Well, the time has come: I want to start tying. What is a good beginners fly tying kit that I can order online? Keep a few things in mind: I am VERY new to fly fishing, and i am not going to south asia for some rare bird feather to complete my fly, I am just looking for a kit to tie simply flies, like wooly buggers, san juan worms, simple dry flies, streamers. Oh, and I am on a tight budget
[This message has been edited by Anthony (edited 25 February 2006).]
Search Ebay. You will find a wide variety of kits available, both new and from others who bought a kit and gave up.
You can also get great buys on materials.
Enjoy.
Anthony, all I have to say about the kits that I have seen, is that you get a lot of material you don’t need and the ones that are better are not going to be cheap. Good Luck.
she who dies with the most toy’s wins.
[This message has been edited by Fly Goddess (edited 25 February 2006).]
Anthony,
Would you consider sharing your budget? I cannot highly recommend any but the more expensive kits I’ve seen. Instead, I would recommend you invest in a reasonably good, yet affordable vise (something like the Thompson Model A). Second, buy the basic tools: a bobbin, TWO pair of scissors (one for heavy wire and one for fine work), hackle pliers, and a whip finish tool (maddening for the beginner and optional). Third, invest in materials: hooks, thread, and the various other ingredients of the flies you’ll tie.
My last piece of advice … find a mentor or tutor. You’ll do much better learning from a person than you will from a book or video (even though there are some great books and videos). On the off chance you’re from the Capital District of NY … I’d be happy to lend a hand.
Good Luck,
Mike D. [url=http://battenkill.tripod.com:92572]http://battenkill.tripod.com[/url:92572]
i would reconmend buying a tool kit separately from the materials. Hook and Hackle offers a couple of different tool sets as do others. Then make a list of the flies you want to tie in descending order of how much you use them. Order material to cover the flies you intend to tie. You’ll end up with a lot less useless junk that way. I’ve been tying for over twenty years and still have some of the materials from my first tying kit because I never found a use for them but long ago replaced the tools with better ones. Before doing anything else read Al Cambell’s beginning fly tying lessons. You will have a much better idea of what you need and want.
all leaders tangle; mine are just better at it than most. Jim
From Cabelas, this is a solid kit to get started on, UF-318118. You can find this on the website. The notion that kits are just junk that companies are dumping is being dispelled and new kits are being geared toward providing the tools, instruction and materials to tie very specific flies for starters. The market has adjusted to favor new tyers. For $50 bucks you get stuff to tie 100 flies and time to figure out if it’s for you. A lot of the advice you will get here will have you spending a couple hundred bucks to get to that same hundred flies and figuring out if it’s something you enjoy. If you get there and still want to tie, then you have functional gear and opportunity to take your time upgrading gear as your wants and budget meet other. If you think it sucks after that 100 flies, you still have 100 flies, which can catch fish, no matter how ratty they are. You also have a vise and tools that you can throw on ebay.
Thanks for the tips. That Cabela’s one looks pretty good. Even if it sucks I get 100 hooks! Right after i get a 20 dollar carp kit this is next on the budget.
I never thought being a fisherman would be so expensive. But I guess when I buy everything from method mix to bite alarms to bass lures to fly tying kits, I can expect to spend some money
For info on rolling your own kit (you’ll do better than buying the average pre-rolled econo kit):
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/kit/:47d8b]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/kit/[/url:47d8b]
For info on getting started tying:
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/:47d8b]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/[/url:47d8b]
Buy the materials as you need them for each lesson in the beginner’s tying articles that you’ll find under that second URL above.
I started with one of those “Deluxe” kit from one of the big name fly tying companies. Man, what a huge waste of money!
The kit didn’t include the materials called for in the patterns/instructions that came with the kit! Sheesh!
Use the info here to guide your tool and material choices. Plenty of sponsors around here sell very good materials and the basics are likely also available locally.
Very small quantities tie a lot of flies. Yeah, it looks odd to buy a piece of fur only a couple inches square, but you’ll soon learn that can tie a LOT of flies.
Just make sure you have the materials the patterns call for. Learning when/why/how to substitute can be tackled later.
If you can find a local tyer to show you a few basics, you’ll gain years of experience overnight. I found a local fly fishing club that has tying lessons. It beat the heck out of that mismatched “Deluxe” kit and cost less too. 
One of the first things they did was teach us the “jam knot” (i.e.: how to tie on your tying thread)…then told us to practice it a HUNDRED TIMES before the next class.
Just tie on, wrap a couple more times, tie off, snip the thread…repeat 99 more times.
If you use a long shanked hook (like a streamer hook) you can tie on/off several times on the same hook before you clean it off and start again.
It sounds like a silly exercise but it ended up being a huge time saver. Some of the folks in the class didn’t bother and you could see the difference.
[This message has been edited by Thwack (edited 25 February 2006).]
I think all fly shops should have a fly tying bench open to the public where anyone can come in and tie a fly, and I imagine it would cost less than buying a ready made fly.
Forget buying a kit. Look at Al Campbell’s advice on what you need to start over in the tying section here.
