Best kit for a beginner

[flyfly 0]

Hello everybody.

I have been fly fishing for a short time and I have been noticing that fly's are getting quite expensive. I'm looking to start tying my own, and am looking for a good fly tying kit that will last me a while and a good fly tying book Thank you!

[Clearly 0]

Having just started myself I would say that it depends on what you plan to tie and fish. I purchased a trout kit from bass pro that had a vise, tools, material and instructional dvd,

. All for $50, with that said I realized the vise is not that great and I needed/wanted more tools. It was a great introduction and eye opener. If you are not sure if tying is your thing this might be a good route. You can also go online and get decent tool kits and a better quality vise separate then buy materials suited to your taste and needs.

[newbie@this 0]

I agree with Clearly. I bought my tool kit from Cabela's...they had it on sale online for about $16.00. Regular $39.00. I have since bought another vise from a local fly shop and will probably upgrade that next year.

[flytire 0]

 

:)

 

many many threads have been posted regarding this subject. some good some not

[flytire 0]

[flyfly 0]

Thanks for all the replies. I have been looking for materials on ebay also. I think i'm going to get the kit for the tools and upgrade as I need. Can't wait to tie my first fly!

[Gene L 0]

I've never seen a kit that was good. Generally, the vises aren't great and the feathers and fur is of low quality. It's just not economical, IMO. As said above, there are many threads on this.

 

A local fly shop may have kits specific to your area, but otherwise you're going to end up with small patches of pink deer hair and patches of Indian necks and a few things you might find useful. They have very little materials of any real use.

 

They're tempting because they supposedly have everything you need, but they do not.

[FlaFly 0]

Have to agree with everybody... as far as tool kits, you get a bunch of tools, some of which you don't need right away, or at least won't use, and generally the tools aren't very good. Some are ok.... a bodkin is a bodkin, after all. The scissors may not be very good, the vise almost certainly won't be. I advise people who are starting to get what they need right off to tie their "training" flies... a pretty good vise (note pretty good doesn't mean Cadillac). A good pair of scissors. a couple of thread bobbins. One spool of white thread (you can color it with magic markers for different flies). Maybe a whip finisher. Most folks I suspect start out finishing by hand, and some never get beyond that.

 

As far as material, again don't buy a kit. Get some hackle feathers (variety), some marabou (variety of colors), some chenille, maybe some foam bug bodies, but I'd rather just buy multicolor sheets of foam from Walmart or wherever. Tie beginner flies like wooly buggers, foam spiders, etc., and do a bunch of them to perfect your technique. When you want to graduate to a new fly that requires something else like deer hair or fur, buy what you need.

 

I haven't had time to watch Flytire's video as I'm dashing in and out, but I'm sure it's excellent.

[epzamora 0]

Get a kit, get it out of your system. better yet, have someone get a kit for you! then in a few years when somebody else asks which kit to get...

 

i had a kit. the tools were fine, actually a very good pair of scissors, but the main feature, the vise, was crap. the material was ok, but too little of what i wanted and some stuff i have yet to use (10 years later).

[Gene L 0]

Yeah, get a kit; it's not like you'll be chained to a kit for life.

 

I bought one about 25 years ago, and still have the scissors (which are pretty good) and the stacker. The vise was a Thompson, basic but not a bad vise. Nearly none of the hair and none of the hackle was good. But I tied a couple of flies with it and a Muddler Minnow.

 

Whatever you get, buy a fly tying instruction book. Best money you can spend if you're a beginner and unfamiliar with the terms.

[flytire 0]

heres one of the best book for a beginner. learn from one pf the best

 

 

another idea. we are approaching fly tying season and your local fly shop might offer tying lessons. take them if they do. shortens the learning curve by quite a bit

[mikechell 0]

... better yet, have someone get a kit for you!

 

THEN, when you don't like some part of the kit, you can blame them !!!

 

I tied with a kit for many years. As epzamora says ... I've still got a few packages of stuff from it.

[add147 0]

Another good place to get some tying instruction is any local fly tying clubs. When I first started to tie I attended some local expos and I found that fly tiers are the most friendliest folks around. They will go out of their way to show anyone how to do something.

[Goose77 0]

I've looked at this section over and over and wanted to say something...and not been sure what to say. A.K. Best has advised buying only tools and materials for flies YOU WILL USE to start out...keep the expense down until you see if this is for you. If you've got a burning desire to be a fly tier this strategy will be too small a bite. So think about it...do you want to be a good carpenter or a master?

I'm not a kit fan.

A good piece of advise I got was to contact International Fly Fishing Association to find a local affiliated club to join. This helped me alot to get dialed in with people that were nuts also.

Books are cool, and expensive...but they last. A.K. Best, Eric Leiser, Skip Morris, C. Craven [as mentioned], Leeson and Schollmeyer [expensive but great] are some of the authors that have helped me...these are mostly trout references. Jaworski, Popovics, Chicone are good salt and streamer references.

Dvds are really helpful...you can get what your going to use and view them over and over. There's good videos on the internet also.

I wish the best for you and hope this helps. I love tying and being plugged into the tying fraternity...it's really cool. Cheers, Ed

[Monk57 0]

I am relatively new to this as well. Be forewarned - and I'm certain many tiers will agree - you don't get into this to save money. (Unless you only plan to tie many flies of only a few patterns.) You will quickly find you don't have the material you need for a particular pattern. You don't have the size hook you need. You don't the right size and color thread. You need that special tool or gadget to make tying better. You need glues and epoxies and UV lights. After awhile it all adds up and you wonder how many flies you could have bought with all the money you spent on materials and tools. I do it because it gives me a great sense of accomplishment when I catch a fish on a fly I tied myself. Better yet - when your friends catch fish on a fly you tied. My vise is a very budget oriented rotary vise that was given to me. In my opinion, all a vise does is hold a hook. It can do it for $40 or $400. You decide where you want to invest your money. I choose to buy materials that I can use to tie a greater variety of patterns.