While I seldom take many breaks from tying flies, it happens from time to time especially during the late summer when my customer orders taper off. Sometimes life gets in the way. If I’ve taken a break from tying for a period of time I go through a warmup process which starts out by working with some larger flies and working my way down to smaller versions of the same pattern over time. It’s a great way to get back into practice with good proportions, thread control, the material amounts needed and nailing fly to fly consistency. After giving myself a break for the past month I started getting back into my groove by starting with tying larger sized Thorax Duns like March Browns and Slate Drakes in batches before working my way down to the #20 and 22 Baetis Olive Thorax Duns which are a lot more challenging to tie cleanly. When I move on to another fly style like my DOA Cripples or Half & Half Emergers it will be the same routine. Like so many other activities in life we should take a little time to stretch, warmup, start slow and work your way back into the game to be at your best level. The results will be more consistent, better quality flies, and more fun tying them. This week’s pic is one of my Slate Drake CDC Thorax Duns in-process. Till next week ….. www.ramsayflies.com #TroutHunterCDC #NaturesSpirit #DaiichiHooks #WhitingHebert #RegalVise
