add147 0 Report post Posted January 24, 2015 Welcome BlackHawk53! You have found the right place in my opinion to learn about fly tying. Everyone here is very helpful and nice. I have been here since last March and I can honestly say no one here has been hateful or a smart *ss. I know I have asked some pretty stupid questions on here and no one has ever belittled me so far...LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackhawk53 0 Report post Posted January 27, 2015 Alright at this point I believe I'm shopping for a new vise, the Cabela's basic which has good reviews simply isn't living up to there name. It has a one year warranty but I'm pretty sure I've nixed that with my sanding. I was able to finally get the post into the base, only to find that the lock nut is stripped and the vise won't hold half the hooks that shipped with the material package. In the mean time I was considering a trip to the Orvis store, need more info but the 40 minute drive might be worth it if I can sit in on a few Saturday classes. I wonder if they have any "loaners"? wish me luck... P.S. has anyone looked at or tried any of the other kits? I'm considering one of these... http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IAW2IK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=RJZC95CWOQQ9&coliid=I3C57H5JMK27AK or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00390K8YG/ref=s9_simh_gw_p200_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=11X5CA6G99HRWDBMVD6D&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970559082&pf_rd_i=desktop Thanks All!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shoebop 0 Report post Posted January 27, 2015 This topic (buying a starter kit vs buying separately) has been discussed quite a bit in the past. You might want to read through the archives to catch up. I think it would be helpful. In my opinion, I think you would be way ahead to buy a decent vise & tools separately. Most kits are junk! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
add147 0 Report post Posted January 27, 2015 shoebop hit the nail right on the head. I asked that very same questions when I started last March and I bought everything separate. From what I read on the kits most of the stuff is made over seas and it is crap. Plus I have a hard time give other folks money in other countries that are trying to kill us i.e. Pakistan and other places over there. I try to do my best to get stuff made in the good ole USA!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
portlyjoe 0 Report post Posted January 27, 2015 Check out Dave McPhail vids on you tube or Jim Miscurra. They have a ton of vids to look at and you will learn lots. As for the materials, it will get very expensive over time. Figure out what you want to tie and buy those materials. over time you will accumulate what you need. the only word of warning i can give.:you get what you pay for. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wschmitt3 0 Report post Posted January 27, 2015 Welcome to the forum. Bad luck having troubles with your first purchases. Don't get too discouraged you'll work it out. I would steer clear of most kits, they tend to contain not so great quality tools and materials. The best purchase I made in the beginning was the Dr.Slick Tyer Pack Tool Set I still use all of the tools in it except the bobbin (I still use it some times I just have others I use also) almost every time I sit down to tie. I highly recommend it, it has top notch tools. I would also recommend the Dr. Slick straight point tweezers and brass dubbing twister. These tools will get you by in pretty much any situation a novice tyer will find themselves in. As for the vise that is a much more complicated situation and one that depends heavily on how much money you are willing to lay down. A good quality vise will run you some where in the range of $100-200 (or lots more) there are quite a few to choose from. As with most things you get what you pay for. One more thing. Try to steer clear of cabela's, I find that the slightly lower prices don't make up for the asinine shipping costs and their customer service sucks(my opinion). Check out Feather Craft(my favorite online retailer), JS Fly Fishing, Feather Emporium and In The Riffle (there are others I can think of that have great reputations) if you don't have a shop with knowledgeable staff nearby. If you do go talk to them and check out the vises in person. -Will Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trez 0 Report post Posted January 28, 2015 If you have an Orvis store that close, that is definitely the place to get a look at and try out different vises and tools. Then you can pick them based on some experience and help from the guys there. If you want to shop around on prices, go out to your car while there and do a little recon on the cell phone... my 2 cents... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blackhawk53 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 I live on the west side of Cleveland, OH. and to be completely honest I never knew there was an Orvis store in the area. I have ordered from the internet from them in the past but it wasn't until I started searching for a place to learn to tie that I found them. They have a Saturday intro class that is free, so I know what I'm doing next month (they only have six seats so the class fills up fast). I have mostly done my trout fishing in Penn. but have occasionally caught some in Ohio. I never even thought to try for Lake Trout, or Steelhead. I absolutely must fish for steelhead!!!!! and until recently I have mostly discounted some of the fishing area's due to (my belief) that the water was too polluted. While researching the steelhead runs I learned that the Rocky River, Chagrin River, and most of the Cleveland Metroparks get some kind of run from the trout in Lake Erie who then hold inland waiting to spawn. this is then added to by stocking from the ODNR of rainbow trout throughout the area in April and May. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaFly 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 I have an Orvis store a few miles from my home in NC... south part of Asheville. The store is 99 per cent clothes. The "fly shop" is about the size of my master bathroom, and very limited in what they carry. One would think in that location they'd want to do better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 Pollution is overrated as a reason NOT to fish a body of water. While you might not want to EAT what you catch ... there might be some very fun catches in there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
add147 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 This site is a great place for learning. But the following site has a whole series devoted to the new fly tier, with all kinds of great information. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/ Cool site indeed...Got it bookmarked for sure! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
add147 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 I have an Orvis store a few miles from my home in NC... south part of Asheville. The store is 99 per cent clothes. The "fly shop" is about the size of my master bathroom, and very limited in what they carry. One would think in that location they'd want to do better. I have only been to one Orvis shop and it was in Austin, Texas. I stopped by there on the way back home from a fly tying expo in New Braunfels, Texas. I had gotten a coupon from the expo that was good for 60 % off a purchase. One of the tiers at the expo had a nice scissor set and he told me that he had gotten it at Orvis. He told me to go over to the Orvis booth and get a coupon and the trio set would only run me about $25 total. On the way back home my son and I located the Orvis store and stopped in. The store was located in the high rent district of Austin so my old Ford p/u was parked in between Mercedes and BMWs. We got out of the truck and walked in the store and checked things out. Needless to say I was not impressed! Maybe it was the fact I was dressed in ratty t-shirt and a pair of overhauls which was why I never was helped by anyone in the store. In my opinion it is more of a clothes store than a fly fishing store plus the prices are just to high. I guess I am just a poor ole East Texas bum....lol...lol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trez 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 I guess I assumed that Orvis would be a real fly shop.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
add147 0 Report post Posted January 29, 2015 I guess I assumed that Orvis would be a real fly shop.... Oh it is but my experience was not that great...Yours might be better...Do not let it stop you from going to the store just on my word a lone! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stevegud1 0 Report post Posted February 7, 2015 Hello, from Elk County, PA. Sorry to see that you're no longer in the area, and even more sorry to see you ended up near Cleveland... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
