# tying your own flies



## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

how can i get into this? is it cheaper than buying them? it looks fun and i like doing stuff on my own like fletching arrows. thanks guys!


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

I tie some of mine and are successful with them. but it's something that I would reccomend if you like it buy your flies first then if you like fly fishing, get a fly tying kit or buy the stuff you need.'

my 2 cents


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Fly tying is one of the most rewarding aspects of fly fishing IMO. I get some satisfaction from seeing if I can top the quality at the fly shops and it’s always fun to catch a fish on a fly you tied. Kind of like an “I fooled you sucker” feeling. I got started when I was 12 or so under the guidance of my grandpa. If you don’t have anyone you can learn from directly try looking up patterns online. Some sites have step by step directions with pictures that can help the beginner learn. 

If you’re looking to save money over buying flies, you may be disappointed, at least at first. Between tools and materials start up costs are high for tying. In the long run you may save a little money but it’ll take A LONG TIME. I’ve still yet to see the economic benefit. 

As far as equipment goes, I’m not a fan of preassembled kits as they often have things you will never use. Tool wise you’ll need a vise, bobbin and scissors as a bare minimum. Other tools that help tremendously are a bodkin, whip finisher and hair stacker. I would start with the economy lines of everything except the scissors. Good scissors are invaluable to me so I’d got the best ones I could force myself to pay for. 

Where you’ll really have to drop some coin is in materials. I believe that for dry flies you really do need quality materials to tie a good fly. Nymphs are less dependent on materials because they’re usually largely dubbing and you really can’t screw up fuzz. Heck, I tied a “hare’s ear” from my fur form my boss’s golden retriever. My advice for materials is again not to go with a preassembled kit. Find the materials you’ll need for the patterns you want to tie and build up your stockpiles as you go. I still have some materials that I’ll probably never use from a kit my aunt gave me. Then again a lot of fun tying comes from experimentation and I have stumbled on some successful flies trying to get rid of that “un-useful” stuff. 

Not sure where you live but if you’re around the Provo area send me a PM and I’d be happy to help you get started. Even if you’re within a couple of hours feel free to PM me and I can make a trip.


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## joesn68 (Aug 4, 2009)

+1
i have no need for "alligator fur" or 6ft of pink chenille.
Go with tools and materials for specific patterns and you will aquire stuff for other patterns as your tying progresses.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

It definitely saves you money on flies in the long run, but it will cost you some coin to start up. If you buy things separately, you will only need to buy what you need at the time for the flies you want to build. The vise, scissors, bobbin, hackle pliers, and hair stacker will be the most expensive up front items, other than a decent little bench if you choose to get one. After that, you will accumulate materials over time. Buy just what you need for the flies you want to tie, and then when you need to tie a different kind of fly, buy what you need for it. In time, you will accumulate so many materials that you will forget what you even used some of them for!

Start simple by choosing a couple each of dries, nymphs, and streamers, and then go from there. 

Nothing beats catching fish on flies that you tied yourself! Especially when it is one you made up on your own. The first fish I caught on a fly was on one I tied myself. Its a memory I will never forget.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

"Next to reloading, it's the stupidest f(*(*&^% hobby you have"......says Mrs Goob

ah......"stupidest" is that a word?

God bless her.


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## Pez Gallo (Dec 27, 2007)

I must have over a thousand dollars in fly tying materials and find myself too bored with tying flies. The only flies I tie any more are ones I cannot buy in stores or when I go steelheading or some other special trip. Flies are pretty cheap anyways, and those kids in Thailand tie some pretty mean flies!


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## joesn68 (Aug 4, 2009)

"Next to reloading, it's the stupidest f(*(*&^% hobby you have"......says Mrs Goob

ah......"stupidest" is that a word?

God bless her.

I don't know exactly why but that made me laugh my ask off. :mrgreen:


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

I like tying flies, I can spent hours at the bench and look up and wonder what day it is- but saving $ is another thing- only if you put no $$ amount on your time and labor. That is a whole different discussion though.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

WillFish4food pretty much nailed it down. tying your own flies is very rewarding. I'm not sure you'll ever save money. Then again, any validity of the argument that fishing/hunting saves money was lost and gone years ago. I LOVE tying my own flies though. I can't remember the last time I bought one. 

