First Fly that I have ever tied

[Firefighter615 0]

Hello

 

This is the first time that I have posted and this is the first fly that I have ever tied in my life. I also made my own bobbin and I have (or will try) to post pictures of both the fly and the bobbin that I have made. After seeing the prices of flies in the stores I have decided to start tying my own. I have watched several videos to learn how to tye them the correct way (I think) at least if they catch fish then they are keepers.

 

Thanks for looking and if you have any hints please pass them along because right now I am all ears.

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

The popper body looks a bit rough, but should not affect the catching ability. That's aesthetic only. The legs are probably too long, and will need to be trimmed, otherwise they'll likely tangle with the hook & foul. I like long legs on poppers myself, but they can be too long. The hook position in the body, should be a low as you can get it & still get a good bond with whatever adhesive you used. This aids in making a nice popping sound & with picking the fly up off the water for casting. The higher in the body you place the hook, the more the portion of the body that's below will hinder the hook gap.

The hook may be a bit too small too, but hard to tell from the picture. General rule is the gap of the hook should be at least as wide as the width of the body. Use a hook that's too small & it will hinder getting a good hook set.

 

I'm not a fan of marabou tails on poppers, but it does work well on some. Your proportions look real good. For your first attempt, you've done an excellent job!

 

The bobbin is cool, but will wear out quickly if you tie with it a lot. When you can, get yourself a decent bobbin. IMO, one with ceramic inserts, which won't wear out as quickly, is what you want, particularly if you'll be tying with that heavier nylon thread.

[mikechell 0]

Why is it that most people's "first fly" look better than the ones I tie for fishing?

Good job with the popper ... need some work on the photography.

[Firefighter615 0]

Why is it that most people's "first fly" look better than the ones I tie for fishing?

Good job with the popper ... need some work on the photography.

Thanks guys, I know the photos are not the best, I took them with my cell phone. Also thanks for the tips I will be experimenting with several different things.

 

Thanks again and good luck this year catching the big ones

[fly~by~night 0]

looks better then my first fly lol. seeing the prices of flys are just insane. I think i have only paid for 6 flys in my life....it definitly pays to learn to tie.

[DrVette 0]

It looks better than my first fly...by leaps and bounds.

 

But if you truely think learning to tie will save you money................,,,,,,,,,.........GET OUT NOW!

 

All the flies that you will tie that you you will never want to get wet, all those feathers that you might try someday, all the gagets that you feel you just have to have, and all of the other things you start buying add up to far more than you might spend on flies from your local tyer or shop. But the things you will learn along the lifetime of learning to tie are priceless...make shure that you understand that before you realize how much you spent to tie your own...like i am starting to see after over 30 years of tying on & off. But it was good investment in the ejoyment of it all...I think?

[BassMouth87 0]

But if you truely think learning to tie will save you money................,,,,,,,,,.........GET OUT NOW!

 

I second this...I got into tying after losing the first $32 worth of flies I purchased from the local fly shop, 10-11 different trout nymphs for bluegill. $4000+ later in the first year spent on fly tying materials , books , tools etc. and I realized just how wrong I was. My girlfriend is constantly harping on me about my spending on tying flies...the first mistake those getting into the hobby make is thinking for a second that it is cheaper to tie your own flies.

 

That being said it is great fun, relaxing, challenging and I love every second of it...my other half however would have preferred I stuck to just buying them from the shop lol.

[ditz2 0]

45 years ago I did the exact same thing as you. My first time out with the fly rod I lost $5 worth of flies. I don't recall how but I stumbled onto the fact that poppers could be home made so I started looking. I finally started tying my own flies on a home made vise which was visegrips welded on a steel rod and a home made table clamp. I found some small cork cylinders, model paint, a mixed bag of small hackle, and 2 kip tails. Herters's supplied most of it including the humpshank hooks and I was in business. I forgot the epoxy glue. I made a few dozen in different colors and started catching fish. I soon quit losing as many flies each time out. I still have a few of the original poppers. I have repainted and put new hackle on them but they still catch fish. Many dollars later and after learning to tie many other patterns I don't regret any of it and I have had use of many flies that otherwise would never had the chance to fish. It is cheaper to tie your own IMO if you stick to buying materials for just one pattern and a size or 2. But, like Lay's potatoe chips, bet you can't eat just one. It will grow and grow and you will grow with it. Just go slow and be deliberate in buying materials. Unless you intend to sell your flies the critic that matters is the fish. Not that you will care but I tie my small poppers for gills in one color now. Yellow...short red kip tail and either a black or grisley hackle. My poppers are either 1/4" or 9mm dia and I do put legs on a lot of them. I use the 9mm popper for an indicator with a soft hackle fished under it. The popper usually catches the most fish though.

[tidewaterfly 0]

the first mistake those getting into the hobby make is thinking for a second that it is cheaper to tie your own flies.

 

The first mistake is having a wife or girl friend who doesn't share your interest to begin with! The second mistake is thinking you'll save money by tying your own!

 

Firefighter, I've also been tying & collecting materials for many years. I tied commercially for about 15 of those years. Commercial tiers need a large variety & supply of materials, because there are so many different types of patterns. However, collecting can become an addiction, as can tying. I know I'm not alone here, as this has been discussed before, and I have many thousand dollars "invested" in materials & hooks. I could have purchased a lot of flies with the money I've spent on supplies alone, not to mention the vises & tools I've bought over the years. I no longer tie commercially, but still purchase materials & hooks, items for which I don't have an immediate need.

 

It's an addiction, but I tell my wife it's still cheaper than booze, gambling or chasing women!

 

As the others have said, there are good reasons to tie your own flies, but saving money is not one of them.

[goldendemon 0]

it always saves my fishing buddies' money

[mikechell 0]

Fly tying can save you money over buying flies, as Ditz2 said, if you only buy what you need to tie the flies you'll fish with. For the present, I am saving a lot of money, since most of the materials I am tying with are from the Dollar Tree or stores like that. I don't "stretch" my creative side by trying patterns I'll never use. Other than deer hair spinning, I'll probably never try to tie a "pretty" fly.

I am cheap ... and proud of it.

[BassMouth87 0]

Tide: indeed my friend lol

[keep_lookingup 0]

That is a pretty advanced fly for your first fly. My first fly was a hare's ear.

[DrVette 0]

_{To really save money find local estate type auction houses and cruise them for tying stuff. I have seen complete set-ups (desk, vice(s), tools and assorted materials) sell for as little as $10. I have bought a couple to get certain items in a set then gave away the stuff i didn't want. But this takes a lot of patience to wait untill you find something interesting before bidding on it. Ebay has gotten too high to get really good deals these days but i used to find some there as well.}

 

_{Those ticked-off ole'ladys almost give that stuff away after outliving us knuckle heads.}

[strmanglr 0]

Same thing with me, started fly fishing, went into a shop, $3.00 per fly, that got me tying within a week.

 

I really enjoy tying, I figure I got about 20-50 cents in a fly when I tie it.

 

Like Mike said, buy only the materials to make the flies you want to fish and things will go ok for you. I fish mainly dries, nymphs and spiders, occasional streamer. I might have . . .totally guessing here maybe $500 dollars in materials and tools. I'm thinking that is an extremely high guess, but I have enough materials to last me for couple years if I couldn't buy any more stuff. When I get home I'm gonna add it up.

 

It sure is nice tagging a bush with a 25 cent fly than one you paid $3.00 for.

 

Don't go nuts and it will work out. My vise cost $30.00 works great been using it for years. I'm sure others will read that and laugh, they might have spent 7-10 times that amount. Does that expensive vise help you catch fish? Do the flies look any better? I don't think so.