Recycle old flies

[BobG]

I went through several of my fly boxes this weekend to cull out what I had that's good, and what's not so good.
Question, do you guys pull your old flies apart to save the hooks and dumbell eyes, or do you just chuck the whole mess? Or is my Yankee cheapness showing through again?(#$119)

[Ray]

Bob,

I have saved some good hooks. I am going through my fly boxes now. I have 8 Plano 3700 boxes crammed full! Some have to go for sure.

[Jim Miller]

Yup .... all the time.
all types are recycled.... except epoxies (kinda tough)

[Slappy]

I thought that was what bluefish were for?

[Jim Royston]

I recycle whatever I can in the way of hooks and eyes. But I've been told that I'm so tight I squeak.

[NE Sportsman]

I recycle my hooks, but I don't usually bother with the eyes. Nothing wrong with being a frugal yankee!

[flatwingflinger]

Best way I've found to recycle the stuff is to put the hook in a pair of pliers and use a lighter to burn away the offending materials. Saves your scissors a lot of wear and tear.

[Too Fly]

Hooks... funny what we're cheap about. (#$119) I've ruined a pair of scissors and am working on wearing down some cutters.

[notime]

I do. Though my tolerance is low. If I can't get it cleaned off in a minute or two, then I toss it.

[Ray]

I use pliers to break off any epoxy then use a sharp stout knife to cut along the top of the shank from the bend to the eye. Last night I cleaned off some old Owner 4/0 Tarpon hooks ($1 each).

I also threw away about 60 flies.

[Eddy Merckx]

Hooks... funny what we're cheap about. (#$119) I've ruined a pair of scissors and am working on wearing down some cutters.

Nothing cheap about it, especially when the larger Tiemcos and Owners can cost more than a buck a piece! :eek:

I recycle the hooks I just mentioned, will salvage others on occasion.

[Too Fly]

Nothing cheap about it, especially when the larger Tiemcos and Owners can cost more than a buck a piece! :eek:

I recycle the hooks I just mentioned, will salvage others on occasion.

You're right. I don't have many Owner hooks, but I do have a bunch of Tiemco 600SPs I bought from Stoddard's before they went out of business. If I remember correctly, they were less than fifty cents each. But I still try to salvage them when I can.

[fishhunter2345]

The best way I found is to use double edged razor.

It cleans the hook in seconds.

[msiler]

I clean a bunch off each year that I no longer use or the hooks have become lightly rusted. Before I do this though I cull the best of them and will put them aside to donate to new flyfishermen and women to get them started. I just gave a friends 13 yr old son about a dozen flies to get him started. I gave him a mixed bag of Clousers, Deceivers, Sand Eels (2 sizes), Rabbit Strip, Crease flies & Gurgelers. I felt great about paying it forward and it was a lot more satisfying than cleaning those 12 hooks and saving $3.

You can also donate your old, unused or unloved flies to the various auctions and charitable events that pop up throughout the year.

[G-Man]

edit:
I just noticed Matt ...above ... suggested the same.
-------------------------------------------
Here's another option for those blems & old flies.
Offer them to a rookie just getting started.

5 years ago when I 1st bought a flyrod ... and had zero flies ... I posted on another site .. asking for some freebie flies to get started. I recieved in the mail about 40 flies from like 8 diff people. I was sooo pumped and the guys who sent em were cool when I posted a pic of my 1st flyrod blue & bass.

They were like "Yea ... I sent that fly!" :cool:

Just an idea.

[bassrecord]

like aluminum cans. I restore them. Well, sorta. It's a process. The long version would take a book chapter but here's the short version <g>

When fishing, after cutting a fly off, it goes into the "dry" box. Flies here are fresh water washed if saltwater fishing and then all dried and examined.
Broken hook flies are given to beginner fly fishing grandkids for casting practice.
Chipped, cracked, broken popping bugs are put into the rework box.
Fried rubber legs are put into the re-leg box.
Each bug used is examined for hook sharpness and re-sharpened as needed and any tippet removed.
Un-wound, broken hackle and flies that are fallling apart are put into the re-tie box.

During prep for the next fly fishing trip, the dry box is examined and usable flies go back into their appropriate fly box, ie Big Bass Bugs, Little bass bugs, Terrestrials, Hoppers, Texas Bullfrogs, Droppers, Wets, Prototypes, Experimentals, etc. Any flies taken out of service are replaced by similar flies from storage boxes.

About every 2-3 years I run the Re-work box and the Re-leg box. Starting with the re-work box, I'll at least remove old rubber legs and repair the bug bodies, if possible and practical. Super glue works great in cracks and chips, then primer, paint and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails topcoat for durability. After drying, re-hackling and re-legging, they go into storage or back into their box.

Good popping bugs are just too valuable not to take care of and restore, IMHO. When they do wear out prematurely, I keep them as a mistake reminder of what to avoid next time. Yep I've got a big box full. <g>

Good luck!
John

[Doug Jowett]

Here's some retreaded flies. The top one is representative of a beat up pattern before being dolled up. As long as the hook and or dumb bell eyes are good, I spend time fixing dozens every year.