The caution I would give - avoid what I call the "fly de jeur syndrome." That is, you'll likely subscribe to some kind of fly fishing magazine and every month they'll feature the "must have" fly so you'll go out and drop $15-20 on materials for that fly - and most will be somwhat obscure materials. And in all reality, you won't fish that fly all that much anyway. After about 20 years of fly fishing for me now, I've found that 90% of all the flies I tie are basic patterns, tied with basic materials. I fish maybe a dozen different patterns most of the time. And all those can be tied with various combinations of 4-5 different materials. 

Its a fun hobby though. You can always tie in the winter when weather doesn't cooperate for fishing. And I guess that is why I enjoy it so much. 

One last thing - when you start - hook up with a buddy or a class to learn at least some basic techniques. You'll learn more in 15 minutes of tying with an experienced tyer, than you will in dozens of hours looking at a book.


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## jsumm_2000 (Sep 18, 2008)

Do you hunt? Tying your own flies makes you look at the world in a different way. Duck hunting is now a source of feathers. Big game hunting is a new source of material. Even road kill gets you wondering. Then I have to admit I have been into Roberts Crafts. The women are not used to men being in that store so you will be approached like you are a lost soul, so be prepared. Fooling a fish with something I made up is all worth it. Then I like to make up my own designs and it is amazing what fish will take. Have fun!!!


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

jsumm_2000 speaks wisdom. You begin to look at most anything as a potential fly tying material. Soon after I got in to fly tying - my wife and I were newly married. We were sitting on the couch snuggled up watching a movie. I found myself gently playing with her hair - twirling it around my fingers slowly. She reached up to hold my hand and looked lovingly in my eyes. Then she stopped. "You are NOT thinking about using my hair for fly tying are you?!" I was busted. 

She refused to let me cut any of it, but I found myself taking some from her hair brush. And the deal is - when spun into a rope, it makes a really good dubbing material for a hare's ear nymph! it is the perfect color, and holds water really well! Excellent tying material. So goes your life fly tying.


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Ha Ha! That's a good one GF. I may have to try that with my wife's hair. I used to carry around a pair of small scissors cause you never know when that perfect color of whatever is going to cross your path and you may just need to cut a sample. 

+1 on the craft stores too. I got 50 silver color metal beads for 75 cents from my sister's catalog. Had I gone to sportsman's it would have cost 3 buck for 20. Now if I can just find the craft store that sells tungsten beads, quality hackel and CDC puffs.


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## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

yeah, i hunt. 
i think i am gonna go through with this. it looks fun and i should atleast enjoy it. my mom has a hole huge box i just found thats prolly 12"x 8"x3" full of string stuff. she used to braid it for something but now its mine  i can use it now


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## Tony (Dec 28, 2007)

Getting into tying is a unique process. You either love it, or you hate it. I don't know how I stuck with it. When I first began to tie, I hated the way my flies looked. I'd have boxes full of "B" class flies, or flies I refused to fish. Even though my beginner flies looked terrible, the fish ate em, and my fly tying keeps evolving to this day. Its great to not have to rely on the store for your flies, and you can customize and tweak existing patterns to make them even that much fishier. Its definitely a money pit, but overall a very rewarding hobby.


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## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

out of these, what would you suggest? i am a poor teenager that is upsessed in the sports that cost a million and a half. like paintball and archery and hunting. i also don't wanna drop a crapload of money just to find that its real boring.

cheapos to still cheapos just a little nicer 

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... 423314845a

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... ISO-8859-1

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... ISO-8859-1

or should i save up and get a "nicer" one. i don't really know what i am looking for so help would be nice!


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Two things you do not want to skimp on with fly tying. Your vise, and your scissors. The rest you can go cheap for the most part.


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> Two things you do not want to skimp on with fly tying. Your vise, and your scissors. The rest you can go cheap for the most part.


