I've posted an article on my blog, some rambling thoughts about fly tying in general and if it's for you. You can read it here or click on my link below.
Fly Tied by FFR Fly Tiers |
 |
- Welcome, Messages, Claves, News, and FAQs
- Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods
- Glass Tech
- Collecting Fiberglass Fly Rods
- What's New on the Market
- Rod Pictures
- Classic Fly Reels
- Another Spin on Glass
- Rod Building & Tackle Tinkering
- The Tying Bench
- Fiberglass Fly Rods For Sale
- Fiberglass Fly Rods Wanted
- Fiberglass Flyrodders Wiki
Is fly tying for you?
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 Silver Doctor.clarksclassicfl... |
Is fly tying for you? |
Lead | |
|
Sport
Posts: 58 (05/27/09 21:27:34) |
Often I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned,
mosquito bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand have I been in a place that was less than beautiful.
|
||
|
mdwwhw |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 559 (05/28/09 14:36:22) |
A fair and good summary. While I certainly agree a good vise is important, there are inexpensive but capable vises out there for somebody who is unsure as to
whether they will continue tying. It's much easier to be stuck with a $20 vise that won't be used than a $200 one.
These days there are excellent instructional videos on the internet. I've had a few AHA! moments after reading about something then watching it done.
"Everything's better when wet...."
Steve Miller Band |
||
 corlay |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 841 (05/28/09 15:06:32) |
mdwwhw wrote:My HMH SHX model (New in package), cost me ~$45 on ebaY. It does me just fine... Had a Cablea's "kit" vise before that, for about 3 months. While it did hold a hook, technically; the machining tolerances of the vise really were poor.
"From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time
learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most."
- Ray Bergman
Trout, New York: Knopf 1938 |
||
|
scud dog |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 1384 (05/28/09 17:42:51) |
I know an old timer that still uses hemostats to hold the fly in place. He's a great tyer too! The fly tyer's vice is a relatively new device. I
suppose a cheap vice would work. That said, I think a lousy vice could turn someone off from tying flies. IMO, people should know their own
temperment/limitations well enough to know if they'll tie or won't tie...before they make a purchase. I for one am grateful I can and do tie my own
flies.
PS: nice article Silver D. I'll also recommend a "how to" book. I don't recall the title and loaned the book out (never got it back). I do recall the author being Eric Leisure. I know a few others that have learned to tie with his book as well. That was years ago. I'd be curious who's producing the best "how-to" books/DVDs.
Last Edited By: scud dog
05/28/09 17:49:14.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
keebranch |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 890 (06/01/09 10:24:11) |
I love tying. In fact I think I have 90% of my flies by my own hand. Once in while I'll be visiting a fly shop to find out where to fish -I'll buy
flies as a "quid-pro-quo" for the information. Later I'll copy ones that work and keep recipes for flies which I like.
For me it's not about saving money, but the satisfaction of catching fish on something I've created or changed to my likings. Les |
||
|
Fontinalis |
|||
|
Sport
Posts: 28 (06/02/09 13:44:55) |
I read your artical and a few issues popped into my head:
1) $250.00 for a vise for a beginner. Not really, there are a lot of very good vises to be found on the market for much less than that price. Look on E-bay and you will find in very good shape Thompson model A or Thompson's Pro II vise. How about the Danvise or even the Renzetti Traveler with cam jaws. These are just a few. Secondly a rotary vise for a beginner is not required or should be recomended. I tye flies on my Renzetti Maser and hardly use the rotary feature for tying. I use the Rotary feature just to turn the fly and take a look at the other side. You should see how beautiful my wet flies come out on the plain old Thompson Model A vise. Beginners need to learn basic techniques and a lot of beginners get a littl over whelmed at first, why make it more difficult. 2) Need a whip finisher. Not really. Simple half hitches at first with some head cement will work just fine. Then the beginner can graduate to whip finishing by hand. Have you ever seen Mary Dette finish off a fly with a hand whipped finish. I have and the fly looks beautiful. Now for tying show flies on wets and Salmon flies then I prefer to use a whip finisher to help form a nice and neat head. I can do this by hand, but it does take a little longer. 3) I agree that a good bobbin and a good pair of scissors like Doctor Slick is the way to go. 4) Now I taught myself to tye by books first, video's second and much later a lessons. I am glad that I progressed this way. I agree that some people need to get involved with a Trout unlimited or a fly shop and take beginner's lesson's. Some people don't want to read or need to see it insted of reading about. 5) Lastly unless I read wrong there was a failure to mention a tying light. This could be as most tyers started out on a simple light from Wall Mart to the most expesive day lights that I use. I think tying to some like me is a passion, others an outlet once in awhile, others it's to make flies and stay connected to the sport during the off season. It's a lot of things to various people. The one thing that people do not realize at first is how much they will learn about insects and when to fish them. There is a lot more than this, but this is what came off the top of my head right away. A Genuine Wet Fly Fisherman |
||
|
gearboy |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 353 (06/03/09 04:40:32) |
Tying flies is like anything else, you can keep it simple and inexpensive and still have fun and catch fish or you can go crazy.
