Loss of Dexterity Sucks!

RCF

RCF

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This past year has included numerous medical challenges. I am working through the impacts with OT and PT. It has helped a lot!

Today I tried to tie some flies. I have good lighting and magnification. My dexterity sucks now. I have worked with my PCP regarding this issue.

Getting old is part of it. Arthritis is minimal, so far....

I want to continue tying flies. I have been tying for over 40 years. It is my way of getting away for the current environment and enter of world of no stress. I stopped tying flies size 18 and smaller. Easier to just buy them.

Any hints, tips or suggestions to help?
 
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I’ve found if you’ve been away from the tying, wrapping, cutting, smoothing, etc, for some time the muscle/ brain memory function has basically short circuited. Understand you are starting over but the basics are still implanted. I would get so ticked off when starting again after about five years off that I almost sold or gave everything away. Threading a bobbin turned into a whack a mole cluster duck.
A friend’s suggestion was break it down into sections if you have (an immense) inventory enough.
Repetition, Practice and patience is the key.
A. Thread wrap 20 hooks
B. Wrap 20 bodies
C. Tails etc
D. Hackles
Etc.
(1a) Don’t get loaded up on liquid refreshment, coffee, etc prior to.
 
RCF said:
I stopped tying flies size 18 and smaller. Easier to just buy them.
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I stopped tying anything smaller than 16s a few years ago. I get more than I need through club raffles. If I'm having success with a pattern and a friend (or youth student) is getting blanked I'll give them 3 or 4.

My issue is with knots. Controlling the loop(s) and tag while making wraps and routing the tag through loop(s) has been difficult for me without wasting a lot of tippet, or a lot of practice to acquire the muscle memory for the exact way to hold and manipulate the tippet while tying.

Using forceps makes things MUCH EASIER. Here's what I use the most.

Non-slip Loop

Improved Clinch

Surgeons


Wish there was a forceps blood knot tutor, but I can do them when needed.

Forceps also holds a fly eye steady while threading with tippet too!
 
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I am also an "older" tyer at 75. I have lost some dexterity (especially with hand cramps), but I believe it is my diminished patience that is most impactful on my tying now. I have adapted my tying by not attempting any flies smaller than 18. I also have allowed myself to use foam instead of thread when tying many flies (i.e. ants/beetles). I also don't tie more than an hour or so at any given time.
I used to be a "purist" and only fish what I tied, if possible. Now, I just pinch the barb on purchased flies and continue fishing. While I buy the great majority of purchased flies via the WEB, I always make it a habit of stopping in at local shops and making a few purchases, especially if I am seeking local knowledge in a new area.
My thought is that as long as I am healthy enough to fish, I can use whatever flies let me continue to flail line at the river.
 
I stopped tying small sizes quite a few years ago. I notice that the list of exceptions that I'll buy instead of tie has been increasing. Since it rained all day yesterday, it seemed like a good time to work on refilling the sparse spaces in my fly boxes. I started with some size 12 Prince nymphs. Oy! They'll fish, but they're definitely not as pretty as the model on YouTube. The advice posted above makes sense, . . . practice, practice, practice. That's how we got pretty good at it in the first place.
 
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I'm 82 and hanging in there. Strong glasses help. I buy the 18's and smaller. I still tie a lot, practice helps. It is no longer a speed event, I pace myself to get the wraps in the right places. Recently, I went back in time. I tied a Lady Caroline Spey fly as boutonniere for a wedding. I went back to the youtube video and went very, very slowly. The knowledge is still there but the fingers are slower and less precise. Good enough to catch fish.
 
Brian Miller said:
I stopped tying anything smaller than 16s a few years ago. I get more than I need through club raffles. If I'm having success with a pattern and a friend (or youth student) is getting blanked I'll give them 3 or 4.

My issue is with knots. Controlling the loop(s) and tag while making wraps and routing the tag through loop(s) has been difficult for me without wasting a lot of tippet, or a lot of practice to acquire the muscle memory for the exact way to hold and manipulate the tippet while tying.

Using forceps makes things MUCH EASIER. Here's what I use the most.

Non-slip Loop

Improved Clinch

Surgeons


Wish there was a forceps blood knot tutor, but I can do them when needed.

Forceps also holds a fly eye steady while threading with tippet too!
Click to expand...

I never use blood knots anymore, I use a triple surgeons knot instead and find it much easier and quicker to tie.

As to the knot to my fly, I pretty much always use either a Davy Knot or nonslip loop knot.
 
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At 79 and 68 years of tying I still tie and fish all my own flies. Can still if needed tie down to size 18s, some 20 years ago I tied a lifetime supply of size 20 to 24s dries and emergers, so I think have my tiny fly needs covered.

First, I have noticed that my dexterity can vary during the course of the day and other conditions. Generally, in the morning my fingers are stiffer in the morning or after being out in the cold, etc. I try to do my tying when I have my best dexterity (testing the tightness of my wedding ring is a good gauge). As a rule, the late afternoon/early evening are the best time for me. My tying sessions are much more relaxed than those of decades past, rarely tying more than a few flies/hour but if I want, I have more time to tie. This time of the year a favorite time to tie is during a ball game. Even a fly an inning or half inning can result in a satisfying addition to my fly box

It really helps to have good tools. Must haves are: a bobbin threader, good bobbins (I quickly discard any that cause me problems), sharp scissors with sharp points, top of line hackle pliers, etc. As I have gotten older have noticed that I often tie with smaller thread (8/0 rather than 6/0) which helps with issues like crowding the eye and thread build up as the steps in the tying process increase. Recently I filled a box of soft hackles which illustrate my approach to tying today. I would tie 3 to 6 of a given fly and size starting with the largest I expected to need. Then would tie a like number of the same fly but at the next size smaller (would end up with a supply of say size 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14s of a given pattern that were reasonably well portioned. It is much easier to tie a size 14 after working down from larger sizes than starting there. Over the years have also simplified some of the patterns I use - instead of married feather wings I now tie most hair wings, etc.

Good tying and better fishing

curt
 
SurfnFish said:
Click to expand...

Thanks, I had found and bookmarked the "Speed" version with the tied ends a while back but hadn't tried it yet. Brian @ MRO's description of exactly how to angle the Blood Knot "X" also has worked for me to build 2 section beach leaders, Keiryu Tenjo lines, and to add tri-color sighters to Tenkara lines. But that Speed Blood Knot looks easier yet!


BTW I have downloaded the knot videos I need to my phone so I can watch them stream side & offline if I need to
 
Zak said:
I never use blood knots anymore, I use a triple surgeons knot instead and find it much easier and quicker to tie.
Click to expand...
I use them both.
Zak said:
As to the knot to my fly, I pretty much always use either a Davy Knot or nonslip loop knot.
Click to expand...
I used the improved clinch for a long time, but found the 16/20 is lower bulk, an easier tie (very easy with forceps), very strong, and that little "click" when it's pulled tight says, "you got this".
 
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