First stab at Materials...

[mikechell 0]

I second anyone above who says you can tie perfectly usable flies on the equipment you have. (kit tools)

Since a lot of my tying materials come from Dollar Tree and Walmart (I tie a lot of flies on "Eagle Claw" hooks, $3.67 for 50), I can't say that more expensive materials are necessary.

Learn how to tie, with whatever materials you can afford. Once you've got the basics down, then you can decide which materials and tools to waste spend more money on.

[chugbug27 0]

I would stay away from eBay as a beginner. You're on the right track. Just start tying with what you've got. Don't buy, buy, buy; tie, tie, tie.

[Flicted 0]

Poopdeck, we agree more than you know. If you have tied on those tools for 30 years, I would argue they are not crap tools. With tools, quality is what’s important and not name or cost. I have also used peacock, pheasant and marabou from craft stores and dollar stores but I bought them because they were of sufficient quality. But if you’re trying to tie with cheap hackle, it can be frustrating depending on what you’re making.

[tjm 0]

The very worst hackle out there would have been the standard when some of us started. Three feathers to hackle any dry. You just learn to deal with it.

[Poopdeck 0]

As for materials, I personally stay away from eBay just because you don't know how or where it's been stored. Mites and other little bugs are something I don't want to mix in with my other materials. I'm all for saving a nickle but not at the expense of a dollar. I was just at an auction where I got a steal. There were lots of materials there that I passed on because they did not pass the smell or eye test. It's just not worth risking the addition of mites to your tying arsenal.

[CasualAngler 0]

Looking @ eBay can be fun sometimes to see what's out there, but I'll stick to the local purveyors for my Materials in the future. Thanks kindly for the input.

 

Now... off to tie!

[flytire 0]

nothing wrong with buying materials from ebay. just beware when buying feathers. not all feathers will have buggies in/on them

[Rjohn7 0]

yeah. I bought like fiend, just because.. well I like the materials. like to see them play with them, figure them out and then stuff them in a box and forget them a while and start over again. For the most part learn from my error not to buy everything you see. or you'll need to build an addition to the house. Lets pretend I went on here for several hours about ending up with hundreds of dollars worth of stuff ones never going to use and I can skip doing it. just remember tie, not buy.

 

fast forward.

 

That being said I've plenty of good quality genetic hackle, fur/hair etc That I picked up and don't mind sending some to someone just starting out, so you can try and see what you like and more importantly want to work with before you buy. go ahead and shoot me a message if you would like.

 

RJ.

[CasualAngler 0]

My first Fly.

 

Hook: TMC 3761 #12

Body: 6/0 Brown

Hackle: Red Grizzly

 

Comments/Critiques gladly accepted!

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Poopdeck 0]

It's backwards! Just kidding it looks great. See how easy that was.

[Tom Cummings 0]

Looks far better than my first fly. I used to do trips to the fly store 1 time a week now I can go months at a time and even at that its just because Im now well known there. Dont rush buying just buy for what your gonna tie. In the long run the new material can be used in other new patterns. When I go shopping I always pick up more thread either replacing or different color and denier count. Before you know it the desk will be over crowded lol.

 

Good luck and nice start.

[chugbug27 0]

Looks great for your first tie. It is definitely fishable. I think you also picked a good pattern to start on. I'm no expert, but here's my 2c

 

Tie in a thread head 1/4 the length of the hook shank before you lay down the hackle if you want that distinctive kebari look.

 

When you tie off the hackle after it's wound around the hook, get the thread in between the barbs down to the stem to tie it off. Give it a few wraps and keep the hackle in one place on the hook as you tie it off, preferably on top. (Yours is spiraling around it a few times I think.) Three or four tight wraps is enough before clipping the waste if you dig in to the stem.

 

Your hackle wraps seem good. If you want more depth to it, give it four wraps back toward the bend and make sure the stems don't overlap.

 

You've got a nice taper on the thread body. Keep focussing on making touching turns and it will get smoother.

[CasualAngler 0]

My second fly...

 

Hook: TMC 2457

Body: 7/0 Cream

Hackle: Red Grizzly (from the side of the patch)

 

When finished, the Hackle looks a little sparse. What shape feather should I be looking for, or choosing, from the neck or saddle?

 

Alan

 

[chugbug27 0]

A cupped looking feather from the middle of the neck would help sweep it forward more. The feathers on the side have barbs that are longer and straighter, probably the same with your strung saddle.

 

Re sparseness, just wrap more times around the hook in touching turns (the hackle shouldn't be wrapped over itself). You can also achieve denseness (and even multicoloration) by tying in two hackles and wrapping one at a time. Also, some feather brands are more dense than others (whiting the most notable), but don't go there yet.

 

The body on this one is much smoother. That's partly the utc thread. (Uni gives a more segmented look) but it's also much less bumpy, which is mainly that you've tied it better.

[CasualAngler 0]

Thanks for the replies! It was definitely easier than I had assumed, but winding the Hackle & the Whip finish is definitely a challenge. If you haven't noticed, I set the vise & wind from the left. Most of the videos on whip finishing show using the tool from the right side. I'll get it...

 

I definitely notice a difference in the Thread. The 1st fly was tied with UNI, the 2nd with UTC Ultra. I kept breaking the UTC with the Ceramic bobbin until I honed the inside edge of the Ceramic tube, then the UTC stopped breaking. I think UNI is the better choice for me, although I like the translucent look of the UTC. Probably due to the nature of the thread, I bet. Not waxing might have played a part, too.

 

Thanks for the 411 about the hackle, CB. I have to figure out what's usable re: the Partridge feathers. As flytire said, some of them may not be suitable for hackle.

 

Practice, practice, practice. Slow & steady wins the race. If I screw up, that's what the X-acto knife is for!

 

Alan