Great Fly Box In The Sky

i've often wondered.....what do fly tiers do with flies that fish have torn up or with flies that didn't really turn out so good? Is one supposed to "recycle" them by cutting off the shredded materials and keeping the hook and dumbell eyes? Is one supposed to toss them into the dustbin like an empty beer bottle? Or do veteran fly tiers have boxes full of shredded bucktail, foam bodies, and dangly eyes? Do they still have the first fly they tied? What about the bad design flaws? The failed attempts? Or do they just go to some great fly box in the sky?

i have a small box with the first fly that i tied ( a chartreuse and white deceiver with WAY too much material and lopsided and losing hair like i did when i was 27) as well as a few failed attempts and just plain ugly flies. i've buggered up a fair share of flies on the first attempt and i usually end up trying to salvage as much as i can from it ( hooks and eyes). And i can safely say that there are way more failed flies than flies that fish have wrecked.

So maybe it's a bad luck thing to keep these bad works of art....these wads of feathers and hair that will NEVER be attached to the business end of a tippet....Maybe the fly fishing gods frown on relishing in my skill and futility.....but i quite enjoy getting a laugh or sigh out them when i open the great fly box of failure..........