Survey Please?

[Skip48]

I tie crappie jigs to sell and am starting to tie some flies. My question to all of you even if you tie your own flies is this...

What flies would you buy the most of, either actual fly or type of flies? If you tie your own please treat this as if you didn't tie your own flies.

I want to offer some flies on my web site and I want them to be something that people would buy and not just the ones they want to look at. If I need to learn how to tie say a dozen different flies well then I would like to practice on what will sell.

I appreciate anyone that wouldn't mind giving me this info to help me select some good ones to tie and sell. I have already spent a ton of cash and would like to know what I need still at this point so I need to know what flies I should take on.

Thanks in advance,

Skip

[jeffnles1]

Skip,
Thinking back over the flies I've bought the last two years, the list is really pretty standard stuff.
Woolie buggers - various sizes, black, brown, olive. Mostly size 10 & 12. Mostly bead head but also non-weighted.
Adams dry flies sizes 18, 20, 22.
Griffiths Gnats 20, 22 (would even buy 24's if I could find them)
Black and cream midges - 20,22 (would buy 24's if I could find them)
Stimulators - 12, 14, 16
Elk Hair Caddis - 14, 16, 18 (probably should buy some 20 & 22's as well)
San Juan Worms (red and maroon)
Various sizes of bluegill cork poppers
small clousser minnows
Nymphs (standard fare, bh pheasant tail, pheasant tail emergers, hare's ear, various scudd paterns, brassies, copper johns, anything that looks like it may catch a fish).

One tip, if you're thinking about going into business, there are two ways I can think of to make money at this.

One is to tie the staples. They are staples for a reason. They have caught fish throughout the years and fishermen buy them and use them.

Another way is to find some niche and specialize in some hard to find fly, some "secret fish getter fly" or some custom order stuff (i.e. fishermen can send you a photo of the bug, or a description of the bug and you can "match the hatch" for them on a quick turn around basis.

One method is volume and the other is higher margin.

I guess it just depends on what kind of money you want to make and how hard you want to work.

I hope this helps.
Jeff

[DShock]

Skip,
I'm not a commercial tier, but I just have a suggestion for you! If your doing good tying jigs, then I wouldn't extend yourself into fly patterns, unless like you said, someone requests the flies from you. Don't waste your time or money tying flies for who knows who, when you have established customers buying your jigs.
Another thing Skip, is your location, do fishermen use flies in your area?? The reason I ask this is feedback from the flies you might tie would provide you with immediate results from fly fishers in your area.
The last but not least observation is....Making a profit selling flies is possible if their made in India.
Call a Fly Shop and ask them about tying flies for them.
Just my thoughts.
Doug

[Skip48]

Thanks for the ideas and tips.


I actually don't intend on making much money doing this just as I don't make that much tying jigs, but I am disabled and I use to trade stocks for about 15 years after I was unable to work. However after I had heart surgery (don't ask me why as I don't know) things changed in my trading. Once I was pretty good and not only made money, but loved the hole thing. After surgery things changed by I knew what to do and all that, but for some reason I just couldn't do what I knew had to be done to make money. It was a year after my bypasses before I could force my self to try trading again and I had lost it. SO I quit and to have something to do other than fish and watch TV I started tying jigs and soon people wanted them so I jumped into that and like it.

Originally I had major back surgery in 1989 and that was my last of working for someone or some company as my back problems are not going away. Then 5 bypasses in 2000 and I am just a physical wreck and love making jig and flies for people.

I kept leaning to converting fly patterns to jigs for fun over and above my regular jigs. It just kept leading me down this path and now I have a load of hooks and materials for flies as well as my jigs.

I want to make enough to pay for my materials and a few buck for me, but I don't expect to make a living or anything like that. It's just something I want to do and do very well.

Actually there is not much fly fishing around me here, but actually I sell most of my jigs all across the country. I do sell a few local, but most of my jigs are sold in other states even.

So there is my story.

Thanks again,

Skip

[William Fitzgerald]

SKIP 48 from looking at your web site your well on the way to many great flies. If most of your jigs are for local sale I'd like to suggest you tie the same flies using a bead head ,dumb bell,or chain pull eyes. Also the same with a lead weighted body. Many of those suggested so far are alright if you get trout fly sales. Check ffishing catalogs for some more foam flies that I see your great at tying,foam crickets,hoppers,chernobyl ants BILL

[Eric-WD]

As you sell Crappie jigs, I would look towards that same market and try flies for warm water, bass crappie etc. Rick Z did an article on flies for crappie etc, find that article and tie some of those would be my suggestion.

Eric

[sharps]

Almost exclusively the only flies I buy are those with spun deer hair for the simple reason I won't take the time to learn how to spin deer hair. Muddlers and Sneaky Pete's mostly.

Vic

[Bamboozle]

Skip:

To augment what Sharps said; I would also consider poppers. First of all a lot of people, (ME ) don't make them because they take a lot of time.

Second; the painting part will fit right in with your jig painting.

Third; with a little modification in size and a design change, you could make larger surface lures that would appeal to your conventional fishing customers as well.

The bottom line for me when it comes to buying versus tying is how long it takes. I just don't want to bother with any fly that I can't tie at least 10-12 of in an hour.


BTW - I haven't perused your website yet but if you aren't marketing your jigs as TROUT lures you and your customers are missing a great "bait". When I used to spin fish for trout; regular old crappie jigs in yellow, brown, and black were my SECRET weapon. It amazed me how many guys never tried them on trout because they were called CRAPPIE jigs!

Good luck!

[Skip48]

Thanks for all the great answers and recommendations.

Bamboozle, I am too amazed at how many miss out of a bait that will catch lots of different fish. Heck I catch bass and catfish too on my jigs when trolling for crappie or fishing brush piles; also a lot of yellow bass.

I also know these little jigs will catch loads of saltwater fish, like flounder, trout and others.

I bet the freshwater trout would love some of my smaller jigs like the one I made the other day with legs. Here is a pic and maybe you can tell me if something like this would work for them even if the color of this one is not right it's easy to change colors.

1/32oz (I am adding 1/64 oz. soon) with a #8 hook....

[CRAPPIECAT]

Skip,

I have the most trouble finding small poppers for Gils, I find some, but mostly I am not happy with the quality, and also good quality spiders. If you got into something like that I, for one, would be interested.

Carl