The New Fly Tying Season

[fessiewig]

The new fly tying season, regardless of when it starts for you, is a long ways off, but I'm already starting to think about it. That's a sure sign of winter. At any rate, for me the tying season starts sometime in February. November and December are filled with holiday celebrations and football and just plain doing as little as I can get away with. However, there is one fly tying activity I engage in during this period that involves "planning" for the new tying season. I go through my fly boxes and take inventory pulling out those flies I've collected from other fly fishers over the past season to decide which ones worked well enough to find a spot in one of my boxes and which flies in the boxes need to be retired. The later is probably the hardest part of the process I go through. Being the ultimate, insecure, packrat, fly fisher hardly anything, once in the fly box, ever come out. Thus my dilemma! Fly boxes have finite space and will hold only so many flies. Fly vests can carry only so many fly boxes and I reached that limit a long time ago. So how do you add new flies to your on stream collection? But then other questions creep into ones mind. Questions such as, "am I carrying too many flies now?, can I reduce the amount of STUFF I carry on stream?, could I actually fish with just a small box of flies and a lanyard?". This kind of questioning will drive you crazy and actually end up in spending money, believe it or not.

I've gone through these spasms year after year and still have not found the answers to those questions. But back to the original theme, The New Fly Tying Season. One of the best things I've done in a long time was to get evolved with a Saturday morning fly tying group at my favorite fly shop. For years I had a hard time getting started back into tying each year, but the fly tying group has jump started the process and now I find myself tying more often during the week than I had in the past. This coming season I'm going to focus on classic wet flys. Something I think I would like to fish more. Just a few patterns like leadwing coachmen and hendricksons. I need to tie up some usuals and nancy's prayers, and of course BH prince nymphs. Who knows what other flies will find there way into my fly boxes during this upcoming Fly Tying Season, but whatever they are, they're destined to stay there for years to come.

[Chappy]

"Or until the hooks become Rusty."

First it was a handful of fly boxes, then the Cabela's tote of 10 large green elcheapo but usable foam boxes. Then more recently the C&F inserts (6)with the two boxes, and the clip holder along with the storage sleeve.

My problem is that I just don't lose flies when I fly fish anymore. My knots are very strong and I never lose flies unless dregding the bottom.

I have learned that when this time of the year comes, fly tying is a separate hobby. It used to be I would tie only for my consumption and two of my buddies.

But now after 4 years of hobby fly tying, I now have enough flies to outfit all the fly fisherman you might see on a typical weekend day on the upper Connecticut river - possibly for a whole year...

My reclaimation box is several inches thick with hooks and patterns that need a good razor blade to salvage the hooks... something I lack the time to do.

But what I typically enjoy doing during each fly tying season is to focus on something new - one that utilizes new techniques or new materials.

This year, I finally bought a parachute tool. I used to use a quad dubbing twister inverted on my rotary vice allowing for a taught post but the wrap was upside down. Now I have decided to do it the right way. I doubt I will see any difference in the flies.

I challenge anyone to look at tying some paraloops this winter. It is a very nice dry fly to fish - one that allows you to maximize the body and sits right in the film. Tied with genetic hackle, this is a mighty impressive and "fun to fish" fly.

Also, try substituting snowshoe hair for elk hair, deer hair, and calf tail when tying downwings (caddis) and posts (mayflies). This stuff takes fabric markers very nicely so you can really soup up artisitically the final product. And of course if float likes a cork which is great when you pull it under the water and it pops back up....

Add some creativity this year in your fly tying. I know I will.

ps. I can't wait to break into the orange spey hackle neck that I got....oh yeah, and those llama dubbing brushes with flash....