fly tying then and now

[euan]

Just started tying flies and it makes me think of my Grandad a lot and doing some wooly buggers this morning it occured to me that a lot of the stuff in my starter pack are synthetic things that he probably wouldn't have had access to or if they were available would have been expensive I guess.

Were there predecessors of things like chenille etc or has there been an evolution in the types of flies that are tied? I dont remember him using anything like a wooly ****** for example.

[black knight]

Originally Posted by euan

Just started tying flies and it makes me think of my Grandad a lot and doing some wooly buggers this morning it occured to me that a lot of the stuff in my starter pack are synthetic things that he probably wouldn't have had access to or if they were available would have been expensive I guess.

Were there predecessors of things like chenille etc or has there been an evolution in the types of flies that are tied? I dont remember him using anything like a wooly ****** for example.

You are right to think that many sythetic materials did not exist before the Second Word War. Flies and lures were purely fur, feather, wool, tying silk, with gold or silver wire.
Since the introduction of modern materials flies and lures have been created to make use of these. So we have the old and the new and any permutation of the two.

The original Woolly ****** pattern was believed to have been created by Russell Blessing, Pennsylvania Fly Tyer, as early as 1967 to resemble a leech or a dragonfly. It would not have been around in your grandfather's day.

BK

[wingman]

Well having recently just started tying again after a 30 year break from it, i bought a whole load of synthetic stuff, chenilles, sparkle yarns, mirrorflash, you name it and spent a fortune with money I never even had, as I had never used this sort of stuff before but must confess I've hardly used any of it as most of my tying has just been feather's and fur's, so basically I've reverted to how I used to tie when I was a teenager. In retrospect I should have spent more money buying capes etc, as that would have been a more sensible approach, but hindsight is......Saying that if I was more into tying lures and more flashier flies I would have used more of these synthetics, so if I ever have a lure phase it'll all come in handy. I think the less materials you have, the better as it forces you to really think how you can best utilise every part of say a partridge skin and look at the different ways different feathers could be put to use in creating the various facets of a fly.

[andypandy]

when i started tying again i used old materials that were stored away. Alot of the materials you are not allowed anymore. Crazy how things change over the years though.

Andy

[black knight]

To my eternal shame I have drawers of old feathers, fur, and other materials acquired, from anglers who have passed on to that big river in the sky,and I never use the stuff. I have been seduced by newer materials and use these on a daily basis.

BK

[flytier07]

I know flashy flies with modern synthetics look lovely to us, but do they really catch any more fish then those our granddaddies used? When I started tying in the late 1950s I only had cock pheasant, mallard duck, rabbit and deer hair to hand as I shot my own stuff with hunting being a great sport in midwestern USA. I tied monstrous looking flies that were much too big and looked terrible to me. The fish didn't care-they destroyed them almost as fast as I made them. My Grandma Maude always said pretty flies catch fishermen-not fish!

[euan]

Andy pandy what sort of things aren't you allowed anymore? endagered species that kind of thing? I was kinda shocked to see dog fur (on the skin!) while browsing some materials in an online shop

My grandad used to shoot too so I suspect provided all his own materials - I remember we were well drilled as kids that if we found a peacock feather in the park we had to keep it for him

As for whether the new ones catch more than the old ones, its not a problem I have - I barely catch anything whether with the ones he tied or shop bought ones, yet to get a chance to wet my own ones (tomorrow though...). But I'm sure thats my technique rather than the flies!! I'm working on it!

BK If you need to get rid of some stuff you can send it my way

[wobbly face]

Been tying for 30 years now. My tyings are not good but what I have discovered, tying old patterns with new materials or adding some new material inplace of old has made some flies much better. Can't say my fishing has improved as I caught then, and sometimes now.
Threads are finer and stronger, tinsel brighter and far more colours to choose.
There are far more quality hackles than just cheep Chinese cock necks. Beads instead of just lead wire. Find myself experimenting more with the new materials.

[steve collyer]

I agree that threads seem much stronger & finer than in the Dark Ages of the 1980's.
For instance, I got used to tying a tapered head of such & such a proportion, with as few turns as possible when tying other materials in. Now I actually have to build-up the head quite a bit to get the same result.

Hooks seem far more consistent (at least at the top end) as I recal even some quite well-respected manufacturers hooks used to bend or snap quite frequently with test twangs in the vice.
Haven't had a Kamasan or Tiemco go yet.

[fishfish]

Originally Posted by black knight

To my eternal shame I have drawers of old feathers, fur, and other materials acquired, from anglers who have passed on to that big river in the sky,and I never use the stuff. I have been seduced by newer materials and use these on a daily basis.

BK

well if you want to sell some pm me!