Flytyers Block!

Over the last few weeks I seem to have hit a brick wall flytying wise, as I have been struggling to find inspiration to tie something worthy of a place in my boxes. 

I usually find inspiration in my library of flytying books as well as  all the usual social media outlets.

However nothing has been firing my imagination of late. I seem to have exhausted tying all the fly patterns I will ever need. I'm really struggling and finding it difficult to create something new within my capabilities of flytying.

Is there such a thing as Flytyers Block? If Songwriters, Writers and Artists can suffer from a lack of creativity from time to time, it's quite possible and inevitable that flytyers will do to.

Recently Ive actually sat down at my vice just staring into thin air at times wondering what to do. I've even  gripped a hook in the vice run on some thread and tinsel and stripped it all back off as I just cant be bothered tying the same old styles! 

A couple of years ago the same thing happened to me after a spell of dabbling in watercolour landscapes. I just ran out of ideas and  now I havent lifted a brush or spread some paint for well over a year!

I've got a couple of highly recommended books coming soon over the festive period which I hope will inspire me.

In the meantime today I was looking through the archives of my blog which is almost 12 years old now to see if that would give me any ideas. 

I came across a post about a fly I got published in the Flyfishing & Flytying magazine 11 years ago which I named the Orange Grizzly! 

So I thought I might as well have a go a tying a few of these again.

I wasn't very pleased with the first couple of efforts and wondered why on earth it got selected for inclusion in the magazine at all.

Then I went back to my bench a few hours later and though it didnt look too bad after all. This attractor style did catch me a few trout at Hillend Loch from the boat on a few occasions back then when I first tied it. 

Through time I stopped using it and as all flyfishers and flytyers do I probably just moved onto some other new fly patterns that were all the rage at the time.

Anyway I digress, Im hoping that this wee pattern will get me busy at the vice again because even as I write this blogpost its  actually given me a possible idea on how to improve this pattern and come up with a variation.