ the status quo here. or maybe this is std operating procedure nowadays, but…

what happened to the real old school themed swaps?

I’ve participated in countless swaps here. many excellent, some kinda well sh!tty. I finally semi-retired from swaps and even tying because that time is now spent building real rods. yeah yeah shut up. I’m biased. I asked about badbug a while back and got spammed by feenom’s email today after mentioning the very dude to a golfing buddy and remembered how great those old swaps were. those guys can tie circles around most. and I’ve been looking at steelhead flies I’ve recv’d from pete hiatt’s (is that right namewise? I’m getting old. *I think I’m right though) and damn I’m in the desert thinking of putting together a steelhead box w/ all those flies. I grew up or matured cutting my chops tying flies for swaps here.

what happened to those kinda swaps?

don’t tell me I should host it. *or that smg hosts a beginner swap - I have no interest in that. *tell me why they are no longer around. *and where’s the quality we used to see?

tooting my own horn a bit, I hosted some of the best swaps this site has seen. *not that that matters a whit as to what I’m talking about, though if you were there then you remember and know.

2

it’ll likely be daze before I check in and read this again. hash it out amongst yerselves to determine why you can’t find a swap worth entering.
last one I participated in here drew three forking guys I think. three. three. it’s a shame that the talent pool has been diluted to that extent.

and while most of you don’t know me from adam, I can roll a pretty good bug. and take all this stuff pretty seriously.

3

Ya know, I was wondering where everybody “went” here lately, too. Personally, I’ve gotten into tying crappie jigs, and have a PILE to tie for different people that demands my “free” time. I wouldn’t mind joining one or two fly swaps, but don’t have the time to host.

4

We have some openings on the Swap of the Month.

5

Could be the fact it costs to join a swap. Materials just keep getting more expensive. Postage is a shock. Maybe the swap of the month is taking up the good tyiers time. Last I think we have lost some of our best swappers. After Bassman died things sort of tapered off. Right now I’m tired, the day to day grind has me worn down. Lucky if I tie enough flies for my own use. dan gober

6

I quit after my second or third swap and one hosting attempt. I can tie my own flies, that I can actually catch fish on!

And yes, Mikey, you are whining. S

QK email me if you are still curious as to where some folks went.

7

thanks to those of y’all who bothered responding to my b!tch. *to the rest, I say say thanks for yer neglect. *it speaks volumes about yer expectations.

postage is never a problem and swap of the month is not in my wheelhouse.

once upon a time this site hosted some great swaps. *that no longer seems to be the case.

I really don’t know what to think.

8

You want to know why I quit joining/hosting swaps? I’ll tell ya. Lack of dicipline on the participants and the Swapmeister.

Every swap lists a date that the flies need to be tied and sent to the Swapmeister by. 99% of the swaps I participated in never hit the deadline…not even close! Dates and deadlines mean something to me.

If the Swapmeister says he needs the flies by the 1st of the month, he needs them then, not a week later. Do you know his schedule?

Swapmeisters are as much to blame as the tiers. I you set a date and don’t abide by it, you are adding to the problem, When I hosted a swap, the date meant something to me. I was on the road a lot for work and I only had 1-2 days a week that I could sort and mail the flies back out. If I had to wait on a set or to, it could be 2 weeks before the thing could be wrapped up. Not acceptibale.

Several times, I would get an e mail or PM a day or so from the deadline to the effect" I completely forgot, bla, bla, bla". Sorry, that don’t cut it with me. I would tell the tier to keep his flies and save the postage.
Sure, unseen items come up all the time, but I forgot, I don’t have the proper materials, etc. are not valad excuses for me.

Do I have a few Ideas for swaps, sure…how about a 1 material swap, other tha the thread and hook? How about a craft store swap, all materials from a craft store? Any one want to play??

