fly fishing

[puck4350]

For the fly fishers on the forum:

There is a Scottish guy, Davie McPhail who is a genius fly tier. The best. If he made frames he would have a wait list into eternity. Frames would be made of pixie dust glued with unicorn breath (yeah, maybe a little hyperbolic).

You can buy some of his patterns on ebay, and they go for very reasonable prices. I've bought a half dozen from him and they are works of art. Additionally, I've spoken to him several times, and he is thoughtful, humble, smart, and eager to help other tiers.

The link below is to his utube site where he has dozens of flies he demos, giving materials and helpful tips in addition to tying the fly. Great stuff.

DavieMcPhail's Channel - YouTube

Enjoy. If you've every tried to spin deer hair unsuccessfully, and if you've spun deer hair you have, or ended up with all your dubbing on the desk top instead of the thread, you'll be in awe of his mastery.

Disclaimer: no connection but as a happy customer and jealous admirer cause I'm a fly tying piker.

Mods: feel free to move this if it's in the wrong spot, but I posted here because the page says any and everything here.

[billrick]

Thanks for posting that ... very cool. Fly tying is on my list of future hobbies. For now, I'm throwing mass produced flies equivalent to Taiwanese aluminum.

[WayneJ]

I consider myself a good fly tier, but some of these guys (like Dave) are on a different level.
Fortunately, for me, the trout in my parts are dumb and like my less-than-perfect flies just fine.

[XR2]

Too broke and cheap to buy flies. Learning to tie my own over the past few years.
I've found the uglier and messier the fly the better it works for me. See the nasty little lump in this beautiful brookie's mouth? I did that. Made the rod used to throw it as well. Now I need to learn framebuilding. :D

Married wing flies are a goal of mine eventually.Just hang 'em on the wall and look at them.

[classtimesailer]

Fishing with my own flies after the first dozen because I quickly saw that materials and my time were cheaper. I was thinking the other day that most flyfishers, flytyers, rod designers are for the most part as willing to share as most cyclists, mechanics, frame builders. Now I'm reminded of something that my son said a couple years ago: "Why are all the people who do our hobbies such geeks?"

Jeff

[puck4350]

Yep. It is silly to pay retail prices for the simpler flies like San Juan worm, Y2K, or wooly bugger that anyone can tie with an inexpensive vice and minimal tools. Add in the satisfaction of catching fish with your own flies and you have a winner.

There are lots of sites with fly tying video, Ohio Fisherman comes to mind, but Davie's work is the best I have seen, and that Scottish accent is a pleasure to listen to.