Seriously, my first price of advice would have been not to buy a kit. Some of them are just awful. Hopefully you got a good one.
Having said that, make sure the materials in the kit are top quality. Poor materials make fly tying more difficult and the flies will never look right. So my advice right now is to take your kit to an experienced tyer and let him tell you what is useable and what is not. Follow his advice and throw away what is useless, lest you be tempted to use it. That will tell you whether the kit was a bargain or not.
About the steer hair - hair for tying is left on the hide. The only common material off the hide is FUR, which can me mixed for dubbing. Fur is much finer than hair so I would say the the hair from a “dehaired” steer hide is pretty much useless.
The first fly I ever tied was so ugly it nearly scared me but it caught fish.
I’ve tied some flies that were too pretty to fish, but they also caught fish.
I’ve made some “Franken-flies” that resembled nothing in a book and didn’t look like anythig a fish would ever consider eating and guess what, yes, they caught fish.
The good news is the fish are not that picky.
Now, that does not mean I tie sloppy flies on purpose and I always strive to make better flies and prettier flies. Not because the fish care but it’s a challenge to always make the next batch better than the last batch and to try new things so I don’t get bored and stale.
But as you’re learning, just tie a bunch of flies and take them fishing and have fun. The fish will reward your efforts.
Jeff
Do not buy every hook that is called for in a recipe - google “hook quivalent” and find out if you already have the same hook in a different brand, or one that 1x longer or shorter than what is called for. I must have 3 different kinds of 4 or 5 different hooks, just because I had to have exactly the right one.
Don’t be afraid to cut everything off of a hook and start over. The materials aren’t “wasted” if you learned something from the effort.
If there is a particular technique you find yourself having trouble with, Get out a long-shank hook and just tie that particular technique until you get it down. I had a #6 streamer hook with about 5 wet fly hackles on it. It looked funny, but I figured it out.
Good luck with your new hobby/obsession.
As others have stated, the flies don’t have to be perfect to catch fish. Strive to make each fly better than the last fly.
Happy tying.
Kirk
Welcome aboard!
I am new at this too, and I can promise you that you just found the most helpful bunch of people on the web, so don’t be afraid to ask questions. I have asked all kinds of dumb questions and so far everyone has been very patient and helpful.
good luck and don’t give up,
hNt
Start out with something easy and go from there.
Wooley bugger is a good start.