How do you afford..?

[daringduffer]

Stefan,
You have a talent for getting us out of our posting routine with threads that encourage fresh thinking.
No way could you possibly be a slower tier than I. Impossible.
When I returned to fly tying two years ago I tried all kinds of crazy and naive things, tying many flies for practice.
All the time I have been reading the literature, including steeping myself in the words of Leisenring and my father.
Like Otter and others here on the forum, I too have come to prefer and appreciate natural materials.
Just tying a #14 flymph with all the parts in balance with each other is still beyond my reach.
But I don't care as long as I keep getting slightly better each month.

My two biggest obstacles are

• Eyesight. I need those $3,000 glasses like my dentist uses with the little magnifiers on the lenses
  Tiredness. I normally am too busy during the day to tie, so I wait until after dinner when I am exhausted. Not ideal for such exacting work.

Lance

Lance,

It's kind of comforting to see that your flies aren't perfect. It makes you more human. If you just add shakey hands to the eyesight and tiredness...well, we are excused. There is a guy named William Anderson who had a very steep learning curve in this art. You know how kids are. Age will slow him down. You and I are wise enough to compare us to ourselves. That's a good thing.

dd

[daringduffer]

I decided long ago that I enjoyed tying too much to turn it into a job.

Good decision. Since I'm slow, and can't handle pressure that well, I decided from the start to never join swaps. I don't want any "musts" to enter this game. I value it too highly. There are times when I am tempted but I resist.

(As you all understand, I wasn't thinking of money when I started this topic).

dd

I could be more clear. Until I had my encephalitis I rushed through life. Now I enjoy every moment a lot more. Slowing down has made me rich.

[hankaye]

I could be more clear. Until I had my encephalitis I rushed through life. Now I enjoy every moment a lot more. Slowing down has made me rich.

I once hear a person, much wiser that I say, "People should act like dogs. They don't just stop to smell the roses.... they stop and smell EVERYTHING!"
Decieded to follow that chunk of advis maybe 30 some-odd years ago and Life has become much more enjoyable as a result.

hank

[William Anderson]

dd, I have a secret to my efficiency. I try to use very few materials, keep them sparse and avoid the tricky ones at every turn.

I too appreciate the fresh topics and the thoughtful discussion. So nice to have you here.

w

[Hans Weilenmann]

I have a secret to my efficiency. I try to use very few materials, keep them sparse and avoid the tricky ones at every turn.

Whoa there, youngster. That is my story - you can go find/make up your own

Cheers,
Hans W

[Johnno]

I can tie fast or tie slow. Depends on a whole host of things. But I dont care. I tie the simple and the complex and I dont care. Have so much material both man made and natural its not funny and I have a constant list of stuff I want to get. I must have it. But I dont care. I have well over 10,000 flies and keep on tying. But I dont care. Some are sold and some are given away and some I keep. Whatever. I dont care.

And if fishing ended tomorrow, I'd still tie flies and I bet my bottom dollar that everyone here would as well....

One minor hiccup is that in the past couple years I've really got into rod building as well. I see that as a natural progression of tying flies. But what the hell I don't care. Keep tying flies, keep building rods.... and isnt there a website about how to build reels??

[Mataura mayfly]

One minor hiccup is that in the past couple years I've really got into rod building as well. I see that as a natural progression of tying flies. But what the hell I don't care. Keep tying flies, keep building rods.... and isnt there a website about how to build reels??

Oh how familiar that sounds! Although I tend toward more rebuild than build new- apart from that 5 piece I took to Ireland.
There are websites on reel making, there is even a guy offering reel making kits of semi finished parts that you finish and assemble, might be a tad small for your needs Johnno...... but may also itch that scratch for you.

[hankaye]

Johnno, Howdy;

Long time no see on the forum ... Good to see ya back!!!

hank

[Kelly L.]

I enjoyed that. I have resisted the urge to make my own fly rod, and reel for now. If I did that, and became obsessed with it too, the clutter would be unbearable. Not to mention, I would have absolutely no money for FOOD...rotfl.

I can tie fast or tie slow. Depends on a whole host of things. But I dont care. I tie the simple and the complex and I dont care. Have so much material both man made and natural its not funny and I have a constant list of stuff I want to get. I must have it. But I dont care. I have well over 10,000 flies and keep on tying. But I dont care. Some are sold and some are given away and some I keep. Whatever. I dont care.

And if fishing ended tomorrow, I'd still tie flies and I bet my bottom dollar that everyone here would as well....

One minor hiccup is that in the past couple years I've really got into rod building as well. I see that as a natural progression of tying flies. But what the hell I don't care. Keep tying flies, keep building rods.... and isnt there a website about how to build reels??

[Old Hat]

I'm like you duffer, I tie slow and I chose to just because I enjoy the ride.

I tried the fly rod building. I didn't like it.