I've been tying roughly 20 flies a week now for about 1.5 years, to the point where I can't possibly use them all and I'm running out of room in my fly boxes (I even had to buy a few more, despite already bringing about 10 on each trip). I used to tie in my teens and early twenties, then gave up for 30 years, and resumed two years ago with a vengeance. My kids are teenagers now and don't seem to have much interest in me (or fly fishing), so I have more time.

Below are some ways I've tried to dealing with the surplus, but I wanted to hear what others do:

  1. Cull flies based on expected productivity (bigger #'s of known producers, smaller #'s of experimental flies). Put surplus in a big "Bugger Box" type fly box. My Bugger Box is still pretty empty.
  2. Don't cull any flies, just use more boxes, and try to bring only "some" of the boxes on each trip. I have failed 100% at this approach. I just bring more boxes with me.
  3. Where there is an excess of one fly that is drab, put half of them back on the vise and add a hot spot. Then put them back in the fly box. I've done this but haven't used the "new" flies.
  4. Reject some flies, trim off the matieral with a razor blade, and re-use the hook/bead for a new pattern. I think I've done this only once because it's painful to destroy one of my creations.
  5. Stop tying. Can't be done.
  6. Give flies away. This is somewhat promising, but I mostly fish on my own.
  7. Lose more flies on the river by getting snagged more often. Not a bad idea, but I hate tying on new tippets and new flies.



Now some confessions:

  • I'm at the point where I think about fly tying more than I think about actually fishing.
  • I go to bed early and come in early to the office just to look at fly-tying stuff online before anyone else gets here (like I am right now)
  • Fishing has almost become a secondary hobby to justify my fly tying.
  • Some days I force myself to fish instead of sit at the bench.
  • When I fish, it's a mere laboratory to test my flies.
  • I'd rather tie flies than talk to anyone in my family, read a book, watch a movie or pretty much anything else when I'm home
  • My home is in a state of disrepair because I'm always "going to tie just a few more flies" on the weekends
  • I bought two expensive vises instead of just one inexpensive one which probably would have been just as good
  • I inherited a few thousand dollars of materials in the fall, but still spend $50-$100/week on new materials
  • I have more flies than I could possibly use, yet I keep tying, so clearly I have a problem