DIY

In view of recent threads, I thought it might be interesting for some of you
to hear this;

For many years now, since I was a small boy, I have been more or less
obsessed with making things myself. When I first started fishing, it was not
possible to buy a lot of things anyway, even if one had the money, and so
one was obliged to make most of one´s own tackle.

Just as catching a fish on a fly one has tied gives a lot more pleasure and
satisfaction than using a fly one has purchased, ( you have to try it,
before you fully realise this of course ), the same applies to many other
things.

It is not always ( indeed, actually not all that often!), cheaper to make
things yourself, but you gain insights you could otherwise not possibly
obtain, and you also ( eventually, in most cases!), end up with an item
which is tailored exactly to your needs and wishes, and can not be bought
anywhere. This is actually also the main reason for tying one´s own flies.
It has nothing to do with money.

Many of the things I have built and tried out over the years, have cost far
more in terms of time, money and application, than they would have done if I
had simply gone out and bought the best available, but in the process, I
have gained absolutely priceless knowledge, and a great deal of even more
priceless pleasure. ( I know I know, priceless is merely priceless!).

For me, this is now an integral part of the game. Even though I have built,
modified, and optimised a great deal of my gear, and am a very successful
angler, I still keep looking for better ways to do things.

Nowadays I am not quite as extravagant with my time and effort as I once
was, and I have learned that it is not always a good idea to try and make
"everything" oneself, ( although one can get close if one really tries!).
But I still make a large number of things, and I still experiment a lot with
various things, ( quite apart from fishing tackle as well).

These are valuable lessons in their own right, but I have the added
advantage of knowing exactly what I want, and how to make it, or whether I
would be better advised in buying it, and what I then have to buy.

For this reason alone, it was all worth it, and I had a great deal of
pleasure, and gained a great deal of knowledge almost as a by-product.

It all depends on what you want, and how you wish to go about achieving it.
How much time and effort ( and money of course) you wish, or can afford to
invest, in what after all is merely a hobby, despite the almost religious
fervour shown by some.

Fishing, and everything to do with it, was ( and still is to a large extent,
even if I don´t fish all that often just now), my life, and I do not regret
a single moment of it. It has made me happy in a way that is quite
impossible to explain, it has taught me many things I would otherwise never
have learned, and despite all the trials and tribulations in my life to
date, I will nevertheless die a happy man as a result of it.

Very hard to express, but should even one of you be fortunate enough to
experience such, ( and quite a few of you obviously do), then you must
consider yourself blessed. I know I do.

TL
MC

Mike Connor wrote:
In view of recent threads, I thought it might be interesting for some
of you to hear this;

For many years now, since I was a small boy, I have been more or less
obsessed with making things myself. When I first started fishing, it
was not possible to buy a lot of things anyway, even if one had the
money, and so one was obliged to make most of one´s own tackle.

Just as catching a fish on a fly one has tied gives a lot more
pleasure and satisfaction than using a fly one has purchased, ( you
have to try it, before you fully realise this of course ), the same
applies to many other things.

It is not always ( indeed, actually not all that often!), cheaper to
make things yourself, but you gain insights you could otherwise not
possibly obtain, and you also ( eventually, in most cases!), end up
with an item which is tailored exactly to your needs and wishes, and
can not be bought anywhere. This is actually also the main reason for
tying one´s own flies. It has nothing to do with money.

Many of the things I have built and tried out over the years, have
cost far more in terms of time, money and application, than they
would have done if I had simply gone out and bought the best
available, but in the process, I have gained absolutely priceless
knowledge, and a great deal of even more priceless pleasure. ( I know
I know, priceless is merely priceless!).

For me, this is now an integral part of the game. Even though I have
built, modified, and optimised a great deal of my gear, and am a very
successful angler, I still keep looking for better ways to do things.

Nowadays I am not quite as extravagant with my time and effort as I
once was, and I have learned that it is not always a good idea to try
and make "everything" oneself, ( although one can get close if one
really tries!). But I still make a large number of things, and I
still experiment a lot with various things, ( quite apart from
fishing tackle as well).

These are valuable lessons in their own right, but I have the added
advantage of knowing exactly what I want, and how to make it, or
whether I would be better advised in buying it, and what I then have
to buy.

For this reason alone, it was all worth it, and I had a great deal of
pleasure, and gained a great deal of knowledge almost as a by-product.

