Good place to get materials on a budget

[oakesna 0]

I am a college kid who is pretty much broke but find tying flies fun and relaxing! I got into fly fishing in high school where we had a fly fishing club. I bought a cabelas fly tying kit a while back and have now run through just about all the materials trying out different patterns. Are there any online suppliers where I can find some basic stuff that won't put a hurting on my wallet? Also does anybody have any suggestions as to materials I can find materials around the house for any clever patterns?

Thanks,

Nick

[Cannonx4 0]

Go look at Michael's, it's mostly a craft store for women but they do have quiet a bit of stuff that is fly tying worthy. I found all different kinds of feathers and furs there. Most packs are only a $1 and up to $3. Now they are not high quality but they are good enough to play around with.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

I will second craft stores! Foam, feathers, crazy fur, yarn, chenile, and some tools, like xacto knives, scissors, good luck. For hooks, Allen flyfishing has great prices, pm me and I'll tell you more about them.

[FlaFly 0]

Also sewing stores like JoAnn Fabrics. Sewing and craft stores can provide lots of stuff like foam, threads, chenille, etc., but for hackle you pretty much need a fly tackle store. You can get a good supply of hackle in a package from Cabelas for a reasonable price. Things like rubber legs... you can get about a foot or so of bungee cord and strip off the nylon cover. It is made of about a hundred rubber threads that make good legs. I also find good stuff in Christmas wrapping supplies, like spools of tinsel, twisted ropes in red and other colors that can be untwisted and used as wing material... just use your imagination. When I am shopping I see all kinds of possibilities everywhere!

[oakesna 0]

Never would have thought about craft stores!! Great out of the box ideas with the bungee cords too!! Thanks for all the advice and I will see what I come up with!!

[Fisherboy0301 0]

Do you hunt? I have more turkey feathers from hunting than I could ever use! Also squirrel and deer tails, rabbit hides, coon, fox and coyote tails, plus numerous bird speicies can all be collected for the price of one bullet/shell/arrow.

[FlaFly 0]

One last thing... if you haven't already done so, I recommend you go back through the earlier threads in this forum, and others like the Beginners forum, for discussions about alternative materials. There have been several, with lots of good ideas.

[utyer 0]

Yard sales: look for feathers, and YARN. There is so much you can do with yarn, and yarn scraps are usually cheap. I get lots of yarns from Big Lots. I make dubbing from all kinds of yarns. Just comb or brush it out, chop it up in 1/4 to 1/2" lengths and blend. An old plastic mayo jar work well for blending. Just fill half way with chopped yarn and water shake like hell. Pour out in to a strainer lined with a paper towel. Squeeze out the excess water and let dry. Yarn can also be mixed with chopped furs or all kinds. If your lucky, you may even run across old worn out fur garments in yard sales. I once found two mink collars and paid less than a buck each.

 

Church sales and school fund raising sales are places where a lot of stuff is gathered together makes shopping them very quick and easy. Macrame yarn is very useful for streamer and bait fish patterns.

 

Craft stores have lots of materials you can use.

[flytire 0]

fly tyers dungeon

 

http://www.flytyersdungeon.com/

[agn54 0]

For hooks and tungsten beads, Allen's is hard to beat

[Brian Myers 0]

I have not tried either company yet but plan too.

Beads and brass hourglass eyes in the per 100 price is real good and shipping is cheap. http://www.wholesaleflycompany.com/

Saber hooks per 100 price is nice. They seem to get decent reviews from what I have read. https://www.flyshack.com/Home.aspx

 

I pick up brass hourglass eyes and some hooks from here on Ebay when I am looking for small quantities. I also use his add on sink tips and large tippet rings. He ships stuff out quick and has been very good to deal with and have been purchasing from him for a little while now. He does take off for fishing trips but it will show up on the items listing if he is out and when he will resume shipping. Have only had one mistake on an order and he took care of it quickly (shipped out the correct hooks the same day. ). http://stores.ebay.com/skagit-anglers?_rdc=1

[s fontinalis 0]

this is without doubt, the best company to get yarn from.

 

http://www.renaissancedyeing.com/en/category/crewel-wool/threads-yarns/crewel-skeins-and-hanks/?group=all

 

25m skeins for less than $2 each. Infinitely better quality than uni yarn, and the yarn diameter is just right for wrapping on small flies. I double it up for wool body streamers up to 8xl.

 

They have a ton of colors as well, and shipping from France is merely a few bucks extra, hell its less than $5, which is the standard flat rate shipping cost around here, unless you get free shipping with a minimum order.

 

The yarn can also be shredded for dubbing by stripping it under a lightly held razor blade.