Very sound advice. Two more things I would add to that list are hooks and dry fly hackle.


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## JERRY (Sep 30, 2007)

jsumm_2000 said:


> Do you hunt? Tying your own flies makes you look at the world in a different way. Duck hunting is now a source of feathers. Big game hunting is a new source of material. Even road kill gets you wondering. Then I have to admit I have been into Roberts Crafts. The women are not used to men being in that store so you will be approached like you are a lost soul, so be prepared. Fooling a fish with something I made up is all worth it. Then I like to make up my own designs and it is amazing what fish will take. Have fun!!!


+1 Garyfish has it also. I highly recommend tying your own fly's. You tend to learn a lot more about entomology, what the fish will eat, and what they will not. Many times I have gotten funny looks at the craft and bead stores also. Materials can be lots cheaper there than the tackle shops. I have patterns that are my own and love seeing people having a hard time catching fish just so I can give them something I have created and see them start to catch fish. Some pretty crazy bugs too.

Fishing is pretty cool, no matter how you do it. 8)


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## Grandpa D (Sep 7, 2007)

Hunter_Orange 13,
If you are on a tight budget, the AA vice will get you started.
There is a basic kit with vice and tools at Sportsman's Warehouse for under $40.00.
This isn't the best of tools but it will get you started and if you find that you like tying flies, you can get better equipment down the road.

You don't even need to buy any feathers [hackle necks] yet.
There are several great fly patterns that you can start with.
Pheasant Tail, Hair's Ear, San Juan Worm, WD-40 RS-2 and others.
These are nymphs or wet flies and the materials for them are very affordable.

Go to a fly fishing forum like Utah on the Fly to download some of these patterns.
You can buy what is called a wet neck to tie streamers, like woolly buggers.
These necks are cheap compared to dry hackle necks.

If you can find a beginning class, that would be a great place to start.


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## hunter_orange13 (Oct 11, 2008)

bump. one of my dads old deer hunting friends (he lives in canada now) sent me one of his old vises. its pretty cool. i got it in the mail and now i need some supplies to go with it. what exactly do i need? links to cabelas or something would be much appreciated! thanks guys!


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

I don't use dubbing needle, but that's the basics tools in the link. Pick a few good flies to tie at first and tie each fly in repetition once you get one down do tie another one.
http://www.fishing-hook-line-and-sinker ... tools2.jpg


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## sparky00045 (Apr 1, 2008)

if you call mikeys finns flybow the local fly shop in kaysivlle, they offer fly tieing classes, it helps alot to get help starting out and learn some of the basics, from the pros, them you just move on to tying flys your own ways,

And yes it's alot of fun to tie your own and catch fish, and when you lose it in the top of that tree, you don't think, well there just went 2 bucks.


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## Wilford (Mar 31, 2009)

I too have tied flies. But, I go through periods of time where I prefer to buy them. Some of you implied that you had good places to buy them. Would you mind sharing. P.S. I am not trying to hijack this thread, just trying to get information.


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## katorade (Sep 23, 2007)

I just support the local fly shop Roundrocks I don't have anywhere special to go.


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

Starting fly tying can be difficult if your on a budget since most everything you buy will last forever but also costs an arm and a leg. I've got some materials I can spare. Drop me a pm and we can arrange something for free.


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## bullrider (Jan 21, 2010)

I am young and just getting into tying flys but i love it i can sit down for hours and do it I don't have a clue if it is cheaper or not but it is really intertaining


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I think the only way you are going to save money is to tie lots of the same fly and buy the materials you need for those couple flies in bulk. If you tie 2 or 3 of these, 2 or 3 of that, and have to get material for it everytime, you aren't saving money. If you buy say 100 packs of 2487 hooks and imitation wood duck (dyed mallard), and bear down and crank out say, 2 dozen wd-40s at a time, every night for 5 days straight, then yea, you wil definitely save money. Flies like brassies, san juan worms, wd-40s, zebra midges, and disco midges can be thrown together super fast if you can focus on one pattern at a time. Sometimes this is easier said than done!


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