It all depends on what you want, and how you wish to go about
achieving it. How much time and effort ( and money of course) you
wish, or can afford to invest, in what after all is merely a hobby,
despite the almost religious fervour shown by some.

Fishing, and everything to do with it, was ( and still is to a large
extent, even if I don´t fish all that often just now), my life, and I
do not regret a single moment of it. It has made me happy in a way
that is quite impossible to explain, it has taught me many things I
would otherwise never have learned, and despite all the trials and
tribulations in my life to date, I will nevertheless die a happy man
as a result of it.

Very hard to express, but should even one of you be fortunate enough
to experience such, ( and quite a few of you obviously do), then you
must consider yourself blessed. I know I do.

Exactly. The more you can make things yourself, the more self-sufficient you
become - even to the point of knowing what you don't want to make yourself.

Whew!
--
TL,
Tim
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Mike Connor wrote:
In view of recent threads, I thought it might be interesting for some
of you to hear this;

For many years now, since I was a small boy, I have been more or less
obsessed with making things myself. When I first started fishing, it
was not possible to buy a lot of things anyway, even if one had the
money, and so one was obliged to make most of one´s own tackle.

Just as catching a fish on a fly one has tied gives a lot more
pleasure and satisfaction than using a fly one has purchased, ( you
have to try it, before you fully realise this of course ), the same
applies to many other things.

It is not always ( indeed, actually not all that often!), cheaper to
make things yourself, but you gain insights you could otherwise not
possibly obtain, and you also ( eventually, in most cases!), end up
with an item which is tailored exactly to your needs and wishes, and
can not be bought anywhere. This is actually also the main reason for
tying one´s own flies. It has nothing to do with money.

Many of the things I have built and tried out over the years, have
cost far more in terms of time, money and application, than they
would have done if I had simply gone out and bought the best
available, but in the process, I have gained absolutely priceless
knowledge, and a great deal of even more priceless pleasure. ( I know
I know, priceless is merely priceless!).

For me, this is now an integral part of the game. Even though I have
built, modified, and optimised a great deal of my gear, and am a very
successful angler, I still keep looking for better ways to do things.

Nowadays I am not quite as extravagant with my time and effort as I
once was, and I have learned that it is not always a good idea to try
and make "everything" oneself, ( although one can get close if one
really tries!). But I still make a large number of things, and I
still experiment a lot with various things, ( quite apart from
fishing tackle as well).

These are valuable lessons in their own right, but I have the added
advantage of knowing exactly what I want, and how to make it, or
whether I would be better advised in buying it, and what I then have
to buy.

For this reason alone, it was all worth it, and I had a great deal of
pleasure, and gained a great deal of knowledge almost as a by-product.

It all depends on what you want, and how you wish to go about
achieving it. How much time and effort ( and money of course) you
wish, or can afford to invest, in what after all is merely a hobby,
despite the almost religious fervour shown by some.

Fishing, and everything to do with it, was ( and still is to a large
extent, even if I don´t fish all that often just now), my life, and I
do not regret a single moment of it. It has made me happy in a way
that is quite impossible to explain, it has taught me many things I
would otherwise never have learned, and despite all the trials and
tribulations in my life to date, I will nevertheless die a happy man
as a result of it.

Very hard to express, but should even one of you be fortunate enough
to experience such, ( and quite a few of you obviously do), then you
must consider yourself blessed. I know I do.

Exactly. The more you can make things yourself, the more self-sufficient you
become - even to the point of knowing what you don't want to make yourself.

Whew!
--
TL,
Tim
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

"Tim J." wrote


Exactly. The more you can make things yourself, the more self-sufficient
you become - even to the point of knowing what you don't want to make
yourself.

Whew!
--


yep ... very few, if any, of my make it yourself efforts have been to save
money ........LEARNING is the single most fun thing a human being can do and
fly fishing seems to offer endless opportunities to learn, thus fly fishing
is one hell of a lot of fun

"Tim J." wrote


Exactly. The more you can make things yourself, the more self-sufficient
you become - even to the point of knowing what you don't want to make
yourself.

Whew!
--


yep ... very few, if any, of my make it yourself efforts have been to save
money ........LEARNING is the single most fun thing a human being can do and
fly fishing seems to offer endless opportunities to learn, thus fly fishing
is one hell of a lot of fun

"Larry L" wrote in message
...

