On Thursday 04 September 2003 07:35 pm, Brian Reese wrote: > I am hoping to get advice on how to speed up my fly tying. I have been > tying my own flies for about four years. I recently began tying for a > couple of friends and noticed how long it takes me to get through a dozen. > Does anyone have basic suggestions or tips?
Just keep tying. And join a few fly swaps. When you tie 20 of the same pattern, the first 3 will move slow, and the last 17 will just jet right along. Really. Tying in swaps is one of the most effective things that I have done for my tying. I used to stink at mylar bodies, so I asked around and go shown a better technique, then I went home and tied a dozen Mickey Finns for a swap I was in to get it right. Then all of a sudden, you will find tying a dozen to be a snap, and tying 50 is quite reasonable. Quite frankly, I think all tips are useless, unless you are really comfortable tying the fly, or using the material, or doing a technique. I just spent about a half an hour learning a new herring fly for saltwater. It required I use new materials in new ways, but reality was it just a streamer. But I had to manage a flakey material (Gliss n' Glo) and I had to make a sparsely dressed fly. Betcha if I tie a dozen, the twelveth will take 5 minutes. Rob -- In my family there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. Norman Maclean
