At Tying classes the question comes up asking how much will a beginner have to spend on materials before he/she feels they can handle most of the patterns they expect to tie. My answer is that they will never stop buying stuff and that you can do a lot of substituting, at first, if needed. But this does not answer the question. Maybe I should ask you folks about how much you spent before you reached a point where you only replace items or try newly offerred products. We provide a package of about $60 in material each for our classes but when I claim they should expect to dig for about $2000 if they include a hook assortment and a couple books they panic.
Ray, I think this is somewhat dependent upon the individual. I have two friends that are much thriftier than myself and can tie a good range of flies with a much more modest budget. I?m compulsive with my tying and love to have as many options as possible with my tying patterns. I would be willing to wager that a modest tier could probably tie a very good selection of local patterns in the $500-$1000 range. Both of my friends tend to tie very little in the way of dry flies that require the more expensive genetic hackle. I think this is one area where they can save a bundle. I also believe they tie a smaller range of hook sizes and stay to a few basic hook styles.
Maybe I’m not a good example because I’m so *(%#$@!$! cheap, but I haven’t bought much of anything but thread and hooks for years.
I have a few 1/2 necks but also use India necks.
A lot of my other feathers came from hunters.
Furs… roadkill, old fur coats, and hunters, also free.
I might pick up something in a craft store or Wallyworld. Fairly cheap.
Tying is not my hobby, fishing is, so I tie what I need to catch fish, not look pretty in the box.
Tying my own flys is very economical for me.
I think I can safely say that I haven’t spent more than $600 in the last 25 years
[This message has been edited by dudley (edited 11 November 2005).]
I think it depends on what you are tying and your approach. You can get some very good deals on packages of stuff to build your collection from EBAY and from some of the bigger shops like Cabellas. As mentioned, you can get a lot of tying materials cheaply from craft stores, xMart and don’t forget to make friends with a hunter and visit your local taxidermist to see what you can get cheap or free.
There are lots of ways to go about it and you will end up spending as much as you want too (and more than you significant other wants you to!).
Fish more, work less!
Ray I sure would like to own the local fly shop to supply the $2000 of material that you feel it would take to tie. The $60 sounds like a better start. Now if you feel one should buy a $600 vice when a $30 will do then maybe.
I have been tying longer than most on FAOL and feel you should tell the students to buy what they need for each pattern. Some of my friends have a hundred spools of thread and probably use less than a dozen colors or sizes. I must use 6 or so. One bucktail at a time 2 necks 2 saddles 5 or so different hooks sizes.
As a teacher I would never tell my student that it would take x number of dollors to tie. It would be up to the patterns he or she would want to tie.
I also have many hunters to supply pheasent,duck,turkey skins and deer hides and tails. A few road kill red grey and black squirrel tails.
Bill
[This message has been edited by William Fitzgerald (edited 11 November 2005).]
I’m a rather spastic tyer myself. I like to have many material options but I also like to find a good deal on most of my tying materials.
I agree with Bill and the approach for the beginner is to buy what you need for each pattern and eventually you end up with a spectrum of materials for a variety of flies. Perhaps the basic cost figure should include a basic vise, essential tools, thread, etc. Also, I think it is important to present tying flies as a hobby and as hobbies go, it is not very expensive.
Dr Bob
I agree with Dr. Bob. When I started out I had this false idea I needed to cover all possibilities. Because of that and the fact that I’m also a materials junky I’ve ended up with a alot of stuff I don’t need. Worse… because I got stuff before I had the expertise to know good from not so good.
I will second what Rickb said about taxidermasts. I stopped by one in Bend or and walked away with carabou,moose,elk,deer,and black bear.
Hmmmm, Taking for granted that the new tyer is serious about tying at least to the point where they want to tie enough flies for their personal use. You then have to consider what the new tyer fishes for…Salt water? Bass? Trout? Panfish, Salmon? Say it’s trout. I would go thru your locale season of hatches and see what you need to tie the half dozen or so major hatches. Nymphs spinners and soft hackles require inexpensive material. Dries? You can probably get by with 4 half necks, Griz, Br, Cr and dun., a half doz packs of dubbing, to cover the various cr, brs and oliv, winging material…woody, and a couple of other feathers for winging,…lot of people like parachute , post on. They will need some light and black thread, 6/0 or 8/0. also several different types of hooks in different sizes.
If they are into salt water they will want heavier thread more expensive hooks, and a good assortment of synthetic materials.
If their primary concern is bass… then deer hair, foam and cork for poppers… So what if they want to do it all??? We haven’t even talked about tools yet? It can get up to several hundred dollars in a big hurry…
God forbid they want to get into featherwing salmon fly patterns using original and natural material/…A couple of years ago I saw a prime Indian Crow go for $2,400. A damaged one went for $1,800. And this is a small bird!
Sure you can catch fish on flies tied with generic materials… Some are frugal enough to do that… However in most fly tyers that is not the nature of the beast.
Most clubs and TU chapters hold flea markets… great place to get a $3 pack of dubbing for a quarter or a half a buck…No one is going to have enough or big enough assortment for $60…not $200 either. Yup! It’s going to be a min of $600 and B4 they know it…They will hit a grand… and that is with a simple under a hundred dollar vise… Good luck…
Everything seemed simpler in the 1940’s and 50’s didn’t need all this fancy and high priced tools and materials…
Heck, if they are trout fisherman, just teach them how to tie a Klinkhamer…they win’t need any other fly.
