how many of you tie the stuff you fish with?
I tie all my own flies when fishing for steelhead, browns and coho's.
when fishing for smallies in the summer I use alot of poppers that I buy.

I like to use alot of rabbit and arctic fox fur and marabou. I like flies that have a lot of movement.

It seems you find a pattern that works good for a season then next season you can't catch a thing on it. try a lot of stuff, find something that works, tie up a bunch and your good to go. till next season when you can't catch a thing on it.

I've got lots of flies laying around. on the flip side when fishing a snaggy spot I don't mind going thru a couple flies.

Do you match the hatch? My dad tied flys and he always took his gear out to streamside and matched the hatch. Very effective.

I always wanted to, but I have too many hobbies already. So I put another Dillon on the bench, instead of a fly vice.

I tie all my own flies. Almost 100% saltwater, though. I've only tied freshwater flies a few times.

When I did a lot of flyfishing I tied all my own flies.   Freshwater - trout.  Took several classes, have boxloads of 'stuff'.  Quality flyshop flies are expensive, $2 - $3 each for smaller dry flies, if you build up an inventory of hundreds of flies it can get pretty expensive.

Especially when you drop your fly box in the damn river.

I tie everything but stop when it comes to dries smaller than #16.

don't do the match the hatch stuff, don't do the dry fly stuff.
Fact is I don't do the typical trout fishing thing. I like to fish the Great Lake Tributaries when the steelhead, browns and coho's run up the rivers.
Early spring after ice out till about early May and in the fall from beginning of Oct till ice up.
So I usually am swinging streamers of sorts, sometimes egg patterns and nymphs under a bobber.

here is a picture with a fly that we use for browns just before ice up.
not the best picture, but you get an idea on size.

I know this isn't fly fishing but, my wife ties Crappie jigs for our use and for some friends too. Hand poured heads, every color powder coat, hand painted eyes, colored feathers and tinsel tied by hand and then sealed with polyester sealant. It's a skill she picked up from her dad who's been tying for decades.
Im very proud of her and I'm glad she can do it because I have neither the skill, nor the patience.

alot of the flies I tie have lead dumbell eyes in them so they essentially are like a jig. I don't "jig" them like you would.
But I've run across several guys that use spinning gear that tie their own jigs. Very close to what us fly fisherman do at times.

Tell you wife nice job, I'll bet they measure up to the real test, if the fish like them. I learned that long ago.

I tie all my own flies and leaders. I've probably bought a total of 2 dozens flys in 40 years of fly fishing.

Looks like another trout trip is in my future. I guess I'd better start tying!

Chattahoochee River, a week from now all your trout are mine!

Tied a lot of freshwater and saltwater, but these days I don't have the time with work to tie, fish, and take care of home stuff.

I buy most of my flies from small guys online. Spend a fortune, but these guys have talent and time.

I used to tie a lot more than I do now, I also used to fish a lot more . With work and home stuff my time is a lot more limited these days.

I tie my own flies...a lot more lately as I'll be retiring back to Montana in a couple years!

Dave

I tie my own flies for the most part.   Between the arthritis in my hands ,and the need for a magnifier to tie the really small stuff, it has become a real hassle.  Now that I'm older I let my son tie all the small stuff (size 20 and smaller).  

I tie, recently began and enjoy it very much. It's a great task matching what you see flying around the river and all the more rewarding when the fish make it to the net.

Tie all my own stuff for fresh and saltwater. Only exception are real small dries. My eyes arent that good anymore and its just cheaper to buy my small dries than the hassle of tying them.

J-

Have not bought a fly in over 20yrs.
A Brit (USAF), I was stationed with in England taught me how to tie. I don't think he ever left the UK, except maybe for basic and tech school, and maybe a TDY to Hurlburt Field. He was friends with an angling shop owner, who hooked me up with tons of fly tying materials for free; full metz capes, dubbing, tinsels, thread, floss, etc. Since most of the fishing I have done since is trout, I have used a lot of the hares ear, pheasant, elk, deer, so I need to get more of those types of materials.

Just getting back into fishing after a few years of not being able to due to family issues (in house care of MIL with dementia, finally passed late last month). Got both of my rods and reels setup yesterday. My first rod that I bought in 1991 is a 4wt 8.5ft made by High Sierra Custom Fly Rods in Nevada,  I don't think they are around anymore. It's matched up with a Sage reel. Second rod is a Sage 6wt 9ft, paired up with a Rimfly Concept reel I bought in the UK way back when.

It's some old equipment, but still works great, and has caught vast amounts of trout, bass, and panfish. I see no need to go out and buy the latest and greatest.