Tips for fly swap flies

[motroutbum]

Im not trying to discourage anyone from entering the fly swaps, and I dont think that there should be different swaps for different levels of tiers either. thats all Ive got

[DeepDiver75]

I don't know about anyone else but the flies that I deem not up to par seem to sit just fine with the trout. I have a container that I put all of my "seconds" in and I give them to my friends son who is really into flyfishing. Every time we go on a trip he's using my seconds and outfishing both of us!! What looks like a poorly tied fly to one individual might look like a perfectly good meal to a trout. Just do the best that you can and don't worry about a feather out of place, the trout won't care.

[armyflyfisher]

Maybe the solution is to have different kinds of fly swaps for different levels of tyers?

I just started tying with a vise given to me this past Christmas. I am SURE that my flys aren't up to some of your standards (not pointing fingers), but I am learning and enjoying the process of getting better. Sure my flys have caught fish, but they also do not look like the flys in the catalogs.

To say that I am intimidated to the point where I won't enter a swap is an understatement - even though I'd love to see the patterns that other guys are tying as well as pick up some valuable tips on how to make my flys better.

On the other hand, maybe the "pressure" of trying to tie a perfect fly would be motivation for me to get better faster?

David