Fly tying pet peeve…

[JG63]

When “how to” expert video shows 6 inches of perfectly good thread being cut off as “the tag” at the very START of a particular pattern, (pic 1) it drives me nuckinfutz - I’m too cheap to waste that much thread - especially if it’s gonna be a few dozen each or more - with midges and smaller flies, you may be throwing away more thread per fly than you use! Who thinks that’s a good idea? I always try to keep the tag less than the hook shank length and just cover it up with the initial thread covering (pic 2) - it’s an efficiency thing with me - perhaps it will help you (?) Good day eh?

 

[Solitariolupo]

I put a wrap on top then underneath pull it to the end then wrap in no cuttings needed.

 

[falcon]

I can see using Semperfli at 8 bucks a spool being conscious of waste.

 

[gfenlikestolosepasswords]

Fly tying videos featuring disgusting finger nails. (credit jdaddy for ruining them forever for me by pointing this out)

 

[Bamboozle]

I use Gudebrod fly tying thread for 99% of my normal operations in fly tying and I am a "tag snapper" (among other things 🙂)

So I tie in my thread at wherever point is required, leaving a short enough tag to grab. Then I make a few securing wraps and snap off maybe 2" -3" of thread.

I'm all about saving time at the bench and doing it this way takes me less time than other trickery just to save $0.001 worth of thread.

It also doesn't hurt that I have approximately 3 lifetimes worth of Gudebrod 3/0, 6/0, 8/0 & 10/0 fly tying thread. 😉

 

[Kms]

I can see using Semperfli at 8 bucks a spool being conscious of waste.

FWIW I use “Lion River” and “Wifreo” brand GSP in 50d, 100d and 150d from Aliexpress, which are cheap as spit and frankly better than semperfli because they’re just as strong but more colorfast. Semperfli colors wipe off leaving you with white thread (except for the black thread, that actually stays black).

They cost ~$2 a spool, sometimes less with coupons and Rakuten discounts.

 

[TerrellBFly]

Literally noticed myself doing this yesterday on some crabs. Not sure what prompted my attention to it, but I have always tried to use as little as possible for tippet knots and this just seems like a logical extension.

 

[poopdeck]

6” of tying thread is not something I would ever think about let alone be bothered by. Now those plastic cases that mustad puts their hooks in bother the hell out of me. I keep my hook supply simple, limited and stored in their original packaging in two little 4” by 4” partitions on my desk. Those plastic boxes really screw up my system and take up 3 times the space as their former plastic sleeves.

 

[TerrellBFly]

6” of tying thread is not something I would ever think about let alone be bothered by. Now those plastic cases that mustad puts their hooks in bother the hell out of me. I keep my hook supply simple, limited and stored in their original packaging in two little 4” by 4” partitions on my desk. Those plastic boxes really screw up my system and take up 3 times the space as their former plastic sleeves.

Ive got trays I use now, fit neatly in a drawer and I pull out the tray as needed. Fits the boxes and sleeves. I have one for each category of hook - dries, streamers, normal nymphs, jigs, beads/dumbbell eyes and just added a salt tray. Found it to help with being able to find what I'm looking for out of dozens of different style hooks.

 

[dudemanspecial]

Probably waste a whole .10 cents by the time the spool is empty.

 

[laszlo]

My pet peeve is having a ton of fly tying material. Then ordering some more materiel for that particular pattern. Then later on finding that same material in your supply,. now having duplicate or triplicates

 

[JG63]

My pet peeve is having a ton of fly tying material. Then ordering some more materiel for that particular pattern. Then later on finding that same material in your supply,. now having duplicate or triplicates

Well - I can’t really argue that point as I have enough materials for probably 6 lifetimes - except hooks - I NEED more hooks - and foam - yeah, craft foam - multi colors , and a new Badger neck - and maybe another darker Cree - and wire .01 copper and probably silver … and gold - I really do want (cough) I mean need some more craft fur and squirrel tails … and peacock herl and ….

 

[bdhoover77]

My pet peeve is the cap on a bottle of head cement or super glue always getting covered in residual glue and sticking to the bottle and then ultimately becoming unusable.

My other pet peeve is every time I watch some tying videos I see a new material, whether dubbing, wire, hackle, etc., that I think I need.

 

[salmo]

My pet peeve is having a ton of fly tying material. Then ordering some more materiel for that particular pattern. Then later on finding that same material in your supply,. now having duplicate or triplicates

OMG! That's me to a t. I got tons of duplicate shirt all over my basement!

 

[Dr.J 1952]

I’ve been tying flies long enough that I usually just need the recipe. It irks me when the video presenter gives basic fly tying instructions. Get to it, dude!

 

[CLSports]

I also was at one time conservative with my materials until one day I finally realized that I have enough materials to last me 4 lifetimes and tie hundreds of flies that I will never even use.

 

[falcon]

I tie flies using books. That is how I learned. I have a lot of tying and pattern books.

 

[tomgamber]

I tie flies using books. That is how I learned. I have a lot of tying and pattern books.

I used to print the pages of flies from catalogs, (Bean, Flyshop, Orvis...) and just try to make them look like that. Wasn't worried about the exact material. just had to look like the picture. Had them taped to the wall above my desk.

 

[Dr.J 1952]

I too have lots of books of fly patterns. That’s what we did pre internet. I got some great patterns from The Mid Atlantic Fishing Guide. Steve at Fly Fisher’s Paradise would put some great patterns in the margins of his catalogue. I have a 1973 copy of Eric Schwiebert’s “Nypmhs” that I bought used for around $20 from a book seller. When I got the book, I noticed it was a misprint as there were several chapters missing. I contacted the seller and got another copy which was intact for free.

 

[falcon]

I saved about 50 issues of the Mid Atlantic Fishing Guide. I miss that publication that was issued free at fly shops.