Dr. Slick has a neat tool kit. Very good quality at the price. You NEED nothing more, but you will eventually WANT more. It is addictive.
Buy a decent vise --here’s a link to some very good reviews: [url=http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/index12.html:60c1d]http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/index12.html[/url:60c1d]
Most definitely do NOT buy a kit of materials. Instead buy the specific stuff you need to tie the flies you want to tie next. You won’t end up with a lot of useless junk that way, but you will still end up with years worth of stuff you need.
Buy three cheap sealed plastic storage boxes to start. One each for furs, feathers and other stuff. And I reco starting with a portable tying station that you can move around to wherever you are tying, but also stow away.
Welcome to tying. It is as satisfying as fly fishing itself, for much the same reasons.
You want to go really economical? Buy the book “Fly Tying” Advenures in Fur, Feathers and Fun by John F. McKim. Besides telling you a lot about how to tie flies…in the back of the book he will show you how to make your own bobbin out of a thread spool and large paperclip. Also how to make your own bodkin, strap a pair of vice grips to a board for a vice, and a homemade hair tamper (hair stacker). Then just buy some hooks, head cement (or Sally Hansen’s Clear Nail Hardner #2303, some chenille and hackle. You can tie wooly worms, wooly buggers, kp buggers, etc. Maybe a pack of Marabou for tails. He also has very clear instructions on how to tie the whip finish by hand (both left handed and right handed) so you don’t need a tool to do it. He also shows how to tie the half hitch very clearly by hand, and a very clear explanation of the jamb knot…the very first step…tying on the thread to start on a bare hook shank. Book $18. You can do this stuff at your own pace very economically and learn it. Then graduate to better tools and more complicated flies, tools and tecniques.
Gem
I would start with a vise like one of these.
Start your material search at a craft/hobby store.
Buy decent tools like Materelli, Griffin or the like.
[url=http://cgi.ebay.com/Thompson-fly-tying-vise_W0QQitemZ7222019920QQcategoryZ44913QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem:b4755]http://cgi.ebay.com/Thompson-fly-tying-vise_W0QQitemZ7222019920QQcategoryZ44913QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url:b4755] [url=http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Original-Thompson-Fly-Tyers-Vise-Model-A_W0QQitemZ7222251434QQcategoryZ44916QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem:b4755]http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Original-Thompson-Fly-Tyers-Vise-Model-A_W0QQitemZ7222251434QQcategoryZ44916QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/url:b4755] [url=http://search.ebay.com/thompson-vise_W0QQfromZR40:b4755]http://search.ebay.com/thompson-vise_W0QQfromZR40[/url:b4755]
Anthony,It is OK to want to start with a simple kit. Your post said you want to order on line and you had a limited budget. I can relate to both of those conditions. Jayhawk Jeff’s suggestion to buy the Cabela’s 31-8118 for about $55 was a good one. You can order online, have the kit in about 3 days and start tying flies. Sure there are 100 different ways to get started but this will get you up and running in a hurry and you can use the rest of your life to improve and upgrade your gear.
My wife gave me a tying kit for Christmas decades ago. It was truly cheesy back in those days but it allowed me the opportunity to make some mistakes and learn from them. I quickly learned why good hackle was necessary, why I needed good tools and which materials to look for at the fly shop. It was a starting point that lit the fire and I have always been grateful for that simple kit and the thought behind it.
Getting started is more important right now than getting everything right. It sounds like a $55 investment will meet your initial goals and then you can upgrade piecemeal without breaking the bank. Enjoy your kit without guilt. Ive
IveofIone-Ivebrakesforlakes
Anthony,
Wanted a kit to get started after taking a beginner’s class at my local fly shop. I asked the owner/instructor about it and he said he’d be glad to put together a starter kit for me that would include all the materials I’d need to tie all the class flies and a few others to start with. Was a good investment, including a clamp on vice, for about $100.00.
The biggest problem I have with inexpensive kits is that they usually have a poor quality vise and poor selection of materials. Trying to work with a vise where the hook ‘slips’ and the material is not what you need will do more to “turn you off” tying than encourage you. Since the selection of flies you mention that you want to tie do not require expensive material, you may want to consider simply buying the individual materials you need, the correct hooks and a dependable inexpensive vise. You can probably pick up much of this on here, ebay, or at shop bargain bins. Many TU chapters have flea markets this time of year. I hope you have someone nearby who can give you a lesson or two. Thread control and pressure are the first things to learn.
I bought one of the cabelas tying kits the ones that cost about $50 its was good but it didnt have much instructions in it. and it lacked material I wanted…so a couple hundred dollars later I have a tying kit that is ok and I still am looking to spend more and more money…BUYING FLIES IS CHEAPER
The trout & panfish kit at Bass Pro isn’t a bad way to start. There is a video inside that is very useful.
link: [url=http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=27765&hvarDept=175&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=4&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse:f85df]http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=27765&hvarDept=175&hvarEvent=&hvarClassCode=4&hvarSubCode=1&hvarTarget=browse[/url:f85df]
Someone has given me a vice, so I think i’ll just start buying the materials from scratch