Variations on a theme...Shrimp flies

[jt]

No pix yet (soon to follow).

I'm a prolific hoarder of ideas and can rarely find the discipline to tie more than a couple of flies of the same pattern, let alone same size etc before departing down the world of furry colourful adventure.

I find myseff constantly attracted to variations and alternatives to successful patterns and I'm starting to wonder whether this experimentation is likely to end up with flies that simply don't work over the tried and tested.

Take the allies shrimp/cascade - I'm now tying variations using chartreuse butts, red "softwire" ribs etc, tying the GP in at the base, mid section or head, using arctic fox as wings, underwings, over wings, using boar bristles in conjunction with bucktail and generally meandering, if not jogging, away from a "renowned" pattern.

Is it just me, am I being daft or are there other tiers out there who simply can't stop b*ggering about when they get behind the vice?

To summarise - I don't know whether I'm unconsciously sitting at the vice and saying:

"nice pattern, I see what he's doing there, I have the confidence to try this instead"

Or...

"Woohoo! Cool pattern, lets chuck some wild stuff on this baby and make it rock!" (obviously I've embellished slightly)

Hope to hear from fellow souls...

Jon

[scotty]

jt, you are not alone i to try all sorts of weird and wonderfull things some mabye more suited to hanging on chrismas trees ;D but hey its all part of the game.

scotty.

[macd]

its all part of the disease. No cure thankfully

[kelliefly]

have you seen all the goodies you can get at Christmas for flies.
I tend to keep the wrapping and all the bits off. the tree, and if i am driving along the road and find some road kill ,in the boot it goes .
we all copy flies and try to improve on them by sticking bits on or tacking bits off, changing colours,but. i think most salmon flies catch fishermen .

[macd]

ha ha kelliefly, you have it bad.

quality street wrappers are also good for bodies

[exerod]

I'm the same. I've got literally dozens of variants, most of which have never had a swim I also go through phases, the last one was templedogs in every possible colour combination and a few years ago it was a waddington phase. When fish are running I just do allys and silver stoats but we have months of no rain in the Westcountry and thats when I get carried away.

Go on jt put some pics up and give us some inspiration, I feel a shrimp fly phase coming on!

Andy

[JT unplugged]

Will do tomorrow