Rant over, back to your normal channels…

Brad

9

Mr. Blur,

I just read this thread and thought I’d respond. Although I’m listed as a relative newcomer, I’ve been on this site for over 10 years. Was banned a few years ago but that’s another story and one I won’t get into. Suffice to say that I participated in a lot of swaps both as a participant and as a swapmeister. You ask about ‘themed’ swaps. Well, it wasn’t that long ago that I offered to list one but the theme apparently wasn’t all that attractive. Hey that happens. I did join another swap and that went well. So why are there not more and why are the themed swaps just about dead? I don’t buy it that postage and material costs deter people. I’m just guessing that the ‘better’ tyers (being very subjective here) have been disappointed with what they’ve received. Tyers in swaps keep inventing their own patterns and, I’m guessing, that’s not what others are looking for.
You mentioned a Pete Hyat(sp?) swap that was a long time ago. I participated in that one. I have those flies framed and hanging. I can recall many of the ‘old timers’ who swapped back when and I’m not sure if they are just lurking, still post, still swap or maybe they’ve just quit the site? Maybe swaps have just become passe’? Maybe swappers, at least those who take the swap seriously, are tired of the excuses of some swappers and hosts and also disappointed with the flies?

So, okay, I posted this as a potential ‘themed swap’ a few months ago. I’ll post it again here and on another thread. Maybe there’ll be some interest. Oh, just for you guys/women who are looking for a disciplined swapmeister, look no further. I communicate, am considerate, send reminders if needed, respect all participants and their efforts by sticking to the schedule established.

Here goes:

Anyone Interested?

This is not an announcement. I hosted a swap with this as a theme several years ago and I’m just wondering if anyone would be interested this time around.

‘Teeny Tiny Fly Swap’
Flies must be tyed on a Mustad size 28, or a Tiemco 30 or 32. I’m not aware of any other manufacturer who makes that small of a hook but if so, by all means.
Flies must have at least 3 materials and parts. Just as an example: a comparadun or sparkle dun with 1)tail, 2)body, 3)wing.

If there’s sufficient interest I’ll post something about initiating the swap. Oh, if you post that you’re interested that does not lock you in as commited to the swap. But please be realistic with any comment about your interest.

Oh, although it’s a very small consideration, the expense for shipping is considerably less than other swaps. In fact, you can even package the flies so they can be mailed in a normal envelope!

Allan

10

Nice follow up post Allan with some very valid points. I expressed interest in the tiny swap first time around and am doing so again. Count me in.

11

Hi Texfly,

Thanks and okay. I’m starting another thread about this and we’ll have to see if there’s any interest. Hey, I’ve gotta find a use for those hooks. Just kidding! I’ve actually hooked and landed 4 trout on 32s.

Allan (and for those who are among the ‘old-timers’, I was ‘tyeflies’ back when)

12

I am not sure what is meant by ‘old-school swap’. The swapmeister sets the rules for his/her swap, and they can certainly specify only correct, classic patterns, materials, or techniques be used. As for quality, I don’t think I have ever gotten any sub-standard quality files in any of our swaps. So, as usual, I remain confused.

Anyway, I personally love classic patterns, especially streamers, so anytime anyone wants to host a Classic Pattern Swap, count me in.

13

Oh boy … my turn…

I myself lost interest… because of 1 thing!
Tiers not completing on time… I too did this a couple of times. every swap I ever joined someone was always late…
Yes most of us worked at jobs… thats why we wanted them in a few days before the deadline…

I think it happened once… all the flies were in a week early and we got the flies before the deadline…

now think about the price of everything… its going up…BAD!

Also the quality of flies were getting “suck-ish” swappers just didnt give a crap on what their flies looked like…
there was about 15-20 tiers I always wanted to see in swaps… I opened a few packages before to get the flies out… a piece of thread would be hanging on the fly… a quick tug and the whole fly would unwrap… I always wanted to see new guys in them…

I think a few of us have list on:
who flies sucked…
who always opted out…
who didnt turn anything in…
who was late hitting the deadline (I know I did this a couple of times… working 2 jobs and guiding)
who would set up a swap and NOT return any flies.think this happened once with flies and once with a swap box.

But I think my top reason for not doing swaps anymore were quality and prices of material

14

We have some openings on the Swap of the Month.

this killed it for me. i may have misunderstood, but joining for a whole year and making flies once a month for a whole group was way beyond my desires as a casual tyer. after a while all i saw was announcements about swaps of the month, so i quit hanging out.

the couple of swaps i did meister went quite well. i didn’t take the no-shows personally, and just carried on with what came in, returning extras to the tyers. worked fine.

