Fly Tying...wot used to be my other hobby!

[kellswaterri]

any Flyfisher men...or women out there?...if so, do you, can you tie your own Flies and catch fish with them?
I can...having sat for hour over hour watching an expert tier, I now rate myself as about a 7 on the 1/10 scale...I tied dry flies where I had to use a magnifying lens  right up to large salmon flies... lots of fish were caught. many kinds of tinsel, feathers, colours of silk threads were used in the makeing, a Jungle Cock Cape would have cost well over 50£ then...but before the useability of the flies you have made the art of casting with a fly rod has to be learnt...in 1968 shortly after I got married my wife watched me practice casting on the back green, and had a good laugh, was'nt laughing next morning when i plonked 2 lovely rainbow trout on the table and told her to gut them..
so folks if you want an absorbing hobby...here you are.

[chucketn]

Fly fishing has been my other passion all my life also. I learned from my Dad 50 some years ago. Yes, I do tie most of the flies I use. Though health prevents me from fishing much these days, I still tie occationally, mostly to support my son and brother. I have been to the river only a couple times this year, but still look forward to getting out when I can. I have even built a few fly rods.
Making fly rods was what initially got me into machining and was the reason I purchased my lathe.
I have fly fished waters in New York, Colorado, Idaho, and Tennessee in the US, and Wales, England, and Canada.

Chuck

[b.lindsey]

I loved fly fishing as a youngster. Worked 4 summers in the Bob Marshall wilderness area in Montana where native cutthroat trout were abundant. Never tied mhy own flies though, but lots of great memories of those days.

Bill

[Don1966]

I also use to love fly fishing, I learned it from my uncle who would take us with him occasionally. Never learned to tie them although I did make a few of them. I have a lot of good memories of when I was in the military going up into the mountains and fly fishing. We would camp out for the whole weekends.

Don

[kellswaterri]

Yes, flytying is seemingly a dying art form...the youngsters have no real interest in picking up the skills needed as reasonably tied flies can be found on the Net, they will learn to fly cast with a rod and achieve their own unique style , catch fish and be happy...a Great sport from both ends.
                                   All the very best of Fishing guys,
                                                                           John.

[rebush]

John: I'm also a fly fisherman and tie my own flies. Most of mine are for saltwater. Been fly fishing in SW Florida for 27 years. Have done some fresh water fly fishing and also tied my own flies. Have caught many redfish and snook on flies. My most memorable was a 88 lbs Tarpon on a 7 wt. rod. Still carry a flyrod on the boat , but , my shoulder won't let me false cast for long periods of time any more.
Good presentations to all. Roger

[kellswaterri]

one of the Perks of growing older )

[chucketn]

Snook, Tarpon, Redfish, Bonefish, Stripers and Sea Trout are all on my bucket list!

Chuck

[Brass_Machine]

Used to fly fish when I was younger. A lot younger. I have been daydreaming of fly fishing again. Never learned to tie though. One of my co-workers when I lived in Maine though did. He kept promising to teach me, just never got around to it.

I do have a book somewhere on building fly reels around here somewhere...

[Mosey]

Flytyer when I was young, also. One day someone hit a pheasant in front of me, and I pulled over quickly to pick the feathers. So I'm down on my knees by the roadside, pulling feathers off this bird, and cop goes by and almost wrecked his cruiser. After I explained, he said to not do it in the road next time.
There is a guy across the road here who builds high-end bamboo rods, $3000.00 and up. He'll also build you a rod case and reel for a couple of thou additional. His work is superb. Timothy Abbot by name.
How many would you like?

Mosey

[mklotz]

If you're a machinist interested in fly fishing, you might want to consider making your own fly tying vise.  A good one was described in Machinist's Workshop magazine...

"Let's Tie One On", by Peter Stenabaugh, Vol 15, number 4, Jul 2002, Machinist's Workshop.

The thread here...

http://bbs.homeshopmachinist.net/threads/24322-Fly-tying

contains a picture of the vise.

[Maryak]

Flytyer when I was young, also. One day someone hit a pheasant in front of me, and I pulled over quickly to pick the feathers. So I'm down on my knees by the roadside, pulling feathers off this bird, and cop goes by and almost wrecked his cruiser. After I explained, he said to not do it in the road next time.
There is a guy across the road here who builds high-end bamboo rods, $3000.00 and up. He'll also build you a rod case and reel for a couple of thou additional. His work is superb. Timothy Abbot by name.
How many would you like?

Mosey

At those prices, a bent pin some builders line and a broom handle looks good to me 

Best Regards
Bob

[Pete49]

here in Sth Australia I use fly spray as it gets more flies A hobby I have never tried but did think about it once or twice as it seemed like fun to tie flies I went as far as photocopying plans for a fly tying bench but never got much further. Maybe in my dotage if my eye sight holds up
Pete

[Ian S C]

I'v got a fly tying vice, dad used to use it for fly tying, but I use it for holding small circuit boards, while I solder the bits in, and other similar jobs, just like an extra pair of fingers, and they don't get burnt with the soldering iron.    Ian S C

[kellswaterri]

once, at a retraining school that I was visiting Flytying was part of the course...this was a very special kind of place, where people who had been under tremendous stress both mentally and physically were brought back to live what we call a ''Normal'' life....It amazed me to see individuals who had been shivering wrecks, now with hands as steady as a surgeons, tying the smallest of flies...painting tiny miniatures and other tasks.
Yes the skills are still out there, but always try to pass them on, before we pass on...