Re: [VFB] flies tyed.......

[GGFlyTyer]

Saving money was the original plan,,,but as it happens,,,now I spend more on materials and things like that then I probably would have been spending on flies. Now I tie for the relaxation, satisfaction and enjoyment. I've learned a lot by tying my own flies,,learned to be more patient with my pets,especially the cats and dogs when they hold of my necks and tails. I've learned more about the insect world around the lakes ,streams and rivers that I camp at. Instead of saying "man,,look at all them bugs in the water" I can actually name them and the stage of their life that they are at. I can actually walk into a fly fishing shop and know the names of the flies they are selling and in some cases how badly they are tied or how well.   When I started tying my own flies (some 25-30 years ago) it was to save, I had a box of nymph hooks and some dubbing and some pheasant// turkey tails. I read a book on tying "The Basic Manual of Fly Tying" by Fling and Puterbaugh and that was the "end " of my "free time". Now I've got shelves of books and magazines, thousands (I do mean thousands) of hooks, drawers/dressers/desk/plastic shoe boxes stuffed with fake hair, real hair, bucktails, squirrel tails, calf tails, feathers,tubing,,,you name it, I've got it here, not to mention the rods and reels. Some how now the money spent doesn't matter. It's a hobby that lasts a lifetime and something I'll never regret that I started doing.   Ray Gattus Sr.   PS: Also meeting all the great people here on the list and on the stream, fly tyers are a different breed of fishermen and fisherwomen.