Collection

[Woodinfliezz 0]

I'm fairly new to fly tying ive stated this in several posts but im looking for an answer to a question that often times frustrates and disappoints me. im also aware that many of you folks on this forum have been tying for years and years so you have come to a point where you just have a grand collection of tying materials and such.

 

so with out any other blabbing about here is my question to you.

 

how when or where did you start collecting your materials and such? what is a good way for a newby to find materials especially when i don't have a lot of money to start with? my collection is very small i have been searching for great deals on ebay but they often break the $100 mark and i just cant afford that at this moment. would it be more economical for me to just start buying my flies and just wait to start tying until im in a better place financially? im sorry if this question has been asked before i just have this feeling that im missing something any kind of guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[flytire 0]

figure out 5-10 patterns you want to tie and buy those materials.

 

that will be your building block for additional patterns

 

take lessons at local fly shops, trout unlimited chapters, tying clubs etc

 

there is an initial outlay of money but you might ask your hunting friends for feathers and furs. a taxidermist might have some pieces of fur he may want to get rid of

 

hobby stores and dollar stores are also sources of materials

 

be creative and think of other sources

[switch10 0]

I started with a kit that my parents bought me when I was 12. I still use materials from that same kit purchased 15 years ago! Some materials will go a long way.

 

Since then I have been buying stuff that I needed to tie specific patterns. My collection of materials built up pretty quickly this way.

 

Hooks can get pretty expensive. Don't be afraid to try out cheaper alternatives. I use GreenCaddis, and Allenflyfishing hooks pretty regularly, and I haven't had a problem with them at all. Actually, the Allen hooks come in some pretty unique barbless styles that you can't find anywhere else.

 

Dry fly hackle is very expensive as well. Unless you are a die hard dry fly guy, I would skip it entirely (for now). Dries are really fun to tie, and fish with, but nymphs are definitely more productive most of the time. Nymphs make up 90% of a trouts diet after all...

 

As far as thread goes, you could get away with just one color. White. You can then use a sharpie marker to change the color of the thread.

 

Do you hunt? A lot of my materials come from stuff that I've shot (squirrel, white tail deer, pheasant, grouse, partridge, rabbit, duck). Deer hair is an excellent material, and with a few packs of Rit dye, you can have any color you want.

 

Go to the craft store!! You can buy hundreds of glass beads for a fraction of what they cost at the fly shop. Foam is also much cheaper at the craft store.

[mybadhabit 0]

When looking at ebay, stay away from the buy it now stuff, most of that is just as expensive if not more expensive than the local fly shop.

 

I agree, craft stores are great, some yarn there looks like chenille and costs a little to lay out, but it will last you a lifetime.

 

also, visit youtube and watch videos on tying, many will include a materials list, this will give you something to go of of when you are looking for materials.

 

Estate sales, especially if you live in an area where there are many fly fishermen, sometimes you can land a crapload of stuff there, like a whole collection of stuff to tye for for years to come.

 

Garage sales or flea markets are also great places to find deals on things, like old fur coats that you can parcel out and sell on ebay to help cover the cost of the item.

 

The other thing that I like to do, is I have a few friends locally, and one of us will buy something and then a couple of us will split the item up and the cost is a fraction of what it was initially, so check around to see if there are any other tyers in your area.

 

And ditto to what has been said already.

 

Blane

[DrVette 0]

instead of ebay (over the last few years too many sellers have turned to scammers and ebay policy changes a couple of years ago have chased away most casual honest sellers) try finding a local estate auction house and cruise their pre-auction inspections. This gives you a good way to inspect lots closely and then decide if you see anything worth bidding on. A couple of months ago i found a box of tying supplies and no-one else bid on them. I got the box for $5. In it was a nor-vise auto bobbin but no spools or winding tool (i already have those though) 2 pairs of ice-dub scissors, and a few partial boxes of hooks along with a bunch of partial necks and saddles, several spools of thread and a bunch of other stuff that was basically worthless. But the guy who runs this place told me he constantly gets boxes of stuff like that because many tiers are reaching that age were we are dropping like flies...i don't think he understood the pun there. Sometimes there will be other bidders running up the price but if you relax and wait you should be able to find similar, and maybe even better, deals in your area. Some of the local auction houses even post pictures on their web sites so you you can look around with-out leaving the house till something good pops up. Just keep looking...it is like a treasure hunt of sorts.

[beltdrive 0]

I've only been tying for a year. I took a class at a local fly shop, they taught the Hares ear nymph, Pheasant tail, Elk Hair Caddis, etc. very common patterns. I then bought some stuff to do pheasant tails. and gradually adding when I can to tie other basic patterns.

