I can certainlycan understand a person not really having the time to tie flies
However, I still maintain that it's alot more rewarding to do so.

FWIW - I didn't tie the first few years that I fly fished. And bought all of my flies in shops. However, after I did finally start tying, I quickly developed more confidence in my own stuff, than any of the store bought flies. And I think that's probably something that happens to all tyers

bie? lol am I the only one who caught that typo. (now I'm trying to make sure all words are spelled correctly in this post.


I've tied for about 4 years now. Wish I knew what to buy then as to what crap I've accumulated now. "I'll buy those feathers for $15 compared to the ones that cost $70" WRONG. I wish I could sell half of my crap that I never use and get some quality materials.

I'm probably still in the hole and have maybe tied 3000 flies. My time is important to me. I would make about $.50 an hour if I tied and sold them. Not worth it.

The key is I tie because I enjoy it (most of the time), I tie exactly what I want (even if they sometimes look crappy) and I give A LOT of flies away to friends. "Go here, use this fly and catch some fish". That's worth it for me.

I can't remember the last fly I purchased but now with 2 kids it has crossed my mind to buy as I'd rather spend an hour with them than sit at the bench and tie 3-4 prince nymphs.

Tied back in the day? Still do somewhat,but the eyes go then the fingers.biggest hoot,IMO, is tying a dry fly and having the trout just hammer it,been there done that. On a side note,I made my own trolling lures backwen I was offshore fishing regularly.
GG

I tie all but a very few patterns I haven't learned. I will buy a half dozen when I go into a local shop to support the small guy. I usually try to pick patterns I haven't learned yet or buy ones to use as a "go-by" for developing it myself.

Tie them all. Buy some dry flies. I rarely use them. I enjoy making up my own paterns and having success plus i know what all components are going into the fly. A fly may look good but if the hook bends on that fish of a lifetime its your fault for buying something with a cheap hook. Certain aspects i see it saving you money plus you get more enjoyment. If you buy 50 cent flies you are getting 50 cent quality

I generally buy, just 'cause I suck at tying. Size 18 midge, I can rock that

I used to tie a lot more, but now I'm out of beeds, out of hooks, out of a lot of my hackle, its just been easier to buy what I need for a few weeks than it has been to place a big order of tying material.

Tie almost everything that I use for trout. Bass I trade with my buddy, he hates tying small trout flies, I hate tying big flies, it all works out.

It was never about what was cheaper for me, I have the time so I wanted to do it. When I first started fly fishing the trees ended up with a lot of my money I had spent for flies so I had to do something. Getting set up was the hardest part.

But I can understand if someone has just doesn't have the time to do it. I try to buy a few any time I am at the fly shop or go to a new place just to support the local shops.

I tie about 75% of my flies and buy or bum the rest. I like to buy locally tied flies when I travel and I buy flies from friends because I like to fish a friend's fly as much as I fish my own (fun when you can bum them too). Some flies I just don't like to tie anymore. Been tying for about 45 years now and I like to tie better some days than others.

Theoretically you can tie flies cheaper. Sure, a Hares face, a pheasant tail, some wire and thread can give you plenty of good nymphs for very little money. Stick to Zebra midges, Walt's Worm and other simple patterns and you can do tying on the cheap. Get some of those half necks and you will be in dries for a while. If you keep it simple, then tying is a way to save money.

But nobody ever does that!!!!! (well, maybe guides do)

Most tiers are always on the lookout for the latest hot pattern, perfect shades of material, and developing the new fly that catches more than your buddies. Pretty soon you have drawers full of material. And if you get into the full dress salmon fly or traditional winged wet thing look out wallet. Do you know all the materials it takes to tie all the wets in the plates of Ray Bergman's Trout. Want to tie four imitative stages of every bug on Penns Creek? Pretty soon you have tied a ton of flies. Get on a CDC kick? Get on a snowshoe hare kick? Get on a thread midge kick? Get on a foam kick? Get on a glass bead kick? The materials start to pile up. It is a great hobby and is addictive as fly fishing. You've been warned.

I started fly fishing close to 20 years ago. At that time there were really not any fly shops close to where I lived in Beaver County. One of the best things I ever did was take a fly tying class the first winter after I started fly fishing. I also went on an instructional weekend at Spruce Creek that was held by the same fly shop. That is all the instruction I have ever had in the sport of fly fishing. Now I tie almost all my own flies.

After you learn the basics you can acquire whatever you need bit by bit. You don't have to buy the best and you don't have to buy it all at once. If you go out and buy the best of everything all at once, it will take you a long time to save what you would have otherwise spent if you bought the flies. When I consider everything I acquired over the first 15 years I really am amazed at how much stuff I have. Realistically I won't need to buy much in the way of fly tying materials for a long time. I still have dry fly necks that I bought over 15 years ago.

If you don't have easy access to decent fly shops tying your own might be a necessity. Also it allows you to play around with different patterns, substituting one material for another. I tend to tie in spurts, usually before a upcoming trip or as I am preparing for the upcoming season in late Winter. I have way more flies that I realistically use. After all these years I have a few patterns that are my go to flies. Everything else is really just taking up space. I mainly tend to replace those favorites as they are lost to snags, overhead trees, breakoffs or just disintegration from catching too many fish. I'm not really into finding the new hot fly pattern. As time goes by I find myself having the urge to simplify things. I haven't quite given into the urge yet, but I'm getting there.


Tom

I tie 'em all at this point. Get together with a good tyer or find a low key class to learn some techniques and slowly collect materials after you know what to look for. There is no book that can match watching someone tie in a wing or wrap a parachute or size and hackle a catskill dry and no better sight than a trout swatting a fly you tied yourself. Once you're there you can't go back to using someone else's flies.

Tie 90% and buy 10%.

I do a little of both. Tied more this year than bought.

i bought flies for the first few couple of years. one day i bought a book entitled "the art of fly tying", and never looked back. i can count myself in the group that has not bought a fly in many years. the first generation of flies was crude, but worked. in fact they taught a valuable lesson, flies need not to be pretty to fool fish. on warm water flies, it seems the sloppy flies work better than the pretty ones.
as mentioned already, it is a hobby onto it's self, it just happens that they can be used in another hobby.

Tie all my own flies. I have not purchased a fly in years. However, I purchase 100% of my supplies from FFP in State College. I tie because I enjoy the hobby. Easy to spend $100 on a visit to the shop, and it all fits into a small paper bag. Biggest expense is quality hooks. I agree, it makes no sense to spend dollars on tackle, but skimp on the hook. Great way to stock my inventory on cold winter evenings. I learned to tie via the local TU many years ago. We still get together on Saturday mornings s during the winter to tie new patterns.

I'd like to say that I tie but since my basement remodel I have been unable to reclaim a space for my gear. Until I do I just mooch most of mine from Ryguyfi. He has a racket going though. He gives me his junk ties then laughs because he is catching all the fish and I'm not. He says it's user error, but I beg to differ. ;)