[striblue]

I also recycle as many as I can, but usually the better ones and especially the Verivas, I also do what Ray does with the epoxy flies by using the pliers to break the stuff off... then simply resharpen them.

[pda]

Count me in as someone who recycles hooks. Economically, its well worth the effort.

[Ol'dirty caster]

I recycle pretty much all of my snook and tarpon flies. Most are on either Varivas 2600st-v's or gamakatsu SC17's. I usually don't get more than a fish or two off my meat flies anyway, seems like a waste not to save the hooks.

[bonefishwhisper]

I have before but usually dont anymore...I use chemically sharpened hooks so once dull in any way they are 86'd...I rarely use a fly more than a day or two of sightcasting...I have a huge collection that I give to upcoming flyfisherman that I know...also I dont like the way anything in chartruese fades from salt and sun within the same day...hard to notice until you put a new fly next to it...if you have ever got your box wet for any amount of time and you will find the colors run together from bleed off in short order...for me fish must get the ultimate presentation which means the best fly I can offer...each flie I use is around 1hr of tying time so I feel like I have done my part...just my opinion

[Doug Jowett]

[QUOTE=bonefishwhisper;254440]...also I dont like the way anything in chartruese fades from salt and sun within the same day...hard to notice until you put a new fly next to it...i

You said that right. I've tried to find a good dye that brings out that bright chartruese and have yet to find one. Note the flies in my photo to see the lousy results to get a bright chartruese after fading. Those faded flies work, but not under the conditions when I want the bright chartruese. Something magic about chartruese.:)

[Bob Parsons]

I find a blow torch to be a handy tool when recycling flies.

[FishHawk]

I use a Dremel tool with abrasive wheel to cut through the epoxy then use a plier to get the hook out of the epoxy shell. I recycle the beat up flies and save the eyes and hooks. FishHawk

[peter mac]

I just give them away to newbies....... both new and used flies.......I like to tie excessively to get me through the winter so I just keep tying and then realize that I do not need nor will I fish 400 flies this year so I start giving them away.
I love hearing about fish peolple caught on flies that I tied almost as much fun as catching..........anyone want to swap some new flies?
Peter Mac

[peter mac]

I actually like the way chartruese fades from sun & salt and have found the faded color to be very fishy......just my experience.
Peter Mac

[bbicknell]

If recycling is cheap and throwing them away is lazy, I guess I'm lazy. I love tying flies and often give away a bunch of flies I've never used. In fact, I love giving them away. Some people think its unselfish, but to me - its just fun. Also, I use mustad hooks (not that expensive), so, its no big loss.

[boba]

Why throw away a good hook or Clouser eyes, especially after the number of wraps needed to secure them well, unless they are damaged?

You can dissolve Zap-A-Gap or similar instant glues with either straight acetone or (more easily found) nailpolish remover, which contains acetone and it's also effective on the effective and ever-popular, Sally Hansen "Hard As Nails" polish, and Goop as well.

I recycle my Clousers by just cutting off the hair/hackle around the eyes unless I used epoxy on the eyes (usually Flexament based on a tip from Bob Clouser at a fly show) or Zap-A-Gap. If you don't lay too much hair over the top of the original tie, you can just cut the tail off and tie in a new one. Besides, a sparse Clouser is usually a good one.

[JDP]

I try to recycle all the good hooks, and eyes. I also repair those that can be salvaged. I like to save the flies with broken hooks to use for casting practice. The ugly, rusted flies get tossed.

Also, I don't know if anyone else does this, but I enjoy tying what I call scrap flies. I take whatever bits and pieces of materials are left on my tying table and see what I can create. I've had some success fishing with these one-of- kind creations and its a lot of fun.

To Peter Mac--yes, I will e-mail you.

[Doug Jowett]

I actually like the way chartruese fades from sun & salt and have found the faded color to be very fishy......just my experience.
Peter Mac

Hay Pete, Long time. I too like the faded chartruese at times. Finding a dye for "sharp" chartruese is still troubling. Must be winter/tying season when we begin posting on tying Thread. (#$119)(#$119)

[summer salt]

After having fished for many years I started fly fishing 6 years ago. At the same time I bought a Regal vise and started tying. I'm now the proud owner of 10 fly rods/reels and what I guesstimate to be approx. 1,000 flies. This is only an approximation. There may only be 990.
I think I'm in desperate need of therapy and if anyone out there can help me with some kind of cure for my fly tying obsession I'd be willing to give him as many flies as he'd be willing to take off my hands.
Every evening I go up to my fly tying room and start tying like a lunatic and I don't know why. Somebody...anybody, please help me!
Sincerely,
Rod the Nutcake(#$119)

[Doug Jowett]

Welcome to the Club!!!:):):):):):):):):)

[summer salt]

I appreciate the reply. I feel better already!
Rod

[RogerStg]

I thought that was what bluefish were for?

+1
Then again, I don't buy very expensive hooks unless it's for tuna. Inexpensive hooks haven't affected my ability to catch fish either.;)