Fly Tying

[Jason]

I am looking at trying out tying flies. What does everyong suggest for a beginner tying kit? Our would I be better off buying everything seperately?

Any input would be great.

[Rob Blomquist]

I have heard some things about the higher end kits, Umpqua and the like, but in general, they give frustratingly small amounts of materials.

I would recomend that you take an intro class, and follow their recommendations on what to buy. Then after each class get the materials you need for each fly from the shop.

Now, if you would rather get book and try to learn yourself, we just had a big debate about it, and if you search for that thread you will get the recommendations from the homeschooling gang on what book to get.

Rob

[jlange]

I agree, begginer kits give you such a small amount of material. You can actually save money by going with a more expensive kit that has lots of materials. I think Cabelas has a couple for sale. Take it from me, I have cheap beginners kit but I've probably spent well over $300 in materials that I probably could have gotten in a good kit. Get a good instruction booklet too that is very specific to the type of fishing you do (stillwater, streams, steelhead, salmon). As a beginner don't waste your money on a book that has 15 different patterns for different types of fishing. Chances are you will never use about 10 of them. Pick a class or a book that is really going to help you tie flies for the type of fishing you do. What kind of fishing do you normally do?

Jason

"10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish." Happy fishing!

[jlange]

I would also suggest maybe going to a fly shop and asking them to hook you up with a "custom" kit that is going to have lots of materials for what you need. They might cut you a deal.

Jason

"10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish." Happy fishing!

[Jason]

Anybody have any thoughts about the Griffin Superior 1A vise?

Was also looking at Fly Tying Made Easy For Beginners, by Randall Kaufmann.

[gotchasr]

I don't know anything about the vise, but for books I would highly recommend both Tying Nymphs and Tying Dry Flies. IMHO they are must-have's and are perfect for beginners.

[Flip]

few thoughts, the new cableas did have a couple of good looking kits in it.... ok god this should be amusing

Premium fly tying kit, cableas has put together a fly tying kit with high quality tools and plenty of materials. this kit is designed for the beginning tyer who want to start with a generous supply of the most-used materials. each has three spools of UTC 70 thread, one spool UTC 280 thread, 2 spools of floss, 2 spools of lead wire, four cards of ultra chenille, 2 pacs of zonker strips (straight cut rabbit strips)squirrel tail, rabbit fur dubbing despenser, super fine dry fly dubbing dispenser, four spools of wire and tinsel.....some marabou, some deer hair.. im getting lazy... can you tell, and a nice long list of other stuff, including a thompson vice, ceramic bobbin, and so on. one notable metion is that it contains both a book and a video to help you get started.. somthing to look into. price is a modest 175 with the video, 155 w/o vid and book. ( page 90 of the cabelas fly fishing catalog)

another thing i have done multiple times and highly reccoment is going to Gregs Custom Rods. he has a fly class taught by a guy named Walt who is a exceptional tyer. good class, and you come away with alot of information. contact greg for more info ( www.gregscustomrods.com) oh well, hope this helps you out a little:beathead :beathead

[Flip]

few thoughts, the new cableas did have a couple of good looking kits in it.... ok god this should be amusing

Premium fly tying kit, cableas has put together a fly tying kit with high quality tools and plenty of materials. this kit is designed for the beginning tyer who want to start with a generous supply of the most-used materials. each has three spools of UTC 70 thread, one spool UTC 280 thread, 2 spools of floss, 2 spools of lead wire, four cards of ultra chenille, 2 pacs of zonker strips (straight cut rabbit strips)squirrel tail, rabbit fur dubbing despenser, super fine dry fly dubbing dispenser, four spools of wire and tinsel.....some marabou, some deer hair.. im getting lazy... can you tell, and a nice long list of other stuff, including a thompson vice, ceramic bobbin, and so on. one notable metion is that it contains both a book and a video to help you get started.. somthing to look into. price is a modest 175 with the video, 155 w/o vid and book. ( page 90 of the cabelas fly fishing catalog)

another thing i have done multiple times and highly reccoment is going to Gregs Custom Rods. he has a fly class taught by a guy named Walt who is a exceptional tyer. good class, and you come away with alot of information. contact greg for more info ( www.gregscustomrods.com) oh well, hope this helps you out a little:beathead :beathead

[Taxon]

Fly Tying Made Clear And Simple, by Skip Morris, is also a good choice for a beginning fly tyer, or so it seems to me.

[Tom Hawkins]

IMHO......
Boy can "we" open pandoras box here......
However, I would recommend a short "basic" class to see what its all about, or demo at Patricks or Avid Angler or a club doing a demo, with q&a, kits are great, I still have leftover stuff from my first Herters kit, (when George H was still alive).....it's usable stuff, however, I like to think of myself as a novice materials collector, my "significant other" probably has another set of adjectives for it, grumble, grumble......
All the preceding comments are excellant and I highly recommend Skip Morris' Book as mentioned......
Roy Patricks book, "Tie Your Own Flies" is second to none, I keep one handy all the time, to explain in pictorial illustration basic techniques....
(somehwhere w/i the forums is a thread, "Roy Patrick tribute"......check it out.......)
but anyway, I've seen/heard of guys that get "all the right stuff" after $100's later and it sits in a shoebox waiting till the next garage sale....especially when they dont have the right "direction" on the get-go.....
Anyway, we (WIFFC) try and do demos of one fly or a technique at our meetings, maybe other clubs do the same.....we have had classes and clinics too.
I know Shoffs in Kent have classes, that's in your neighborhood.....callém up.....
www.shofftackle.com
Hope this helps just leetle....

[dheike]

Anybody have any thoughts about the Griffin Superior 1A vise?

Was also looking at Fly Tying Made Easy For Beginners, by Randall Kaufmann.
undefined
Have you looked at ebay? You can buy things seperately such as ceramic bobbins (they don't cut your thread) and nice rotary vises. You can usualy pick up a good pair of hackle pliars (rotary style) too. They materials you get with your typical kit are not that great and you'll end up replacing them anyways. Might as well start out right in the first place.
Here's what I mean:
VISE
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=23816&item=3697683592&rd=1

Ceramic Bobbin (I just bought 2 for $16.50)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=44913&item=3697190916&rd=1

BOL
Darrin ><>