2015 Fly Swap Prep

Every year, the Ozark Fly Fishers host a fly swap for their members. It's a simple idea. Each member ties a dozen or so flies, wraps them in a box with Christmas paper, and puts them in a big pile at the December meeting. When your number gets called, you pick a random box and see what flies you get. The trick here is not necessarily going for the biggest box. Not that I have anything against big bass flies, I'd just rather get a dozen trout flies. Last year I picked the smallest box I could find, and wound up with a dozen tiny dry flies that I had trouble even finding a tippet fine enough to thread them with - exactly what I wanted.

I've been lazy about tie flying lately. I suppose this is due to the fact that I spent most of my summer fishing (summer recap post coming soon-ish!), and still kept pretty well in stock as far as flies went. Add in the fact that I recently changed jobs, and can no longer fit the Tuesday night fly tying group in Maplewood into my schedule. It's a real bummer. But now the weather is getting colder every day and those impromptu fishing weekends are probably finished for this year until spring. I have plenty of time on my hands (well, on the weekends at least) to actually tie some flies, and I have some motivation to stay inside on a Saturday morning in my warm office with a hot cup of coffee and my tying vice.

This year for the OFF Fly Swap, I definitely wanted to tie my own dozen flies to give away. The first flies I tied were a novelty, not so much because of their pattern, but for their irregular materials.

#14 Royal Norma