Mantis makes an excellent point as usual. The cost of fly tying materials really depends on the number of species and the the number of locations that one wants to tie flies for. Just about any species, say trout, in say the Smokies, can be generously provided with flies for $60-$200. Add bass in a local lake and you add another $60-$100; less because you already have the tools. Add $100-$200 for bluefish on the coast; more because of the expensive hooks and amount of material used. The list grows as you add each new fish or new area. Granted there is overlap but versatility makes tying more expensive.
Then there’s that nasty old collecting bug to deal with. I know that bug well—it bit the heck out of me. 8T 
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
I only fish for trout, and have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of a zillion dollars on my fly tying obsession. But that’s just me. If you’re just going to fish one river, say the Mad in Ohio, and you want to do it right, you’ll need: Streamers, big nymphs, Blue Quills, Quill Gordons, Stoneflies, Parachute Adams, and San Juan Worms just for the spring. You’ll need ants, beetles, smaller nymphs, Caddis, Sulphers, Red Quills, Hendrickson Emergers, Cahills, March Browns, Green Drakes, Brown Drakes, and Olives for late spring into summer. Did I mention that you’ll need these in various sizes and types (emergers, spinners, duns and cripples)? You’ll need more terrestrials in the summer, and Polish Woven Nymphs and different Caddis. In the fall you’ll need midges, Baetis, and small flymphs. You’re not going to fish one season even decently for $200. And it all changes completely when you go to Montana for your trip. So my advice to beginners would be, get rich.
Eric
Hi eaustin,
I enjoyed your post immensely. One of the really great things about this board is the wide diversity of opinions. I guess for some tyers I should have added another $200 for each season that they plan to fish. I do belief that your advice of getting rich will really help most of us when we need a large mobile home to contain our growing collection of hides, feathers, and other assorted goodies too numerous to mention.
One the other hand, there are Hummers and VWs. With a frugal selection of tools (such as a very sericable vise for $20 from Hook and Hackle, $5 for a pair of scissor, homemade bodkin, and $7 bobbin) and a careful materials selection, (Indian capes, hunting friends, craft shop and Walmart shopping), I believe that I could tie your list of flies for under $200. You have a good deal of material overlap in many of your flies and some like ants, beetles and San Juan worms can be tied with scraps of material. I believe the greatest challange would be the number and style of hooks that you would require. I’ll stand by my estimate of $200 but that’s just my 2% of a dollar
BTW, if I ever run out of flies when I’m on the stream, I sure hope that you’re fishing next to me. Sounds like you must have a tackle shop and a half in your vest. Take care! 8T
You had better learn to be a happy camper. You only get one try at this campground and it’s a real short camping season.
remember: Ninety percent of Fly Tying is the accvumulation of stuff!
It is nice to have what you need and might find a use for down the road…lol
This all comes down to the same old argument. I suppose you could if you wanted tie perfectly good flies that trout or salmon would eat with very little outlay. Just stuff you pick up here and there.
But for some of us fly tying is just more that making serviceable flies. Its creating flies, collecting materials (most of which cost the earth and probably will never be used anyway!), and trying to create something which matches the hatch or copies a recipe handed down through generations.
For example a sawyer nymph… Can this nymph be tied with anything other than the correct chadwicks wool in that exact shade that Sawyer used? Of course it can, and it will still catch trout. It matters very little whether the wool used is lighter or darker it still works fine and represents lots of emerging nymphs. But can you still call it a sawyer nymph?? I could look in my wifes sewing bag and find some grey or beige wool and the trout would never know the difference, or I could pay lots of pounds and buy a card of the exact shade!
Spend little or lots you can still make flies!!!
[This message has been edited by mickporter (edited 14 November 2005).]
I also teach a Beginners Fly Tying class and have been for over 5 years. It is by no means a “uptown” fancy class. I limit my classes to no more than 6 students and teach at the local Junior College. The question on what I should buy always comes up and I have always told them to not purchase the kits due to having material they may never need since the kits will enable cold water, warm water and salt water fishermen a small amout of material to tie those flies. I recommend to them to just purchase a vise and tools to tie flies. I recommend that they not purchase the cheapest vise nor the most expensive vise. I then recommend that they purchase the “Fly in The Box” kits. I recommend that they purchase this kit since it will give them just the right amout of material to tie one dozen of a particular pattern. They need to tie one pattern over and over and try to improve on each fly as they tie it. As they progress with their tying, they can purchase material to tie the flies that they intend to use on their local waters. If they should decide that tying is not for them, they can easily sell the tools and vise. If they get the “bug” as bad as I have it, then they can invest mega bucks into tying material for their collection! I have more tying material than I will ever use and will continue to purchase more just because I love it. Since I furnish all vises and material for my classes, I do get rid of some of my collection of material at the classes in the teaching part plus I usually give material away to the students to get them started. I would never recommend that they go out and purchase a lot of material at the beginning for the simple reason that they have no idea what they need or if fly tying is something they want to continue with. If they fall in love with it, may God be with them and make sure you have a large enough room! I know I love it and the room continues to shrink!!
Warren