What is a professional fly tyer

[Captain Scarlet]

Originally Posted by arkle

Depends on the pattern(s) /styles etc. The late Warren Duncan, of B.C. would tie up to 300 salmon flies a DAY & they were phenomenal quality, he would tie for 6 months a year as well as guiding & working in oil/gas refineries during off seasons.

Some of the oriental tyers manage maybe 3/400 trout flies a day, others are around 50/100 a day, it's down to a. pattern/style. b. degree of urgency/pressure - financial. c. fashion. d. ability. It takes some of the best tying houses in Asia/Africa around 6 months full time to train a tier & get them up to speed.

Originally Posted by codenamemilo

The problem with all occupations like this is your income is limited not by how many customers or orders you can get, but how many you can physically make in a specified period. Admire anyone who does it you must really be able to churn out high quality ties quickly to get anything approaching the equivalent of a decent hourly rate.

I'm certainly no-where near a 'Pro Tyer', since I do it as a hobby, which I love doing. And I would love to do it full time, but, bills need paying......

Normally, after work, I get 3 hours to tie, before the 'boss' gets in.

Fair play and respect to those who can do it Full time, and those employed abroad to do so...

[Chris Reeves]

I actually declare my earnings to the tax man, offsetting the cost of the raw materials against tax and break even on the deal. As I pay PAYE tax on my earnings from teaching fly tying classes at base level it is to my advantage to do so. And it leaves me with a clear conscience.

That said I do stick my head above the parapet by having a website etc. so I probably need to be totally honest anyway.

As to numbers of flies one can tie one day

I have tied 12 Dozen Hairwing Salmon doubles in one sitting, taking about 10 hour (with an odd break)
I can tie 2 dozen an hour of basic buzzers and sparklers but for each step you add to a basic pattern then you lose perhaps 1 fly an hour so a 10 step pattern will probably be 6 an hour. The Kenyans as Arkle mentions tend specialise in one fly or one style of fly and they depend on volume for payment so it is in their interest to produce as many as they can. Luckily the quality control in Kenya is very good. I'm not so sure it is that good in Sri Lanka and China.

I just had to buy some flies (I'm in Colorado and didn't have the materials to tie what I needed) so thankfully there are some real professionals out there making all our lives more convenient.

Cheers

[Paul_B]

A professional ties flies to catch fishermen, the rest of us tie flies so that we can catch fish

Paul

[Captain Scarlet]

Originally Posted by Paul_B

A professional ties flies to catch fishermen, the rest of us tie flies so that we can catch fish

Paul

[arkle]

I remember Davy Wooton winning a bet with a guy at a game fair once, back in the 70's. The guy bet him he couldn't tie a winged Wickams fancy in less than a minute, Davy won his tenner, & did it in 45 seconds.

[Phil-k]

Shouldn't a professional also have the appropriate qualifications before he can call himself a professional.?

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by arkle

I remember Davy Wooton winning a bet with a guy at a game fair once, back in the 70's. The guy bet him he couldn't tie a winged Wickams fancy in less than a minute, Davy won his tenner, & did it in 45 seconds.

Now that's what I call a pro! I'd have been fannying around with me wing slips for half an hour!

All the 'qualificatons' in the world wouldn't have won that bet Phil.

[Chris Reeves]

Interesting point Phil,

I hold the GAIA instructors qualification but that only makes me an instructor not a Pro.

Unlike professional trades there is no formal training for fly tying, as each tier can pretty much do there own thing.
Some of us have a large portfolio of patterns, others tie just what they use. There are tiers in the states who tie just one or two patterns that are well known with protected names and widespread in thier use. They make as full time living out of it. They possibly would not be able to tie the full range of flies that I tie.

I think we should not worry too much about what a person wants to call themselves and just let the quality of their flies speak for them.

Cheers