15

I still am confused. The SOTM is just one swap that’s been going on for years, and you don’t have to join it. Some swaps have had sparse response, but most of the time, when I see a swap I’d like to get in, it’s already full.

These are supposed to be fun. If you’re gonna get all ballistic over a set of flies coming in a few days late, then maybe swaps just aren’t your thing. I mean, it’s not like a matter of National Security, or anything if someone has a problem that makes them a little late. We’re not punching time-clocks. It’s a hobby, and a pass-time. We have some people here who live in Europe, Canada, and other places where the mail is a lot more difficult, and even some places in the U.S. have lousy mail service (like here…).

All I can say is…lighten up a bit. If you don’t enjoy the swaps, then start your own, or just don’t enter any. It’s not like it’s a requirement or anything.

Just my 2 cents worth.

We will now return to our regular programming…

16

Gig…

In some of my swaps…
Ive got flies from… Japan, China, 2 from down under, 2 from Europe, and 1 from South America…

Everyone of them were on time…

I think what got on everyone’s nerves… is in almost ever swap someone was late…
even as a hobby… you can still sit down and tye a few flies in a hour or so…

I have been in my fair share of swaps… now I tye for local shops… doing 300- 600 up to 1,000 (yes thats “Hundreds”) dozen in the winter months… Ive even tyed tied for feather-craft… and Rainy’s ( www.rainysflies.com) has picked up one of my flies and is now tying them commercially…
The PMS (The Pine/Marabou/Streamer)
http://www.rainysflies.com/Flies/flies_Detail.php?ProductID=3163

Its not that hard to tye a couple of dozen and be done in a week or two…

17

I don’t join because I have no use for trout flies, or steelhead flies, as we don’t have trout or steelhead here. And as far as who does particpates, when you make statements that the flies you rec’d “sucked”, I would imagine that it would intimidate a new tyer, to the point that they would be leery of getting into a swap.
I do agree that if you DO participate, you should make sure that you can make the deadline prior to signing up, so everyone will get the flies on time and not have to send repeated e-mails out explaining why nothing has been sent out yet.
And regarding my first statement, I teach a tying class once a month at a local shop, been doing it for more than 2 years, and we have never tied a freshwater fly in the class, due to an extreme lack of interest in freshwater fly fishng. Not saying no one fishes freshwater, just nobody wants to tie those flies.

18

For me these past few years have been slow job wise, but the uptick is the time I have with my kids. They are 6 and 8 years of age. It won’t be long before they won’t have much time for mom and dad so I am taking advantage of the time I do have with them now. I’ll eventually get back into more tying and swaps.

19

[SIZE=3]Well, boys, I been outa circulation for several months, just droppin in to lurk a bit from time to time. Been busy with other things, and not much time to tie, or fish. Gettin back to it now, and I see this thread. Well, I’ll say, I REALLY enjoy fly swaps. Been in lots of them, and had a good time mostly. My complaint is really only one, and that’s swappers being late or dropping out. You gotta take it seriously. I do. I have flies from nearly every state, and all over the world. I catch fish with flies guys in Chile tied… I truly enjoy this site, and have met fellas I’ll correspond with and swap fishin tales and flies with for years to come. Rod swaps too, I really enjoy them, but haven’t joined one in a while, 'cause I have more rods than I’ll ever need. I hope the swaps continue, and I think, like most things, they kinda go in spells, and we’re maybe in a lull now. BTW. I’ve never gotten a really poor fly in a swap, some maybe a little sloppy, but I often think we’re a litttle mor particular than the fish. This much is true… we got some high class members here, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Things change, and I don’t particularly like change, but the good folks are why I’m back and why I’ll stay.
…Modoc Dan[/SIZE]

20

Life events occur. I used to be in the swap of the month, and have been involved in a couple of theme swaps. But now, my fly tying only occurs out of necessity.

I got many great patterns, but I also filled up a box with flies that I am never likely to use. That’s part of the reason I have bowed out of them. I don’t need another box of frogs, redfish flies, or bonefish flies.