Why Ty?
The other day, as I was tying a size #14 black stonefly nymph, I asked myself “why am I doing this?” Why, indeed, am I investing my time in tying trout flies when they are so readily available in the commercial marketplace? I was frankly somewhat surprised where my deliberations led me.
First, it can be argued that it is a lot cheaper to tie your own, now that the price of trout flies has skyrocketed. I really doubt that argument holds much water. The cost of fly tying materials has also dramatically increased, so any “savings” are more apt to be illusory than real.
It can, of course, be argued, that by tying your own, you can create flies that you prefer to their commercial counterparts. And I have found that the trout often prefer my “originals” to the store-bought variety. Moreover, there is, of course, the undeniable “kick” of having deceived a trout on something you concocted yourself. But, frankly, that has never been a really compelling reason for tying my own trout flies. This is because I don’t fish only to catch trout! In fact, with the passing years, “catching” for me has progressively become almost incidental to the angling enterprise itself.
I pushed my analysis further, and found myself attracted to the fact that, by tying my own flies, I was staying in touch with my past. I was taught fly-tying by a kindly Municipal Court Judge--and I celebrate my connectedness with my friend “Irv” Eckholt every time I put a hook in a fly-tying vise. But I still wasn’t sure that really fully explained the rationale for my penchant for tying my own “bugs.”
Then suddenly, like an unexpected rise, it dawned upon me--the reason fly tying has such a special appeal to me. My principal occupation is as an Executive Search Consultant. I have been in the search business for more than twenty years now. I have learned a good deal about the business I am in--including how uncertain it is. There are many variables in the search equation, and many things over which the consultant has absolutely no control. I am still amazed at how unpredictable what I do really is (perhaps explaining, in part, why I am still doing it after all these years). But, if its uncertainty is one of the things I find appealing about the business, it is also the source of considerable frustration. It is nice to have something over which you can exert a good deal more control than the search business--yes, like fly tying.
As I sit at my fly tying bench totally absorbed in my tying, I realize that I am able to control the output of my labors in ways I can not at work. This provides both satisfaction, and an antidote to the inevitable frustrations and disappointments of the world of work. It is a major reason for why I tie rather than buy.
Also there are tangible results to fly tying--a finished bug before your eyes--while the results of the search activity are often days and weeks materializing. While I am certainly not a devotee to the doctrine of “instant gratification,” it is nice to see a completed fly in the vise when all of the rest of my activities are invariably at loose ends!
Upon reflection, I suppose that there are probably as many reasons for tying flies as there are fly tyers (maybe more), but at least I have been able to isolate and appreciate why I am drawn irresistibly to the fly tying bench each day. It brings a bit of finality to a day otherwise fraught with overwhelming uncertainty and inconclusiveness. That, for me, is very satisfying! Now back to my tying.