 

Youtube and this site have great instructions...

[Woodinfliezz 0]

there are'nt really any fly shops here in augusta ga lol not many fly fishermen here either i have a couple friends that tie but they live on the other side of town so meeting up with them to tie is not as economical as i would like it to be. thanks for all the responses i will be sure and check out the craft stores but when you dont really know what your looking for you kind of get confused as to what to buy or what would work and what wouldnt -.-

[mridenour 0]

Just find a couple flies that you like to use. Check out what you are supposed to use to tie them and either buy small quantities of what you need or start looking for a cheaper alternative. I bought a big skein of olive yarn at Wally World for $1.77 and it fuzzes up nice with a piece of Velcro used as a dubbing brush. I will probably never use the whole thing but I caught a lot of fish on flies I used a few inches of it to tie last weekend. You can break any rules you want when tying flies. I would add material for one or two flies at a time to my collection if I was strapped for cash. It doesn't have to be expensive.

[Bruce Derington 0]

I'm fairly new to fly tying ive stated this in several posts but im looking for an answer to a question that often times frustrates and disappoints me. im also aware that many of you folks on this forum have been tying for years and years so you have come to a point where you just have a grand collection of tying materials and such.

 

so with out any other blabbing about here is my question to you.

 

how when or where did you start collecting your materials and such? what is a good way for a newby to find materials especially when i don't have a lot of money to start with? my collection is very small i have been searching for great deals on ebay but they often break the $100 mark and i just cant afford that at this moment. would it be more economical for me to just start buying my flies and just wait to start tying until im in a better place financially? im sorry if this question has been asked before i just have this feeling that im missing something any kind of guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[Bruce Derington 0]

You have to tie for quite some time B4 it becomes cheaper to tie , than to simply buy the fly, but once materials are purchased your price per fly costs are a lot less. Many tie for the obvious "hobby" and many have picked it up because they have a pattern (in their head) they can't purchase. It is definitely tough in getting started, and many slowly build their inventory and it is a good idea in picking your favorite few and concentrate on acquiring materials as needed. Don't get discouraged, for many of us its not the prices for materials. more so, the quality of the finished fly that can weigh on us. Truthfully,YOU would have to purchase hundreds of flies B4 coming close to your investment of decent inventory of materials, hang in there

[Piker20 0]

What I have also found is the shop brought flies that still linger in corners of my earlier boxes fall apart when fished, some not even seeing a fish. With tying my own I know they will hold up to the standard I expect.

[utyer 0]

I have been "collecting" materials for 47 years. In the beginning, I concentrated on about a dozen patterns that my mentor had advised me were a selection of flies that would work almost anywhere in the west. For the first few years, I limited my materials to just the materials for those patterns.

 

There was NO Internet (Al Gore hadn't invented it yet,) and very few books that I had found. Gradually, I started finding more patterns to tie, and my "collection" started to grow. By the mid 1970s, I had found several books on fly fishing entomology. As I learned about the different insects and hatches, I began to tie the new patterns I was finding, and again I added materials to my collection. Fortunately in 1970 i began working in a store that sold fly tying material, and I could "collect" at a discount. For the next 25 years my collection continued to grow. I also started to learn about other places to collect materials.

 

Fur stores were still selling fur coats, and they had bits and pieces left over after alterations, and repairs to older coats. I was able to collect cartons of various furs and skins.

 

I was also tying custom flies for a growing list of clients, and the materials necessary for many of these patterns were added to my collection. By 1995, I had a full room devoted to my tying area and storage (mostly storage.) Then I made a major career change, and moved across the country. I divided my collection up among several tying and fishing buddies, and setup several schools with materials for their tying clubs.

 

For the last 15 years I have gradually reduced the size of my collection. I send a carton of material to our armed forces in Afghanistan, and donated materials to several other youth groups. Now I can fit my tying materials into one 90" closet. The closet does have 10 foot ceilings, so it does hold quite a bit of stuff. I still "collect" materials, buy mostly just hooks. I have way too much of some things and not enough of others. I had a good friend once say to me: "A man can't have too much fishing stuff."

[petelangevin 0]

Some of the best deals on ebay are the gallon sized bag o fur scraps. I got one with beaver, mink, rabbit, possum, skunk, and fox for about 10$. I can dub up thousands of flies out of this bag alone. Also look at the fish hooks too. Many tying hooks can be found mixed in antique hook lots. But i agree that there are tons of places to find materials as mentioned above. See if you can find a copy of fishy fullums book on tying with ordinary household items. You will be surprised what you can turn into flies for little to no cost at all.