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ryveradair

professional tyers

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I have seen many great tyers with just tons of material. i envy them so much. Does anyone know where to get a TON of material for very cheap. For example like an assortment of dry, streamer, nymph, and saltwater hooks all including 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 size? Of course this is an example but if someone knows where to find it that'd be cool too. Or like an assortment of all different dyes of ring neck or mallards, or any material

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flytyersdungeon will get you a ton of synthetic material for under 50 bucks. He has package deals at Christmas ... maybe other times, too. But just go to that website and stock up on congo hair, eyes, rubber legs ... stuff !!!

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The best place to look is at garage sales or check the classifieds in the paper. Even call some local auctioneers in your area and tell them what you're looking for and they can call you when something comes up at one of their auctions. Also ask some of your friends if they know of anyone that ties that is getting rid of there stock. Sometimes you may find a deal on Ebay. Don't get to dishearten in your search. You have to realize that those of us that tie professionally have been tying for years (44 years for myself) and we bought what we could afford as we went along and accumulated our materials. It just takes some time to do it since it is so expensive. I know that this was not much help, but just keep plugging away and eventually you will have a great supply.

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Not for real cheap, or I'd buy them myself. You have to check around for deals. No one is going to sell you a $80 cape for $20, I feel pretty sure.

 

Synthetics you can find relatively cheaply, but not feathers.

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I am in the process of writing a blog article about getting more bang for your buck out of fly tying. At the end of the day people build collections over years and from stumbling upon deals or constantly keeping an eye out on kijiji, ebay, talking and networking with people etc. Finding good quality stuff for cheap can be tricky but is possible, but finding cheap quality stuff for cheap is easy, and matters more for some things then others.

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Guest rich mc

at most of the smaller local fly shows . normally a few tyers or clubs will sell boxes of stuff the members drop off. rich mc

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I should have mentioned earlier to check with taxidermists in your area. They always have some left overs when they do a mount. Also, I'm not afraid to admit it, but road kills are a good source as long as it's legal in your state. If you see a squirrel dead along the road - the tail is fair game. if it has just been hit and is in good condition, I throw it in the truck and skin it out at home and cure it with Borax. This takes some work but you can find a lot of fur and feathers along the road. If I'm out guiding and see some turkey feathers, they go right in my pack. I'm not ashamed to admit that I do scavenge but I do have a ton of material and some that you can't by from stores.

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ryveradair,

I tie professionally and have been for about 15 years tying for 30+. Like was said above it is something that comes with time unless you have a small fortune to spend or happen to find someone getting out of it. I teach many fly tying classes and always tell students to buy only the materials they need to tie the flies they tie most. The one item I have the most of are hooks becuase they are the foundation of any fly. I have about 15 different style hooks in many different sizes, put into 4 20 compartment hooks boxes and then 10 smaller indivdual containers holding dry fly hooks from sz 10-28. Other than dry fly necks and saddles that is where most of the cost is. Like has been said above look at shows and local clubs. I know the fly shop I work for has a tag sale in their parking lot in the spring and fall every year. In the past I have been able to get some customers some really good deals at these. I buy 90% of my stuff wholesale which makes it a bit easier. for things other than hooks and necks/ saddles, you do have options on line Jstockard, hook & hackle, flytiersdungeon. Also look at ebay some times you can find big lots of hooks for cheap. best way is to buy what you need to tie the flies you most in quantity and buy stuff for new flies in smaller qtys.

 

steve

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I have seen many great tyers with just tons of material. i envy them so much. Does anyone know where to get a TON of material for very cheap. For example like an assortment of dry, streamer, nymph, and saltwater hooks all including 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 size? Of course this is an example but if someone knows where to find it that'd be cool too. Or like an assortment of all different dyes of ring neck or mallards, or any material

 

Tie for 10-15 years, at the end of that 15 years you will have a ton of material and wonder where it all came from.

 

Nobody starts out with a ton of materials or enough materials to tie all types of flies in all sizes.

 

The other way is to become a professional tier, jump through all the hoops required by the various distributors and order away. unfortunately it wont be cheap.

 

As the old saying goes, the quickest way to end up with a million dollars in the fishing industry is to start with TWO million dollars.

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mikechell: "flytyersdungeon" by far are the sweetest words i've read in a long time. i had dealt with him in the past, and was super pleased with his product line. for the tyer on a budget, this is by far the best bang for the buck a person could ask for.

 

now before i place an order, is there ANY product that others have bought that they DIDN'T like. like my first order as in the past, it will be pretty big, and i don't want to spend money on a product that doesn't do the job. other then 'congo hair', i have no idea what i ordered in the past.

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is there ANY product that others have bought that they DIDN'T like.

 

thats entirely up to you

 

i dont like dubbing with seals fur or ice dubbing but you might find it easy to use

 

flytyers dungeon is not the mother of all things in flytying. the types of items he sells is quite limited compared to other online shops

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Whenever you are in a craft store always hit the clearance area. I got a bunch of marabou and a package of goose biots for 70% off regular price. One thing to account for that I did not realize until I notice women at my work were tying feathers in their hair. After reading some articles on the internet this fade has drove up some of prices on certain supplies. I am new in the hobby and I am like the rest of the fellows that stated you just have to build up your stash a little at a time or you will be broke all the time...LOL

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