Fly Tying Night Begins.

Anybody who ties flies likely knows all about "fly tying night" with the fellas.  If you haven't had the opportunity to experience a fly tying night with the fellas, you should find yourself a group of fly tyers and do it.  Every Monday throughout the winter I have been getting together with a few of my buddies to spin some bugs, drink some port or beer, and tell stories of trips past.  With our freestone rivers in North Idaho teetering between blowing out, ice jams, and lethargic trout there is no better time to get out the vise and get to work.  

1.  Breaking out of your comfort zone:  As a guide in the summer I have a tendency to get myself in a rut.  By floating or wading the same stretch of river 20-30 times a summer you can easily find yourself in a rut as far as fly selection goes.  When much of your client's success rides on the selection of flies you tie on the end of their line, it becomes very easy to develop a list of go-to bugs that are close to ensuring your client will get eats.  For instance, I rely heavily on different variations of a chubby chernobyl.  If my client is a proficient caster I will tie on a purple lighting bug or a batman nymph as a dropper which makes for some pretty epic days.  If my client is interested in a high volume day and is comfortable casting a double nymph rig, I will tie on a green pats rubber legs and a san juan worm.  That being said, when I have spent my Monday nights gathered around the vice with a couple of buddies whom have a combined 70 years of fly fishing experience on the same waters you learn a few things.  For instance, the bug shown above, the last chance cripple, is an excellent example of this.  Many times while guiding in the summer you will see fish slurping small dries and no matter how good of a drift you get with a chubby, fish won't eat.  Sometimes a purple haze, or adams will do the trick, but if they don't, you need to have other options to go to.  This cripple is perfect for that.  By having guys to bounce ideas off of and to ask for tips and tricks, tricky ties like this one become much easier to manage.  

2.  Camaraderie:  One of my favorite things about fishing with buddies is the camaraderie that comes along with that.  There aren't too many things in my life that I enjoy more than floating down a river in my Clackacraft Eddy with a couple of close friends that you share the common bond of fly fishing with.  When the leaves start to fall, and the air temperature drops in the fall many of us find ourselves slipping into a bit of a funk.  Not only is a passion of yours taken away for a few months, but you miss the opportunity to get out with a couple of friends and relax and tell stories, solve life's problems, or just enjoy conversation about common interests.  By having a fly tying night with those same buddies those moments don't have to completely go away.  Granted you lose the screams from down river of "fish on, bring the camera!!" but many of the same types of conversations you have on the river can carry over into throughout the winter.  

3.  Planning future trips:  Many of my favorite trips I have taken with have started in my buddies basement hunched over a vise.  Like I said before, 70 years of combined fly fishing experience all throughout the Pacific Northwest has it's benefits.  For instance, lately there has been much discussion about a trip in May to a certain rarely fished lake in Eastern Washington that holds monster rainbows (I have never fly fished on a lake).  We have also made plans to hit the skwala hatch on the Yak and are in the beginning stages of planning a weekend floating the Big Hole and Beaverhead.  These are the types of things that I would not really consider doing solo, and organizing trips like this are exponentially more difficult through text message, or even driving to the river on a summer morning.  It is easier said than done in those cases.  Especially when you have to drive by several of some of your favorite rivers to get to these places.  

If you are a hardcore fly fisherman, and you tie your own flies, a tying night with friends has much more value than heading to your vise solo and twisting up a few of your go-to patterns in the evening. Don't get me wrong, those times have their value.  Especially when you get into production mode tying up those "go-to" patterns that you know will work on that certain stretch of river when the conditions are just right.  But if you find yourself missing the river a little more than usual and excited to get out, a tying night with your buddies might just be what the doctor ordered.