Hi Charlaine,

One more for the "figure out which 5 flies you want to tie and then buy materials for those 5 flies" camp.

The reason that we suggest that is that if you start out buying stuff before you really know what is going on, you can spend a ton of money, as you can also do if you decide to start out "tying everything."

If you go the "5 flies" route you will be surprized how fast your supply of tying stuff builds up.

For a first fly to work on I would suggest a nymph, either the pheasant tail or the gold ribbed hare's ear. They materials for those two patterns are relatively inexpensive as fly tying stuff goes, and you can't find a more generally useful pair of flies than those two.

Start out tying a large size, say a #10 or a #12, and after you are comfortable with that size, work your way down to the next smaller size. Repeat until you have mastered the #16 or so.

When you are comfortable with the numphs, then think about a first dry, something like an elk hair caddis.

By doing this you will be beginning to master the basic techniques of fly tying such as thread management, the "pinch", tying in tails and legs, etc. Professional athletes practice basic things over and over for many years to get them down. Fly tying it like that in that to tie well you must master the basics, and practice is what it takes to master them. However, at least tying pheasant tails is pleasant practice.

When you tie a new pattern, especially now that you are a beginner, save that first effort. You will find that, in a couple of years, when you get those first efforts out, you will be amazed how much you have approved.

Regards,

Gandolf