I’ve been fly fishing for 2 years now and thinking of taking it to the next level. It seems to me that catching trout with a fly I tied would be the best of the best. My question is, are there any tool kits on the market that are better than others, price is a concern, for beginners? I don’t have any tools or materials.
Thanks
PS: I’m 69 years young
I would suggest that you contact a local club for some lessons this winter or otherwise locate a nearby tyer to provide detailed advice and mentoring, Here in central CT there are several Trout Unlimited chapters that sponsor lessons and let you try different vises etc.
Good luck
Look on the home page menu & it’ll direct you to tying, tools & tech stuff. S’kinda like ridin’ a motor cycle, ya gotta take it out & play with it! Don’t worry about getting it perfect as those in the fly shops. Those are meant to catch fishermen (& women), as well as fish.
You’re right, it is satisfying to catch a fish on a lure that you made yourself. Don’t limit yourself to salmonoids. Bass, bluegill, carp, crappie & several other species will sucumb to the fly.
It’s OK to be your age. I’m 60+ myself. Go get em!
Like Ray pointed out there’s nothing like having someone show you the ropes. However, I know that’s not always an option so here are a few tips from someone who just started tying two years ago.
I’m too impatient so I never took formal lessons. I asked the local shop manager to show me a single pattern that I used a lot and I started from there. I used online resources and the book referenced below to get me started. Plus I’ll go back to the shop from time to time and they’ll show me another pattern I’m interested in. That said, I still recommend having someone get you started.
Here’s a link that should help you get started. http://flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/ It explains the basic tools and techniques for getting started. If you start as I suggest below you can buy only the tools necessary to tie your fist one or two patterns then add-on from there. Most kits seem to have only fair equipment so I elected to buy items individually as I needed them. Plus you can look for sales or used items.
Here’s a book that I found to be a great help. http://www.amazon.com/Benchside-Introduction-Fly-Tying/dp/157188369X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b It’s unique structure allows you to have the overall tying instructions for a fly present while looking up specific techniques necessary to complete the fly. Even if you have someone showing you the basics this book is a great reference. Other than this book I use other tyers and online resources as a reference. For instance go to YouTube and enter something like “tying a Wooly Bugger”. There are plenty of other online sources for patterns and instructions.
As someone who’s always looking to control expenses I would suggest you start by buying materials for one or two flies that you use and lose the most. Then slowly build up from those materials one pattern at a time. You’ll find certain common materials for many of your patterns. I can’t see spending money on certain expensive materials that I’ll rarely use so I just buy those flies or find a cheaper material as a substitute. I haven’t reached the “I only fish what I’ve tied” stage yet.
Tying is relaxing and increases your enjoyment of fishing. Good luck!
Mr Donat
It seems that we are neighbors !
I belong to a club that meets in East Hartford
Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association,
They have beginner tying classes that start sometime after the holidays.
If that doesn’t work for you, I might be able to help you out a bit myself
I’m no expert though
At the very least I have book that you may have
Tying Trout Flies by C. Boyd Pfeiffer
If you want to PM me your address I can send it to you or even drop it off.
Donat-
You’ve gotten great advice about joining a club and taking classes- you’ll learn a ton and it’ll really help your learning curve. You’ll also get a chance to try out different tools and equipment, like vises. Classes are typically organized to teach a dozen or so patterns over the length of the course, each one builds on the one before and you end up learning a lot of different techniques that will allow you tie a whole host of patterns in addition to the ones you learn in class.
Kits are very tempting because it looks like you get a bunch of stuff for not much money… the reality is that you’ll probably end up with a lot of materials you won’t use and not enough of the ones you need. And usually the kits come with tools and a vise that are inexpensive imports that are poorly machined, have soft jaws that don’t hold hooks well etc. I think most folks would agree that you’re better off investing in a decent vise and a few tools to get started, and materials for one or two easy patterns at a time that you can use on your waters. That way you’ll have tools that will last a lifetime, and you’ll build up an inventory of useful materials for the waters you fish. If there is a reasonable chance that you think you’d enjoy tying and will stick with it, you’ll likely want to upgrade everything in the kit soon anyway.
Rather than buy a vise now, ideally you should try a few and get a sense of the different features on different ones. The opportunity to get some mentoring help from Dudley and his club sounds like a great opportunity. You should be able to arrange for a loaner if you take a class. A lot of the lingo, terms, what materials are good for what purposes, and pros cons of different equipment can be overwhelming when getting started and having access to folks that can steer you through the maze of info will really demystify everything. And as everyone has pointed out there’s a ton of info on beginning tying here on FAOL (click on the fly tying link on the main page).
Just as a ball park you’d probably be looking at 80-150 for a solid vise (Danvise for 80, Anvil Apex 100, Renzetti Traveller, Regal C-clamp or Peak Rotary for 150ish are a few good options, each with their band of loyal users on this board) and 35 or so for decent quality tools (scissors, bobbin, bodkin, whip finisher, hair stacker, hackle pliers). Once you start to zero in on brands and models, you may find used models for a good discount off retail. As you buy materials for one or two patterns at a time you’ll be a building up an inventory that can last years, but it will be stuff that you’ll actually use for your local fishing as opposed to small amounts of all kinds of different bits and pieces of stuff in a kit.
Hope this helps.
peregrines
Besides the great info on this site, you might find these links helpful:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/tyingmenu.php
http://kwsu.org/Offers/FlyTying.aspx
http://hipwader.com/2004/fly-tying-course
Those ought to get you started. I really like the video presentations since I tend to “get it” better when I can see it done. By the way, YouTube also has some nice info if you search for a specific fly.
