Materials and getting started

[Opus Odonata 0]

Hello All!

I joined this forum in hope of learning and sharing knowledge and experience about the fly tying craft. I have recently relocated back to my native Michigan and decided to combine my love of fishing with my creative nature. There are no fly tying clubs in my area and I know of no one either. I have already purchased a vise and base. I have buck hair (purchased) and the tail from the buck I got earlier this year. I have also purchased bodkins, scissors, hair stacker, head cement, and a fairly large assortment of thread in varying colors. I have read a few articles, viewed you tube videos about tying different patterns, and browsed my fly tying materials catalogs. At this point I am more confused and inundated about what materials to buy and choose from than ever. I want to tie predominantly dry flys for all varieties of Trout, and Salmon found in Michigan and especially the Manastee river close to our family's cabin in Mesic Michigan. I want to purchase enough material to tie a large variety but not so much to break the bank and get away from the most productive and popular patterns. Too many materials and recipes to wrap my brain around! Any help with a list of must have and should have materials to get me well underway and clear of this fog bank would be greatly appreciated!!!

[utyer 0]

A good place to start would be to search out a hatch chart for the Manistee River like this one. Knowing what insects are likely to be there and when the hatching activity is expected, will give you a short list of flies you would want to imitate. Knowing what starts hatching first will tell you where to begin. Get materials for tying the early season hatches, and build from there. For the early season, you would need to imitate a Blue Wing Olive Mayfly, a Small Black Stone, and a Black Caddis. There are patterns for each of those in the database here, or you can find them on Google. There should be videos for similar patterns on YouTube.

 

You would start by picking up dry fly dubbing in dark, medium, and light olive; dark and a lighter brown. Add to these black light and dark gray, a cream. Three shades of tan, should give you a good assortment to build any color body needed. Peacock herl is another basic body material you will want to get.

 

Then you will need material for wings. Fine textured deer hair and elk hair get each in a light and darker shade. Also for wings you should get some Wood Duck flank and mallard flank. Teal or Pintail flank will also work in place of mallard. For parachute patterns, you will want some poly wing material in white, and gray.

 

Hackle: Now comes the expensive part. If you want to tie conventional dry flies, you will want to get good quality hackle. These rooster hackles are quite "pricey," so start with the lowest grade you can find in these colors: Grizzly, Barred Ginger, Meduim Brown, and Dun Gray. Later add a Cream. You can get either Necks, or Saddles, and a split neck or saddle is plenty to get you started. The difference between a neck and a saddle is the size range. Most necks will have a full complement of hackle in all sizes. Saddles will have a smaller range of sizes on any given patch. Typical saddles will have a range of 3 to 4 sizes, and the feathers will be long enough to tie 3 to 6 files from each feather. Necks will have shorter feathers, and most will tie just one fly.

 

Tails: A few light and dark Coc D' Leon tailing packs will give you all the tailing you might need. Moose body, and elk hair can also be good on some larger flies. And you can get tailing from the larger feathers on a dry fly neck.

 

You didn't say where in Michigan you lived, but there are a LOT of good fly shops there. If at all possible, find one near you and they can help you much better.

[mikechell 0]

Welcome to the site, Opus.

What Utyer said. Pick a few fly patterns and buy what you need for them. Don't try to stock up on everything at once.

You can find a package deal for synthetic hair and dubbing stuff at:

http://www.flytyersdungeon.com

 

About $25.00 gets you a year or more supply of a variety of materials.

[Opus Odonata 0]

Thanks utyer and mikechell, That was exactly what I was looking for. I live in Sturgis, all the way to the south. Not much trout fishing all the way down here except for Sherman Mill and Nottawa Creeks that I know of. I want to tie for pan fish as well when im not making a trek for trout. Ill have to do a recon for the closest fly shops and go from there. Thank You again!

[tmrkr 0]

Slip over to Edwardsburg to a place called LUNKER'S. Lot's of info and material there.

[Opus Odonata 0]

Sweet! I forgot all about that place. Ive driven by it a ton of times but never inside.

Thanks tmrkr

[utyer 0]

Keogh Hackle is just up the road on RT 60 Mendon.

[Opus Odonata 0]

In Mendon...wow?! That's on my way home from work. Thanks utyer

[flytire 0]

fly tying lessons

This list of beginner tying materials is simply a list based on my 35+ years experience in fly tying. The list provided below is for a new tyer who wants to tie trout flies but can spill over to different genres of fly tying. It is a BASIC list. Could other items have appeared on the list? Of course they could but that's somebody elses list. Other tyers will add or subtract materials to their liking. So be it. Remember its a BASIC list of materials. It contains materials the can tie hundreds or even thousands of fly patterns.

This list is in no order of preference. This list is provided for your convenience and in no way requires you to buy all tying materials all at once or any materials for that matter. It is also a generic list of materials as I really don't have any preferences as to what brand of materials you buy.

