yeah man, I tie...but other than myself, I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone on here mentioning fishing for/tying for gar. lol They're among my favorite species to fish for. One of the positives of living in Southern Ontario.
I will say though...the quality/availability of cheap, well made commercially tied flies has gone WAY up. When you can buy great dries for $0.99...where is the incentive? lol I only buy flies as samples now, and only when I'm on new water...and it's a fly I would have never dreamed would work. lol I've been to Fernie a few times, and love visiting the shops there for this reason. With some advice given in one of those shops, I learned allot. And I'd been tying for decades. As an aside, there used to be more shops in Fernie if memory serves...and better, friendlier service. Save for one, they seem to want to bounce you out of the way (as a walk-in) and focus on the guiding service.