Hi Hans, it may be a combination of all of these reasons depending on who is doing the tying. Personally I tie because I want to get better. Better flies equals more confidance equals more fish. But I must admit to taking more care when tying for swaps than for personal use for fish. This is when improvements in technique come into their own. This has obvious advantages when it come to fish catching flies and the confidance thing. Of course, I am taking pride in the flies I tie for swaps. I want everyone to see my best side. I often tie more flies than required and keep the sub standard for fishing. These may or may not get used depending on how bad they are. The flies left in the box at the end of the season run the risk of being chopped up for the hook. So to sum up. Best flies go to swaps, but their tying allows me the practice to improve and hopefully catch more fish. All the best Graeme.-----Original Message----- From: Hans Weilenmann [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 20 December 2002 11:55 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [VFB] Discussion invite to the list (was: trimming hackle)
On 20 Dec 2002 at 4:27, Bob Haering wrote: > When you do this on your smaller flys, you can omit the wings > altogether. I do this and have to notice any difference in catch > rates. The largest fly that I do this on is a #14 Hendrickson. Bob, Please do not read this comment as personally directed to you, I mean it as a question to the full list. I just used your email as a starting point. (Fair warning: I like robust, frank and open discussions where I sometimes will adopt a polarized stance. Sometimes this stance mirrors my own view, other times quite the opposite. Not giving away just yet which of the two it is this time<VBG>) Ok, here is premise of the day: *** Tiers who play down the importance of wings on smaller size flies are generally the same tiers who struggle with incorporating wings on small size flies. The argument of "the fish don't care" is a cop-out. *** I am sure we can conduct this discussion in a mature, non- inflammatory manner, right? The aim is for all of us to walk away with a better understanding of tying techniques, and relative importances. Do we tie for fish only? Tie for self satisfaction? Tie to impress others? Any or all of these? Cheers, Hans wearing flame-proof armor
