Why did you start tying ?

[Buckeye Mike]

Just kind of curious as to why everyone started tying, be it jig or flies.
For me i can blame it on my brother who bought me a fly tying kit for my birthday, when i was about 14 or so, and that was many,many moons ago.
If i can remember right, being it was that long ago, i think the first thing i tied was some kind of white fly, for crappie, and to my surprise it did work, and i caught crappie on it. But the lake i was fishing, was chock full of crappie, and even caught them on a fly rod. Brother had a Shakespear fiberglass rod, that had the metal ferruls on it, and it had a automatic fly reel to- boot.
Since then i have tied every thing from panfish jigs and flies to deer hair bugs for bass. Learned to tie the hair bugs from Dave Whitlock, via Field and Stream magazine, yea they worked too.
Have tied jigs and flies for sale, but that was because, my brother-in-law, had a bait shop for 3 years, but he went out of business, and so did i. That was fun for awhile, but that got to be a pain, after awhile. Glad those days are over.
Only time i tie now is when i need something, or when i see something that i think will catch fish, and half to try it.
Well thats my story, your turn. Mike

[skiptomylu]

Needed something to do other than watch TV when not fishing. Am Disabled and quit trading stocks after 15 years so needed something to do. That is it, but then found I really like it.

Skip

[jug head]

:eekReading crappie.com and watching you tube, I said I can do that. Now I am a jig tying junkie. I have tied 60 or more haven't been on the water yet.

[danny]

same as jug head saw it here thought it was a good thing to get in lord knows i buy enough of them tried it its a good feeling knowing you can make these jigs then go out an catch a fish on it.Its the little things in life i guess but tats my story. next.

[smoothlures]

Short story... Almost 3 years ago I got sick. Was kept in the bed 17+ hours a day. Went to my local doctor, had MRIs, CAT scans, EKGs, the works. Went to every kind of doctor you can imagine except a heart doctor, because they did the initial blood work that would send me there and it was fine. $30,000 and a few years later, I'm diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Now days I sleep a minimum of 12 hours straight. I think I'm doing a little better but still not 100%. I grew up fishing and am a DIY person, so I picked up a fly tying kit and went from there. It really helps having something fishing related to do when you're not able to fish.

Some info on chronic fatigue if anyones interested. It's not just being tired like the name implies. If you've never lived with anyone with it, you couldn't imagine it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_fatigue_syndrome

[Jignjim]

Started tying jigs because I couldn't find any purple jigs to buy anywhere. A year later my 4 year old grandaughter wanted to learn how to tie. We've been tying together since that time and she's 11 years old now. If I quit fishing I would still keep tying because she loves it so much

[shipahoy41]

I started tying for three reasons.

1) I could not find what I wanted at Wal-mart and if I found it they wanted too dad gum much money for the quality it was.

2) I was a school principal and it was an easy way to get students hooked on fishing and was a nice after school activity for them.

3) It was a challenge to me personally to see if I could do it. I know my limitations and stick to just tying jigs and not flies. I am a crappie fishing person so I tie for what I fish for.

[jigsbydirk]

To give me something to do to help me quit smoking and because I couldn't find any like I wanted.

[tkcenterline]

When I was a kid I took a trip to Yellowstone National Park and saw an old timer tying some flys. He looked so darn cool in his little shop with his gear on tying flys in a Montana setting. That picture stuck in my mind. Now years later, I'm the old timer tying flys. I love catching a fish on something I made. I love coming up with differant fly/jig designs and selling them. I love shopping to find the materals at a super deal, including finding lead to pour my jigs. Most of all, I love talking to differant people and hearing from them on how well they did using my special hand tied morsels. To me it's a form of art work and a mark in time!!

[fish-wva]

it gives you something to do when you can't go fishing. and i enjoy the time factor that goes into powder painting, painting eyes, baking and tying. it is just a good use of time.