Keep Tying-Save Big!

[NEnative]

I try not to think about the cost per fly. There's nothing more satisfying than to catch a fish on a fly I personally tied. I don't need to have materials to tie every fly known to man, just enough to tie the flies that work in this area of New England. One that works for me is the Wooly Bugger and it's so easy to tie (at least I think so.) I've also done a few variations from the "book recipe" by adding crystal flash into the tail. Some have bead heads while others have non-lead wrap under the body.
I like to spend time tying the flies rather than to analyze how much it will cost per fly (or by the pound - I have yet to find a shop selling by the pound!)
I do find it humorous to see what a fellow fisherman will do to kill time on a bad fishing day (if there's such a thing!) LOL

Enjoy the day!

[herefishy]

I originally started tying flies because one of the fishermen at work showed me a stonefly that was great for a particular place we were going to fish, but you couldn't buy it anywhere. So I tied this fly, and tied more of them, and for years this was the only one I tied. Then we went fishing at a guy's ranch who let us camp in his hay meadow, but it was a real pain to get out the gate to get more Prince nymphs, so then I learned to tie that and had a 2 fly repertoire for another few years. Then I moved to southern NM where there are practically no trout, and started tying everything under the sun. So I guess I never really tied to save money, but always to find the "magic" fly. Maybe that explains why my fly boxes have 1000 different patterns, 2 or 3 of each.

[Buddy Sanders]

I'm with Ken on this one.

While I'll never believe that I 'save money' tying flies, that $1.75 per fly is way higher than the flies I tie if you figure it based just on materials per fly.

As Ken pointed out, going the 'expensive' way for dries will only get you to around $.40/per, and if you buy necks, not sized hackle, Mustad hooks, and use large packs of the dubing and tailing materials, a dry fly should run in the $.15 to $.25 per not counting tools and labor.

Hook: .07

Hackle: .10

Dubbing: .02

Tailing: .02

Thread: .01

That's 22 cents per, and I pay less than that for both hooks and hackle..and I'm being generous on the cost of the dubbing, tailing materials, and thread. A high quality neck (gold or #1-best value as far as flies per dollar goes) from a 'name' hackle company is around $100. That will tie how many flies? Couple thousand? One thousand? Get a better 'deal' on the hackle and you get LOTS of flies for less (Conranch hackle is cheaper and as good or better quality, great feather count).

Even counting tools, which with a $400+ vise and some cool hand tools may run right around a grand, they'll last me for thirty years (I plan to be dead by then) so you could add about $35 per year for tools, divide that into an average 1000 flies year, and you'd add less than four cents per fly....live longer and it's even less...

It is way cheaper to 'buy' flies, I know that, but it doesn't cost more 'per fly', to tie them if you want to figure it out that way.

It costs more per TYER, because none of us can buy just exactly what we 'need'. I have bought, and still buy, more materials than I could possible ever use before I see what's next....

Now, if you really want to know what it costs YOU to tie a fly, find the record of ALL the fly tying related purchases YOU made in the last year...divide into that the number of flies YOU tied...and get ready for sticker shock....(I know, you have some materials left over-like you expect anyone to believe you won't spend as much NEXT year...)

But, it's fun, we get flies that we cant' get otherwise, and did I mention that it's fun?

Buddy