Why I don’t tie flies
Simple: I sucked at it, and according to Singlebarbed that’s a good thing…
Among the largest sources of capital outlay for fly fishermen are flies, it’s the reason most attempt to learn the craft somewhere in their career; the smart ones fail, realizing that’s it’s twice as expensive – leaving us slow learners to master the craft.
I won’t pat myself on the back too hard for grasping the positive personal economics of outsourcing early on – I now get to lose sleep over nightmares of dumping an assortment of precious boxes in a flow I shouldn’t be wading in, knowing production capacity is thousands of miles away.
Posted in On The Fly
| Tags: economics, fly fishing, fly tying, outsourcing
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November 13th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I still tie some, but when I first got started quickly realized that after buying the vice and all the little accouterments, bulk materials, and stuff, I’d need to tie 5,000 flies a year to break even. Now I tie a few saltwater and streamer patterns I can’t find retail.
November 13th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Pete – So you ran the numbers – good benchmark for the rest. I have thought about going your route, since some of my streamers are a little hard to come by. Further, they are easier to tie than #20 Para-Adams, although you don’t lose as many when they are tied to 10lb Maxima with your suggested Homer Rhodes loop (which is now my go-to streamer knot…thanks!).
But, when I was debating putting that part of the sport aside, I used up all my remaining materials first. Now I have enough clouser minnows and dorado poppers to last several lifetimes. I’d now happily trade them for #2 bunnies and grey RS2s.