T(r)ying Something New

I’ve decided to impose a new rule on myself as I prepare for the upcoming trout season, or rather to adopt a new philosophy. This philosophy isn’t my own, but one that I first heard of many years ago from my cousin, Ben. The philosophy is simple: tie your own flies, only fish with what you tie.

I like this rule for a number of reasons. The first is an obvious one and that is the satisfaction of fooling a fish, one backed with millions of years of evolutionary hard wiring to select naturally available forage, into taking one of your own creations. A creation that is essentially just an assortment of trace animal hairs or a chicken feather or two spun around a small bent piece of metal.

The second is an ode to simplicity. Fly shops these days stock a dizzying array of patterns; one for just about every insect found in the lower 48, at any stage in its development, and any slight color variation seen within said species. I once had a fly shop worker in West Yellowstone convince me to pick up a half dozen flies tied for a specific warm water caddis species that’s only found (on a good day) on one specific waterway (the Firehole River) within the park. I fished there the next day, no hatch. Tying your own patterns forces you to tie simpler, more abstract patterns. Patterns that could imitate a wide spectrum of species and hatches.

Lastly, this is an ode to personal craftsmanship. Fly tying is considered an art form by many and just like any craft, the more time that you put into it, the better quality of your end product. The process itself, the struggle to nail down a difficult pattern or technique, becomes a sort of reward. Plus it’s just straight up relaxing; one of those activities that allows you to get into a flow state and forget about worldly things for a minute.

Those are my reasons and I plan to give a few tying or “what’s in my fly box” updates periodically. I realize that this philosophy isn’t for everyone and that’s alright. Fly tying takes an investment of both time and money to get into properly. There’s nothing wrong with buying your own flies either. I did it for many years and can almost guarantee that they led me to what may have been fruitless trips had I relied on my own tyings.

“But…what about those poor fly shops? Are you trying to put them out of business?!?!”

No sir. You can still catch me in a fly shop, just not near the fly bins. The tying materials bargain box is on the other side of the shop.