"Tim J." wrote


Exactly. The more you can make things yourself, the more self-sufficient
you become - even to the point of knowing what you don't want to make
yourself.

Whew!
--


yep ... very few, if any, of my make it yourself efforts have been to save
money ........LEARNING is the single most fun thing a human being can do
and fly fishing seems to offer endless opportunities to learn, thus fly
fishing is one hell of a lot of fun


Add to that: using gear that you made yourself, but which is technically
inferior to some mass-produced product, offers some additional benefits in
the realm of learning, understanding and fun that is otherwise missed. For
those who appreciate the deeper aspects of fishing (or any pasttime),
knowing and understanding the limitations of their own medium-quality
handmade gear is much more sublime and fulfilling than being able to buy the
most expensive, top-of-the-line commercial gear.

Its like performers who play their own songs from the heart, rather than
compete to do perfect imitations of cover songs.

--riverman

"Larry L" wrote in message
...

"Tim J." wrote


Exactly. The more you can make things yourself, the more self-sufficient
you become - even to the point of knowing what you don't want to make
yourself.

Whew!
--


yep ... very few, if any, of my make it yourself efforts have been to save
money ........LEARNING is the single most fun thing a human being can do
and fly fishing seems to offer endless opportunities to learn, thus fly
fishing is one hell of a lot of fun


Add to that: using gear that you made yourself, but which is technically
inferior to some mass-produced product, offers some additional benefits in
the realm of learning, understanding and fun that is otherwise missed. For
those who appreciate the deeper aspects of fishing (or any pasttime),
knowing and understanding the limitations of their own medium-quality
handmade gear is much more sublime and fulfilling than being able to buy the
most expensive, top-of-the-line commercial gear.

Its like performers who play their own songs from the heart, rather than
compete to do perfect imitations of cover songs.

--riverman

"riverman" wrote in message
...
SNIP

Add to that: using gear that you made yourself, but which is technically
inferior to some mass-produced product, offers some additional benefits in
the realm of learning, understanding and fun that is otherwise missed. For
those who appreciate the deeper aspects of fishing (or any pasttime),
knowing and understanding the limitations of their own medium-quality
handmade gear is much more sublime and fulfilling than being able to buy
the
most expensive, top-of-the-line commercial gear.

Its like performers who play their own songs from the heart, rather than
compete to do perfect imitations of cover songs.

--riverman



Actually, much "home-made" gear is technically and otherwise superior to the
manufactured products. This of course depends almost entirely on how far you
are prepared to go in making it, and the available resources.

Making your own rod rings ( guides), for instance, excepting some special
circumstances, requires far more knowledge, equipment, material and effort
than it could possibly be worth. In this case, it would be rather pointless,
even silly, to try making better ones yourself. The best manufactured items
are of extremely good quality, and not that expensive. Much the same
applies to hooks, and a number of other things.

Rods, reels,and many other items are not that difficult to make really, and
are often superior to manufactured models. Also "custom built" articles, be
it rods or flies etc etc, are exactly suited to your needs and wishes. This
will practically never be the case with manufactured items.

TL
MC

"riverman" wrote in message
...
SNIP

Add to that: using gear that you made yourself, but which is technically
inferior to some mass-produced product, offers some additional benefits in
the realm of learning, understanding and fun that is otherwise missed. For
those who appreciate the deeper aspects of fishing (or any pasttime),
knowing and understanding the limitations of their own medium-quality
handmade gear is much more sublime and fulfilling than being able to buy
the
most expensive, top-of-the-line commercial gear.

Its like performers who play their own songs from the heart, rather than
compete to do perfect imitations of cover songs.

--riverman



Actually, much "home-made" gear is technically and otherwise superior to the
manufactured products. This of course depends almost entirely on how far you
are prepared to go in making it, and the available resources.

Making your own rod rings ( guides), for instance, excepting some special
circumstances, requires far more knowledge, equipment, material and effort
than it could possibly be worth. In this case, it would be rather pointless,
even silly, to try making better ones yourself. The best manufactured items
are of extremely good quality, and not that expensive. Much the same
applies to hooks, and a number of other things.

Rods, reels,and many other items are not that difficult to make really, and
are often superior to manufactured models. Also "custom built" articles, be
it rods or flies etc etc, are exactly suited to your needs and wishes. This
will practically never be the case with manufactured items.

TL
MC