Coming back to fly tieing after 25years

[mooxe 0]

Hi Everyone,

 

I used to tie flies back when I was in junior highschool in Newfoundland, around the early 1990s. I feel like I was a good at it, I was selling hundreds at the local store in Gander. I still have all my gear and its been gnawing at my mind for the past 15 years or so to get back into it. I visited a Cabela's in Texas awhile back and seen tons of flies selling for a little over a dollar. I got the impression they were coming from the same place running shoes do.... large factories with tons of people mass producing them somewhere in the far east. I also noticed the price of materials was high enough that a guy like me wouldnt be able to make any money at it. It was discouraging. That said though, I dont want to get back into it primarily for money. I loved the satisfaction or knowing something I made is valuable to someone else and they were able to catch a fish with it. There was an artistic value to it as well that I liked. Anyways.. thats my back story.

 

So I have just a few questions I hope someone could help me with. Since I am a beginner again I would like a book with colour photos and instruction/material list of trout/bass/salmon flies, could you reccomend any? I am also looking for a good store online or not, preferably in Canada where I could purchase materials which are fairly priced.

[JSzymczyk 0]

welcome back into the fold. You are correct, most commercial flies you see are tied in Asia or Africa for nearly free labor. If you tie more than a few patterns, or use more than a few materials, you will not "save money" by tying flies. It is similar to handloading ammunition for hunting- you might start thinking you will eventually save money if you shoot enough, but you just never do, and then you realize you do it for reasons other than trying to save money.

 

For books, Clouser's Flies by Bob Clouser is a great, Charlie Craven's books are great, and there are a whole bunch of others. I can't say for specifically salmon flies, as that's not my area of expertise. The two Atlantic salmon and the numerous landlocked salmon I have caught on flies were on woolly buggers.

 

For online shops, J.Stockard is outstanding but they are not in Canada. There are many other Canuckistanis on this forum who might be able to point you at shops there.

[Ebrant10 0]

Hi, glad to hear your interest is sparked again, its a wonderful hobby! Check out the Fly Pattern Encyclopedia by Al and Gretchen Beatty. Its full of patterns and was a big help whenever i first started.

Happy tying!

Evan

[Peterjay 0]

Back in the '90s, Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen come out with a series of specialty pattern books for salmon, trout, steelhead, etc. I have the whole series, and I still use them for reference. There's no detailed tying instruction, but the materials for each pattern are listed. Assuming you already have some basic tying skills, the Atlantic salmon book in particular might prove useful. You might possibly be able to find a used copy if you scrounge around a bit. It's considered a collectors' item, so you'd have to do some digging unless you want to pay collectors' prices.

 

As far as materials go, our site sponsor J. Stockard is one of the very best suppliers out there. If they don't have what you want, you could try Theriault Flies in Maine. They carry a lot of stuff, including some home-grown materials that are hard to find elsewhere. They'll send you a catalog if you drop them a line or give them a call.

 

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/category/49000

 

http://theriaultflies.com/

[BullRunBear 0]

I've been out of tying even longer and never achieved your proficiency, so I am really starting from scratch. The two books I've found most helpful are Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying and the Orvis Fly-Tying Guide. They also discussed tools and materials that weren't around the last time I tied.

 

Jeff

[gaffer 0]

Hi Everyone,

 

I used to tie flies back when I was in junior highschool in Newfoundland, around the early 1990s. I feel like I was a good at it, I was selling hundreds at the local store in Gander. I still have all my gear and its been gnawing at my mind for the past 15 years or so to get back into it. I visited a Cabela's in Texas awhile back and seen tons of flies selling for a little over a dollar. I got the impression they were coming from the same place running shoes do.... large factories with tons of people mass producing them somewhere in the far east. I also noticed the price of materials was high enough that a guy like me wouldnt be able to make any money at it. It was discouraging. That said though, I dont want to get back into it primarily for money. I loved the satisfaction or knowing something I made is valuable to someone else and they were able to catch a fish with it. There was an artistic value to it as well that I liked. Anyways.. thats my back story.

 

So I have just a few questions I hope someone could help me with. Since I am a beginner again I would like a book with colour photos and instruction/material list of trout/bass/salmon flies, could you reccomend any? I am also looking for a good store online or not, preferably in Canada where I could purchase materials which are fairly priced.

 

I was in much the same position. I didn't have time to tie while I was in University and starting my career and family so I was away from it for a while.

 

As others have mentioned, Charlie Cravens books and web site (http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/) have been great for me. The nice thing that there was not access to 25 years ago was YouTube. There are so many great videos showing different flies, tips and techniques.

 

As a fellow Canadian, there are a couple places to order from online http://www.canadianllama.com/ has great materials and the best prices I have seen. Troutwaters.ca also has a good selection of stuff. I shop locally in Calgary at fishtales.ca. They don't realty have an online shop, but they do ship orders if you call them in.

 

Andrew

[mooxe 0]

Thanks for the links, I'v had a look at them all. I have tied a few already... its all coming back, especially not pulling so hard on the thread. Even body, tapered head... starting at the materials at the right spot, all coming back.

 

Thanks everyone.