So the last several years I have tied a dozen of each of about 8-10 patterns that I can't find in shops but love to use. Last year I got really frustrated not having the right size or color in several patterns so I resolved to tie all the sizes and colors. Well now I am spending about 10 hours a week tying flies and I have about 80 dozen tied and I just did the math and I am going to end up with a round 220 dozen flies by the time things thaw in March. I have thought about tying fewer flies of each type but it takes me a dozen or so to get into the grove and really get a patern down. So is this too many flies or should I just suck it up and know my fly box will be full all year next year?
But you can have too many patterns, if you don't leave 'em in the box and fish the ones that actually work. Constantly changing flies is a recipe for getting skunked....'patternitis' is a terrible affliction.
I generally tie 10 to 20 of one of my favorite patterns, then another 10 to 20 of one of it's variants. I tend to stick to one or two patterns an evening, striving for a perfect specimen....which is, of course, never achieved. When I fish I don't give a shit about losing a fly fishing aggressively, bottom banging, in the weeds, and around sunken logs....because I've got a shitload of each pattern. Presentation is more important than pattern, anyway.
When it comes to trout flies that I know I'll fish, I like to tie them in bunches like you have been. Not only do you build up a nice stockpile of favorites, but they get better and better the more you tie them. The other day I tied about 3 dozen rubber legs after not tying any since last spring. The last dozen were definitely better than the first 5 or 6.
I agree, you can never have enough flies as long as you enjoy tying them. You'll also fish better when you don't have to worry about losing the last copy of a particular pattern.
I easily have over a thousand chironomids, a lifetime supply.
I tie what I have fun tying. I'll go through a couple dozen flies a season, so I don't need to tie much for myself. Over the past years I've accumulated over 400-600 flies...
Let's see, just mentally did a count. So far.... I've tied 147,887,234,022.5
flies.
Seriously, I don't care that much as to how many flies I tie. I'm more interested in coming up with a different pattern that catches fish than tying multiple dozens of patterns that I already know works. I get bored tying the same pattern over and over again.
It would be similar to painting the same subject over and over again. Or catching the same fish, over and over again.
I can relate and one reason I had to stop attending the Fly Tying Expo in Albany as a tier.
My back can't take sitting in one spot and tying flies for three hours. At home, I get up and walk around quite frequently.
I'd hate to do an inventory on my stash.
I probably have 3-400 clousers just for coho fishing. yet I still tie more trying different materials, sizes, colors etc.
One of the things I really find rewarding about tying is giving flies to friends or strangers you meet out in the field, then watching them catch fish on them.
SF
One of the things I really find rewarding about tying is giving flies to friends or strangers you meet out in the field, then watching them catch fish on them.
SF
Yup, me too. That and I get bored real quick tying the same thing over and over again. I'll usually figure out how I want to fish and tie 5 flies of 3 or 4 patterns. 1 to figure out what the fish want, then the 2nd is for when I lose that one, the 3rd is just in case I lose that one, the other two are for my buddy.
How many are in a grundle? I would guess maybe 150-200/year. More in recent years because I tie extra for my brother whose been doing annual MT trips with me.
Thanks guys for all the thoughts. I think I will stick with what I am doing. It gives me a chance to experiment and helps me really get a pattern down so I can crank it out if I run out in the future.
I tie because the shop doesn't have what I want but I certainly find it a chore not a love.
Thus I tie as few as possible and it hurts when someone slides my way and steals a couple from my box.
Onefish, that's what I did until this year. I'd give a buddy a fly or two or worse yet decorate some fish with my last of the fly that was working and then have to tie a few when I got home which I always dreaded. This year my plan is to tie a dozen of about 200 different flies that I use and just put the ones I will use that day in my box.
That was my concern. It is a ton of flies. I have been tying about 12 dozen a week for the last 3 weeks and looking at it, it seems like a lot of flies. Not sure what I am going to do next winter though
I used to tie a couple of a dozen of each pattern at once. It built up a large inventory. Twenty years later I still have plenty so I do not tie as much.
I got into a pattern in yester years of always buying the latest, slickest and best materials as soon as it came out. I now have enough materials to last me the rest of my life time, well except for hooks. If I had to do it over, I would not buy as much of the latest and slickest material just to try it out. No wonder why I have enough materials for life LOL.
Now I tie only when I am on a fishing trip. Those sunny, hot afternoons when fishing slows down is a perfect time to grab a beer or two, something to eat, and time to tie in the shade. I just enjoy sharing patterns and techniques with my fishing buddies. The added benefit of tying outside is I do not have to sweep up all the materials from the dirt. The wind just blows it away. After-all, who knows if the deer/squirrel/rabbit/caribou/elk hair is from a local animal or not?
I can only do "batches" of two each... So to keep things interesting if I do need to tie more is that I will rotate. Say I tie 10 different patterns, I will tie two of each and then rotate and start with the first pattern again. I'm a variety kind of guy, so this guarantees me variety. And relaxation. It's why I hate swaps....I get bored!
I try to pull out the materials I need for a particular pattern; tie 8 (because that's how many slots I have in a row in my fly box); fill that row up....then put those materials away; bring out the materials for a new pattern and...
I try to pull out the materials I need for a particular pattern; tie 8 (because that's how many slots I have in a row in my fly box); fill that row up....then put those materials away; bring out the materials for a new pattern and...
The Doc prescribed me pills for this shit... I just refuse to take them. My desk doesn't get messy because I can't let it. There's a method to my madness. For me, fly fishing has become about tying my own variations of certain flies and even using non standard flies for whatever species and trying to catch fish with them. So I'm always experimenting at the bench and on the water. I catch fish, I'm happy, sometimes I don't and leave frustrated. As long as things remain interested, I'm happy. repetition to me is boring, even repeatedly catching fish... sometimes all it takes is one fish on a particular fly and I feel satisfied... hell, I've gotten bored catching fish before...
Thanks guys for all the thoughts. I think I will stick with what I am doing. It gives me a chance to experiment and helps me really get a pattern down so I can crank it out if I run out in the future.
do a couple of swaps teaches you to do the same pattern the same way every time
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