DonO: You are lucky to "vast". When I met you at the
show in SLC I didn't think you were that vast, but maybe
it's true. I have been told several times that I am only
"half-vast"
Couldn't help it.
Larry Johnson
Big J
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 11/12/02 10:22AM >>>
----- Original Message -----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(*Don's comments)
Here is the deal: I CANT TIE DRY FLIES!!!!
Either they sink, float on their side, come apart, or just
look sick!
*All dries will sink with drag, land on their sides when
wet ot slimed,
come apart when chewed on or cast a lot, and ratty-looking
flies
catch just as many fish. So what's your problem again?
I can't afford full high quality hackles, so I use what I
can get.
*Hint- Tie less flies, but of higher quality. Work on
making each fly
perfect.
If it's not perfect, cut it off and tie it again. Figure
out why it's not
coming
out perfect. Ask questions here. But train yourself to
self-train, too.
As you repeat the 'perfect' process, speed will naturally
come, and you'll
end up with many good flies. If you quickly tie lots of
imperfect flies,
this
is what you're training yourself to tie- quick, imperfect
flies. Train
yourself
to only be satisfied with perfection and it will come. And
train yourself
not to get frustrated. This is as much a key as is talent
or money or
anything else.
I have seen Whiting 100s advertised. Are they any good for
a start?
*They are perfect for what you need. Decent price, no
waste, consistent
quality.
I am planning on tying just one size of one type of fly,
say a # 12 Adams.
*How many #12 Adams do you plan on tying? A Whiting 100
pak will give you
100 Adams flies. Tie them well, and that's a season's
worth. YOu may even
be
able to find a hundred pak of cree. But if not, go with
brown & grizzly
mixed for the hackles. Then you still have brown and
grizzly to tie other
flies.
Can I omit the upright and divided wings and still enjoy a
fish getting
fly?
*Yes, you may, but wings are an important part of the
'strike image' of
up-wing style
dry flies. It's better to have a 'no-hackle fly' than a
'no-wing fly'. Get
a winger neck, as these are cheap and very easy to learn to
use, and one
neck will wing a hundred flies. If you can't find them, I
can send you one.
Do you have anything in your vast knowledge of dry fly
tying that you would
care to pass on?
Del
*I just did, and the only thing that is 'vast' around here
is me. lol
DonO
*Practice, patience, persistence. (The same with tying as
with fishing.)
Learning to tie a certain pattern (or master a new
material) has to be as
much fun as being able to tie the finished product. This
is crucial because
you'll spend much more time learning to tie a pattern than
you will spend
time tying what you're already good at.
Enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Enjoy the
process of figuring
it out.
This is what good tiers are all about.