Eventually you will need materials if you want to continue tying flies. The list may give you a head start as to what you might want to buy

Again, you do not have to buy the entire list all at once!

Buy what you want when you need it!

1. Hooks (in different styles and sizes)

2. Thread (6/0 to start in black & white)

3. Pheasant Tail (center feathers when possible for the longest fibers)

4. Peacock Herl (eye feathers and strung herl)

5. Marabou (blood quills are better)

6. Deer hair

7. Elk hair

8. Buck tail (in different colors like red, yellow, or white)

9. Lead or non-lead wire (in different sizes)

10. Ribbing wire (silver, copper & gold)

11. Rooster Hackle (grizzly, brown, white & dun) A good option is an introduction pack

12. Hen neck or saddle (grizzly, brown, dun etc) (great for soft hackle & wings)

13. Partridge Skin (great for soft hackles)

14. Dubbing dispenser of hares ear (various colors) & superfine dubbing for dry flies

15. Gray duck or goose wing feathers (used for wing cases)

16. Head cement

17. Tinsel and other flash materials (in assorted colors)

18. Calf tail (start with white, add colors when necessary)

19. Yarns & chenille (used for making bodies, both in assorted colors)

20. Floss (1 strand or 4 strand in assorted colors)

21. Strung hackle (practice wrapping hackle with this. cheap alternative to the pricey hackles)

22. beads its the rage in fly tying to bead this or bead that. its totally not necessary but its your choice to add a bead or not

Poor quality materials are destined to discourage beginner tiers and cause greater expense when the time comes to replace them. Buy the best you can.

Another recommendation seen on most forums is to pick out 5-10 that you want to learn how to tie. buy the materials provided in the recipes of those flies. these materials are now the building blocks for tying different fly patterns in the future.

"The vice, bobbin holder, scissors and materials are fundamental."

for an absolute beginner, what more is really needed? those 4 items will tie hundreds of flies if not more.

[bellevue.chartreuse.trout 0]

Dowagiac River? Is that close enough to you? I know there was a big project there several years ago to re-introduce the 'meanders' to the river. Think it's a fly-fishable river in that stretch now - but this is not from 'first hand' experience.

 

Looks like the Arthur Dodd Memorial Park is the location of the work done to restore the meanders. Don't know if that's close enough but at least its something to check out.

BCT

[crazy4oldcars 0]

Great list flytyer.
To expand on the hooks a bit, There are a couple of basic categories to consider. I will confine my comments to flies for trout and other ...small... species of fish. (Not salmon, steelhead, or large saltwater fish.)

First and most basic are dry fly and nymph hooks. Dry fly hooks usually are finer wire hooks designed to not add excess weight to a fly that is supposed to float. Nymph hooks are usually a heavier wire hook to help subsurface flies sink. With these 2 styles you *could* tie about 90% of your flies.

 

The third style would be a curved "scud" hook to tie, you guessed it, scuds. If these are prevalent where you fish, it would be a good idea to invest in a few sizes as appropriate.

 

The next hook I will describe is not a necessary hook, but it is a type that is fun to tie on, and creates an interesting profile. The curved shank hook is one of my favorite hooks for the reasons mentioned.

 

The last one for today is the streamer hook, which is a 3x, 4x and longer shanked hook. Used to tie bait fish patterns and longer insect patterns (Think helgrammite.)

I didn't go get a picture of the streamer hooks. Use your imagination, lol.

 

As a start, I would get dry fly and wet fly hooks in sizes to match the naturals in your area.

 

As a side note, Trout and panfish eat the same things. The flies you tie for trout will work for them, too. I would tie the flies a little larger for bream, to keep the small fry off of your line because it is difficult to get the hook out of their small mouths. I rarely tie smaller than size 12 for bream.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Kirk

[Opus Odonata 0]

Thank You All, flytire for the list of materials and valuable advise from your experience, like utyer. And Thank you Bellevue.chartreuse.trout for the Dowiagac River/Creek Hookup. Its close enough. My father and relatives are from that area.

Its awesome the way that I have been welcomed into this forum. To say the least.

[Opus Odonata 0]

Thank You Kirk! That was definitely a missing part of my puzzle I needed to fill in.

[portlyjoe 0]

Welcome to the site, Opus.

What Utyer said. Pick a few fly patterns and buy what you need for them. Don't try to stock up on everything at once.

You can find a package deal for synthetic hair and dubbing stuff at:

http://www.flytyersdungeon.com

 

About $25.00 gets you a year or more supply of a variety of materials.

Well said, I couldn't agree more , figure out what you want to tie first then shop.

[Chase Creek 0]

There is a really good article in the Spring Fly Tyer Magazine about basic tying tools by a fellow who's been tying for many years. You might want to check that one out. Some really good advice for folks gearing up for the first time.