Ars Gratia Aria

[salmo]

I'm not an expert fly tier by any means. I actually spent way too many years tying without learning any new skills. That was complicated by my preference to fish exclusively dry flies. Enter Covid-19 and YouTube. My tying has improved but my eyesight and lack of manual dexterity have limited my skills at 75 plus years of age. Do any of you tie flies that you will never fish just because you like the way that they look? You wet fly tiers are excluded from this post.

 

[laszlo]

If I tie 6 dry flies I'll fish them in order of likeness, yeah some of those ugly ones never leave the box.

 

[dryflyguy]

I don't tie anything that I dont plan on fishing - period.
And if I'm tying something new say, and I dont like how it comes out - I cut it off and do something else with the hook.
Why carry something around that I dont want to even try?

If you tie something that is going to be just for show, what do you do with it?
Put it on display somewhere?

 

[Oregon_OwlII]

I don't tie anything that I dont plan on fishing - period.
And if I'm tying something new say, and I dont like how it comes out - I cut it off and do something else with the hook.
Why carry something around that I dont want to even try?

If you tie something that is going to be just for show, what do you do with it?
Put it on display somewhere?

I tied some salmon flies that I put in shadow boxes as gifts. Never went salmon fishing, and doubt that I ever will.

 

[nfrechet]

Do any of you tie flies that you will never fish just because you like the way that they look?

all of the steelhead and atlantic salmon flies i tie will never see water. i just like tying them and posting them for others to tie and enjoy

issues with back pain no longer allows me to stand for any length of time without my legs going numb

 

[poopdeck]

All my flies are for fishing. I fish them or I share them with friends to fish. If I don’t need any flies I stop tying flies until I need something. While I don’t mind tying flies, it’s not something I get overly excited about doing and generally wait until I literally have nothing else to do. It’s probably been a month or two since I tied a fly and they were mop flies, I think. Even with this mentality I probably have close to a thousand flies in my various boxes at any given time. Of course I will tie something because I like the look or want to try something different but I have to like how it fishes before I tie another.

 

[Tigereye]

I have hundreds of flies that I tied in the past that I still have and give away to newbies. I find that I can get away with about a dozen flies (patterns) that suit 90+% of the situations I encounter.

I no longer tie streamers/ buggers, eggs ( except estaz eggs for salmon) attractor wets, spinners, gimmick flies.
My material list is about 1/2 and my desk has room for other $#!+ Ill never use.

 

[dryflyguy]

I met a guy a few years ago who showed me a pattern that he tired in jest.
Somehow he made a nice replica of an olive - the kind you eat - on a hook. With blue wings on each side.
A very humorous Blue Winged pattern

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

If you tie something that is going to be just for show, what do you do with it?
Put it on display somewhere?

When I was a kid, men wore fedoras. I recall about half of those hats having a band sporting a big wet fly.

 

[rancid waders]

I tie at least one fly a day and have for many years. I give most away and probably have a few thousand nymphs organized by size

 

[salmo]

I met a guy a few years ago who showed me a pattern that he tired in jest.
Somehow he made a nice replica of an olive - the kind you eat - on a hook. With blue wings on each side.
A very humorous Blue Winged pattern

Now if I could tie a Martini Glass he could practice his fine skill casting!