Winter tying?

[flyfishingpastor]

I don't know about you, but I find winter a GREAT time to tie flies. You can't do much fishing locally, and the evenings are long. Last fall, my first real fall of fly tying, I wasted a lot of time just tying a couple of this and a couple of that, really doing more equipment and materials familiarization than tying with a purpose. So, this year, I'm in the process of coming up with a list of flies I need to tie for the spring/early summer and then late summer/early fall.

So, my question is, do you come up with a list and tie during the winter to be ready for the next fishing season, or do you just tie as you need? Or do you buy most of your flies?

I'll probably spend the winter tying trout stuff for April, May and June and then Smallie stuff for July, August & September. I'd like to have the bulk of my nymphs, soft hackles and poppers tied by March. I'll tie SOME dries and probably buy some but boy do I hate to pay fly shop prices on flies!

Pat

[barryl]

I make a list each year (try not to make it to long) and then try to tie about 5 or 6 of each fly (some times more of my old favorites). Some years I complete my list and it makes it much easier during season. But then there is always that hot fly each year that you have to make when it's discovered.
I'm going to have to play catch up this year had shoulder surgery on 10/22 can't tie for at least 4 weeks.

[trent]

I'm more of a boutique tyer: Low volume - high per unit cost. Since I hardly generate enough to consider my output sufficient to meet the quantity desired, I tend to use a combination of flies. Some are begged or borrowed off of people and some are purchased. I might trade some, but people tend to be shy of the deal where they get one fly and I get a half dozen in exchange. They just don't fully appreciate the intrinsic value of the fly as a personal, artistic creation and simply value it at market. I almost never buy flies at retail in the fly shop. I know that's in contradiction to the attitude of supporting your local shop and keeping that resource around, etc. Since I'm not really buying the "it" flies for that area, I may end up with less fish in the net than others using the flies from the local shop. However, I've yet to be convinced that a fish is so discerning that it knows the difference in patterns between one bought at a local shop and one similar in size and color but not tied to the exact specification of the local recipe. I'll sometimes buy them when they are on sale through some of the big retailers like Cabela's. When I find a "good deal", I'll stock up if buying flies. I certainly enjoy catching a fish on a fly I tied myself, but if I can catch more fish on a store-bought fly, I'm not proud. I'd rather have the fish on the other end of my line. As for having a master production plan for those dark and dreary months of winter (I'm so going to be a snow bird when retirement rolls around), that's a little bit too methodical and forward thinking for me.

[trent]

Barry, the shoulder surgery must not have hampered your typing fingers.

Another comment or observation, I will often try to tie whatever the "it" fly is based on fishing reports for an area I might be traveling to. The interesting thing to me is that after I've given that fly a fair shake with no luck, I'm basically going to start going through my boxes trying to find anything that is going to catch fish. It seems like fly shops are always going to say, "Hey, the huge brownies are slamming the Triple WidgetX Varigated Weasle Tail Hyper Grub. You won't want to be on XYZ stream without some of these in your box and we have them on sale for $3.95 a piece." Chances are, if you throw on a brown wooly bugger (which is the basic pattern for the hyper grub) you are going to be just fine.

[flyfishingpastor]

I need ta tie me up a buncha them there Weasel Tail Hyper Grubs! (Dude! You're a goober!)

Trent is correct when he mentions he's a low output tyer - but what he doesn't mention is that what he does manage to get tied are first rate. He tied some Serendipity's for our Yellowstone trip that saved the day on more than one stream. Of course, since there were only 4 of them in existence, I had to use salmon-weight leaders/tippets so the action wasn't great but they DID catch fish! Small, blind, stupid ones to be sure, but fish nonetheless!

Pat
P.S. And, what he didn't mention was that when he mentions "buying" flies, he means one of two things. He pillages my fly boxes OR he talks my wife into getting them for him - she loves her son(-in-law)! If I happen to be in a fly shop with my wife, she ALWAYS asks if I got some of whatever I'm after for Trent, too!

[barryl]

Trent I'm doing it all with my right hand, it took me 20mins to type this pardon the errors.

[rstaight]

I don't have any particular flies in mind. If I see something that looks interesting I'll give it a go. I really don't need anything for next season.

I may take some of my "poorer" looking flies, strip the materials, and re-tie.