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[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Talking to a fellow fly fisherman yesterday and was asked am I tying now? Yes I am to which he responded it is hardly a cost effective proposition. I never expected it to be. I guess neither is fly fishing as I am a CR fisherman. I look at tying as an extension to a sport I like. Right now as a new tyer it is a challange which so far I enjoy. What is your position on tying. Strickly a hobby or a way to save money on flies?[/size][/green][/font]
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I haven't sat down and figured out cost per materials per fly, but I think (hope) that I can tie them for just a little less than what I can buy them for. The real value is fly tieing is a relaxing way to spend an evening. It's just fun. I can create my own patterns in my own colors in any size. I also double half-hitch everything I add so I feel like my flies are somewhat better quality (but not necessarly looks).
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Unless you stick with wooly Buggers, peasant tail nymphs, and adams and thus have only materials for those kinds of flys then you have spent a lot more on materials than what you are ever going to get in the way of flys.
For every fly new fly pattern you want to tie you have an 80% change you are going to need another material that you don't have. And that supply will last most of your life.
Sometimes you can make a better fly than what you get in the store.
But then as DryRod said it is not really about the money.
David
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I have enough supplies to tie anything.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Some flies I think you can make money on, cause I have, but over all, I doubt that I need to buy anything new for quite some time and yet I can still produce flies.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]In the long run, I think it can be cost effective, but you have to be able to sit on it for a LONG time.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I do it cause I can come up with on the spur of the moment what I need, plus it is relaxing.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I take a small portion of my materials when we got on a several day trip, and every time I have ended up tying in the evening what has worked.[/size][/black][/font]
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I started tying to be able to create my own works of art. I must say i have some humm-dingers that a blind fish would laugh at. But the reward of that first fish on a fly you tied and/or created is worth every penny you spent on your tying supplies.
Now, i think i save money by tying alot of the flies i use. I buy enough material to tie about 100 of the flies i am after and use it up. If i need something else i have it already or i go buy it. I have more materials than i will ever use, but atleast it is available at a moments nitice.
I have probably spent $400 on my vise, tools, and materials and hooks, but i have tied about 1000 flies. At 79 cents each(the cheapest around) i am still ahead of the game.
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[black][size 3]Hey Dryrod,[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]I'll echo your comments (and everyone else's). It's not really about saving money for me. It's something entirely different. It's fun, relaxing and a chance to employ a little creativity. That, and I have to also admit that I probably am a little obsessed with all things fishing.[/size][/black]
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[size 3][black]If I were to attempt to cost justify it on a cost per fish basis, I would only scare myself. I couldn't even guess at how much I've spent on it, nor how many flies I have tied. For me, I think the real expense would come in terms of TIME rather than materials. But, since I volunteer to do it, and I get a tangible return from the time and material expense, I think there are some good benefits in doing the the activity.[/black][/size]
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[black][size 3]As far as materials go, I already have enough that I probably wouldn't have to step foot in another fly shop ever again. Besides that, a lot of the necessary materials (fur and feathers) can be gotten for free if a person does other out door activities or knows people that that hunt or hike. Did I mention that a good portion of the fur and/or dubbing I use comes from the sheded fur from my hounds ? I have a ton of that and they give it to me for just the cost of brushing them. [/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]I also think that I would have to take into consideration the education value as well. By doing it, over the years, I have learned a lot about the fish and fishing itself. I had to learn about the dietary preferences and feeding habits of fish in order to really tie a fly that would be effective(not that any of mine are spectacular productions).[/size][/black]
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[black][size 3]And finally, as was mentioned already, It would be hard to put a dollar value on that first experience of catching a fish on something that I had created.[/size][/black]
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i think fishhound hit the nail on the head.
cost effective?? maybe not,but you can't put a price on landing a fish on what you created.
to me on a crappy,rainy,snowy day,nothing beats sitting by the woodstove tying flies,makeing saltwater rigs,or out in the barn with the woodstove going in there too,turning plugs,or making spoons.i am not mutch for sitting still.i figured i will have pleanty of time to do that when i am in a pine box.
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I also tie flies for the enjoyment and because that is the best way to have the fly in the color and size that I want.
I do save money over buying most of my flies. There are some flies that I still buy because of difficulty to tie or lack of knowledge as how to tie the dang thing.
I have also purchased flies from fly shops on waters that are new to me as a way to repay the shop for sharing valuable information on their local waters. Then I will use their fly for a pattern and tie more of them as needed.
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[cool][font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]You make a good point about buying some flies. If I need a fly smaller than a 16, I will buy it before attempting to tie something that small. If I ever need a 32 fly I know someone who apparently can see something that small. Hummm now who could that be?[/size][/green][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]I also have my favorites that are not made by anyone else. Not all my creations, some are flies I have learned from other tyers.[/size][/black][/font]
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