Economic Times and Fly Fishing Bargains

[DSFlyman]

Times are tough. No news there. I'm wondering how this is affecting your fly fishing, tying and rod building. Have you totally cut back? Have you found some deals? Have you gotten creative with the materials you use?

I recently stumbled upon a fabric store going out of business and snatched up some metallic thread (if you are interested, I added the story to my blog DSFlyfishing)

Where are the bargains? Share your creative alternatives.

[scubatim]

Economic times are tough to say the least ( the Wife lost her job this past Friday ) but I hope it doesn't have to hard of an impact on the family and our fun.

I have enough tying materials to hold me over for a while, and if things gets low I will just have to use my imagination I guess.

[modocdan]

I'm actually tyin & buildin rods more these days, 'cause the weather's been too cold mostly, & maybe it costs less than travelin' about doin' other stuff........ & likeScubaTim, I got enough stuff to last a good while...................ModocDan

[eka]

Well, of all my hobbies, fly fishing and fly tying are the least expensive really. I scrounge most of my tying supplies through hunting, friends that hunt, etc. About the only things I have to buy occasionally are hackle, hooks, and thread. I mostly tie warm water patterns so I can get away with cheap imported dyed necks for the most part. One thing that I did do last summer was cut back on driving to further away places to fish when gas was over $4.00. I tended to stay closer to my home turf. I'm hoping gas will stay under or around $2.00 this summer, so I can explore some. By nature, I'm cheap, frugal, tight, what ever you call it, so times like these just give me an excuse

Keith

[ohiotuber]

I have a decent quantity of materials on hand. when needed, I buy in smaller quantities now & try to find specials on hooks. There will be NO rods/reels purchased in the foreseeable future, but I have what I need.
Luckily, once you have your equipment, flyfishing IS economical...I don't have/need a large boat, & don't chuck expensive crankbaits out there....loosing 2-3 of those in a day would REALLY hurt! Furled leaders seem to last forever.
As far as finding deals, when I need stuff I will look for deals. In the past, I would find a deal & buy "multiples"...no more of that. As I have told my wife in the past, "A sale is only a sale if you can afford the sale price".
Mike

[Normand]

i have enough rods and reels to last the rest of my life time with no need to buy more.

i could supply a small fly shop with the amassed quantity of tying materials that i possess. i'll never use it up in my life time, but not willing to let it go either.

i dont do rod building, so i'm fine there.

[rockthief]

I lost my job recently and have taken an inventory on several levels of my life. I too have enough tying materials for a very long time. Some of it I shall give to new tiers to encourage them and to foster the art.
Bargains are everywhere. There is free wire to be had, feathers, fur, all kinds of things.

[Grubb]

I am fortunate enough to have a good supply of fly tying stuff that I have collected over the years, (Tuber has seen my stash in my foot locker), and so I don't have to buy anything except an odd or an end like head cement or a spool of thread, I don't want the gas price to go up either, but, if it does, I have enough fishing near buy, I have what I need...

[vargoje3]

I'm always buying the newest and latest materials for all the new patterns that are coming out. I simply have a budget of 50 bucks a month I'm willing to spend on flyfishing equipment. Sometimes I'll save it up and buy a big order but most months I spend almost exactly my 50 buck amount. Just got an order in from feather-craft and got one of those cliff bugger barns. They are awsome so I had to tie up 2 dozen wolly buggers to put into it right away!

[Dave E]

Hi, I'm Dave and I'm a gear-aholic.

For what it's worth, here's a recent observation.
Every year I put together a list of fly fishing gear that I'm parting with and send it out to my friends and aquantances. In past years I'd start getting inquiries and " I've got dib's on that " email's and phone calls within an hour of sending it out, with most of big ticket items going within twenty four hours.
Not so this year - the general consensus amongst the old gang is that while most have their stash of play dough intact, it's destined to go toward that one big trip(s).



Best, Dave