I was lucky enough to have a fly fishing club in Junior High. I learned to tie flies before I ever fished them. That was 34 years ago. Tying for me has been a wonderful past time. I have even tied some for profit ( If you can call it that). I"ve had the pleasure of tying flies that have caught many species in many places. The art of tying has many twists and I enjoy them all. The classic streamers, wet flies winged and wingless. Ken Abrames school of thought on flat wings fascinated me enough to buy all those hackles. I should have left them go during the hair craze that Steven Taylor caused on American Idle. I have a hard time with anything other than spot tying unless it's winter. Which, by the way, one of the finer things for me, is hours of inspired tying when the snow is falling and a warm fire in the fireplace with thoughts of the coming season. Inspired tying leads to inspired fishing. Can't wait to try out that new pattern dreamed up. But I also have spent way too much money for materials that I only used for one pattern that has long since gone out of favor. Does fly tying really save money today? Tying when I was young was necessary. The commercial ties were not up to the standards of today. I also did not have a fly shop convenient. Mail order and internet has changed a lot. One could with a clear conscience advise a new fly fisherman to save money and time by buying a thousand dollars of flies and calling it a day.