Donat,
When I started tying I got things one at a time bought a bobbin, a nurse gave me a pair of scissors from a stitch kit along with forceps. I then used things around the house pins, copper tube et al.
I then saw one day a kit by DR. SLICK CO. it had everything I needed and when I priced them separately there was a savings buying the kit. (kit had better scissors, hair stacker, whip finisher, a good bobbin, hackle pliers, bodkin, and some of the tools have a hole in the bottom of the handle for half hitches. all in a nice box) And I will recommend this kit and tools.
Two things I did notice when I started to make purchases was, how is this cheaper than buying flies (my first wooly bugger coast me around $175.00 to make) The second thing I noticed as I was typing this I couldn?t tell you what I paid for the kit my vise and I don?t regret buying any of them and the joy tying gives me is priceless.
Nice way to justify your Jones!:p:p
Donat;
This is just my experience. I was fortunate in being able to take tying classes. I would highly recommend that approach.
You can spend alot of money before you realize that you won’t need a lot of that stuff for years to come, or end up with lifetime supplies of materials.
The other advantage is, there is nothing like hands on help, and actually working with you to get certain processes right.
Another perc is that you get to meet some good people that have same interests ( and fishing partners too)
I have always found it easier when showed how
Just my .02
Mark
Donat: You might find this interesting.
Tim
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fly+tying+lessons&search_type=&aq=0&oq=Fly+Tying
Thanks all. As always good info and suggestions on this site.
Dudley PM sent.
Donat: I started with the trout fly tying kit from Bass Pro Shops. I know that Cabelas has a similar kit. It comes with an inexpensive vise that actually does a decent job. I’m still using mine nearly 2 years later and I’ve tied 2 to 3 hundred flies with it.
It also comes with hooks, some materials, and a DVD (it was a video tape when I bought mine) that teaches you how to tie a half dozen flies. Overall I thought it was a good investment. However, I soon started adding to my collection of materials and hooks and bobbins and scissors and so on.
It’s just one more thing to become obsessive about.
Now here’s my best piece of advice for a new fly tyer: Don’t crowd the head. It’s easy to look at the hook and think of the eye of the hook as the head of the bug. But if you do that and tie your wings too far forward you end up with no room to finish off your whip finish (the final knot). It took me a long time to get over that bad habit. In fact, I still do it now and then.
My 2nd bit of advice is don’t worry about perfection. Ugly flies catch fish too. I know because I’ve tied some of the ugliest bits of fuzz on a hook that you’ve ever seen and somehow, they caught fish. My first dozen Adams flies looked like a brown and grizzly rooster exploded near the hook and some of the feathers stuck. The fish still ate it.
Have fun with it buddy. Don’t stress over it. And remember that you can always cut the stuff off, recycle the hook and try again.
Thanks DruLeeParsec, funny that you mentioned the Adams because that’s what I would like to start with. I did get a visual of the exploding rooster and got a chuckle from it. I’m sure I’ll chuckle with my Adams that I tie now.
If you can find a TU or FFF chapter that has a fly demo at their meetings it is a good way to learn a few tying skills. I started tying six years ago; took a class at a local fly shop, a good investment to quickly get you on the learning curve. After that I tied just about any interesting pattern I could find, especially the FAOL Fly of the Week and Al Campbell?s lessons. I also recommend A.K. Best fly tying DVD?s. I now demo fly tying at my TU chapter as the person who did that moved away and I tie to replace the half dozen or so patterns that I use and loose the most. I find it is a good way to unwind at the end of the day.
Good Luck,
John
This might help some.
http://colo2.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/part15.php
I was very pleased with the kit I got from Bass Pro. Turned out to be be good quality tying items. The thread wasn’t the best, but not too bad. The vise was fine for a beginner and actually I still use it. Many of the items in the kit I still re-buy.
Donat,
Welcome to a life-changing hobby/way of life. Please dig through this place, it’s where I came when I first began too, just a handfull of years back now…
http://colo2.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/archive.php
Draw up a cup of coffee and take it in s-l-o-w-l-y. There’s much to dig into but don’t let it overwhelm you. The basics are what you want and will even serve you for a long time.
You’re in for a treat!
Jeremy.
I would read the following
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/kit/
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/alcampbell/archive.php Look for his too simple flies
I would suggest going through Al Campbell’s beginning series listed above before jumping into a dry fly. There is a lot to learn about thread tension and handeling the basic tools. When you do tie dry flies quality hackle makes all the difference.
Besides the fly archive on this site, CharliesFlybox has excellent tutorials
I too bought a kit from BPS. It works ok. The DVD is very helpful. I probably would have bought something different but kept getting outbidded on ebay at the last second. I have bought more tools as time passed and funds were available. Ceramic bobbins, floss bobbins, different styles of hackle pliers and so forth. Not to mention all the materials I had to have to try this or that fly. I still haven’t replaced the vise. I probably will some day but it works good enough for me.
I guess the neatest thing I got out of fly tying was I quit smoking. If I felt like having a cigarette I would stop at my bench and tie a fly. By the time I was done the craving was gone. HUH? Another groovy thing was in searching the web for fly tying sites I stumbled onto FAOL.
Catching my first fish on a fly I tied was really cool. I remember thinking as I tied it on the leader how it didn’t look like a store bought fly, but they weren’t hitting store bought flys anyway so I tried it and it worked. What a gift. Not only am I hooked, I got my nephew into it and a grandson. Jimsnarocks