There's nothing like tying new flies the night before an outing and using them when you first get to the water. That really gets me excited ! |
||
|
Silver Doctor.clarksclassicfl... |
|||
|
Sport
Posts: 59 (07/02/09 11:26:07) |
Fontinalis wrote:
Often I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned,
mosquito bitten, but never, with a fly rod in my hand have I been in a place that was less than beautiful.
|
||
|
JimatFFO |
|||
|
Guide
Posts: 138 (07/04/09 19:55:12) |
Nice blog SD. It's always great to read opinions from folks that have been doing this a while.
That 260 is Canadian, right? Down here, in the states, I think they're goin' for around 175 American. I paid 145 for mine a few years ago. While I'm not here to shil my site, a couple years ago, we did an in-depth review of 23 vises under 150 bucks (American) and found that quite a few of them were great tying instruments. Click HERE for the review. I actually started with a whip finisher and am learning to half hitch under Cornmuses tutelage. He does that almost exclusively. I'm trying to show him the virtues of a whip finisher, as well. -Jim |
||
|
whrlpool |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 883 (07/08/09 04:07:01) |
Tried a whip finisher once; found it more nuisance than by hand. A Thompson A vise or copy will do for most common flies. The budget is best devoted to
materials, especially for anybody who wants to tie hackled dry flies. If you keep it simple with hair-wing patterns, wrapped or dubbed bodies, and soft
hackles, you can easily supply yourself with most flies you need. That's keeping tying to a pragmatic craft as opposed to an art, which it certainly can
be.
As a side point, although I'm a white collar worker, I have blue collar hobbies that keep my hands pretty well stove-up--rough skin, callouses, little cuts and so on. To be an expert tier, you must have a good manicure and smooth, soft fingertips, along with good dexterity and absence of pain or stiffness from overused joints/muscles in the hands or wrists. Otherwise you mangle materials and snag thread steadily, unless you want to be hyper meticulous and very slow tying refined patterns. I don't want to spend a month doing nothing else with my hands but applying Corn Huskers lotion, so I don't tie too refined. That type of tying is not for you if other activities are going to keep your hands roughed up. I used to tie a little more carefully, but now I just knock out the simplest, most necessary flies for the fishing I have planned. Counterclockwise from top, '70s, pretty careful, a little finesse, not bad for an amateur; '80s, found out brown trout aren't too fussy about a Hex imitation at night, so spent time fishing rather than finesse tying, as you can see from the pathetic leftover flies--which worked just fine; since then, still tie a quick and dirty hodge-podge of simple stuff that works. Not too careful about storage. 
Last Edited By: whrlpool
07/08/09 04:50:39.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
corlay |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 911 (07/08/09 07:36:50) |
whrlpool wrote:excellent point! I'm a guitar-player, and the callouses on my left hand fingertips, always snag the thread on a "pinch technique" to tie-in material. annoying, but I'm now used to it.
"From my observations I think that most of us spend too much time worrying about our tackle and too little time
learning the intimate characteristics of the fish and streams we fish most."
- Ray Bergman
Trout, New York: Knopf 1938 |
||
|
Bud |
|||
|
Master Guide
Posts: 597 (07/08/09 15:41:39) |
I personally try to mooch as many flies as possible from really good tyers. I have had far better luck with this than with tying my own....
|
||
- Welcome, Messages, Claves, News, and FAQs
- Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods
- Glass Tech
- Collecting Fiberglass Fly Rods
- What's New on the Market
- Rod Pictures
- Classic Fly Reels
- Another Spin on Glass
- Rod Building & Tackle Tinkering
- The Tying Bench
- Fiberglass Fly Rods For Sale
- Fiberglass Fly Rods Wanted
- Fiberglass Flyrodders Wiki
