What kit under $100 should I get to start fly tying

[HyperStriper 0]

I really need a kit to start I’m dying to catch a fish on my own fly.

[Bacchus_2 0]

15 minutes ago, HyperStriper said:

I really need a kit to start I’m dying to catch a fish on my own fly.

While I haven’t tied on it, the Orvis Encounter fly tying kit looked well made, when I was kicking the tires on a simple travel kit. At $70, it leaves a lot of room in the budget for some materials to tie hares ears and pheasant tail nymphs.

Best of luck on your tying journey.

Don

[Guest]

Wapsi, in MountainHome, Ark from Stockards has little more but $109, shipping?

https://www.jsflyfishing.com/wapsi-deluxe-fly-tying-starter-kit?utm_source=google_base&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=gbase_feed&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3Y-ABhCnARIsAKYDH7v3KUyyZs7zkW_p0MdjZWXPUtt3sKbzfGdFs803vNc2_tx3nenJu7waAk7rEALw_wcB

[WWKimba 0]

One problem with kits are that they have materials that cover a broad range of fly styles/patterns and that means there will be some you may rarely/never use.  Wasted materials = wasted money.  What do you like to fish for?  This will give you an idea of what materials will best meet YOUR needs.

Kim

[skeet3t 0]

Get a set of basic tools, good vise and buy materials for what species you target. I bought a kit about 25 years ago and still have some things I have never used.

[Noahguide 0]

I hesitate to offer up my perspective here as this topic comes up frequently and there are many established tiers that have strong opinions on the subject. 

Still as a late starter and relatively new tier, say five years or so, I found buying a kit the perfect way to get started on what has since become a very enjoyable and expensive hobby.   Not all of us had access to a mentor that would guide us along the way.  I remember walking up to the tying materials wall at the local BPS and thinking "Holy Crap" how would you know where to start?

I purchased the upper end Orvis kit (about $200) when I started.  Granted it's twice what the OP wants to spend, but this was my entry kit.  I suspect the lower end kit is similar but limited.  Again with full disclosure I have no affiliation with Orvis, merely this is where I chose to start.

In the kit I received all the basic tools required to get started.  Have I purchased  new and better tools since? Yes, but all the tools from the kit are still on my bench or in my travel kit.  Moreover, the enclosed video CD, a Tim Flagler production, taught me how to use them.  

The kit contained all the hooks and materials required to tie 16 different flies.  It told me what hook to use, laid out the materials that were required, matched the bead heads to hook sizes, and introduced me to the terminology that related to the materials and how they were attached (hackle, dubbed, palmered, chenille, etc.). The sequence of the videos provided building blocks on techniques and complexity of the flies tied.  Being an old military guy I  would watch the video segment first, tie with the pause button at the ready,  tie again, try without, and then review.  

It taught me the basics of fly tying and left me with 160 flies, some horrible results, others quite productive. Some that have been fished out, others that I just never had any luck with (Chernobyl Ants come to mind).

I learned to tie thread bodies, palmer feathers, tie in zonker strips, tie parachute posts.

So for less than $1.25 a fly  (that makes the basic tools free) I learned.

So from that starting point I now have three other vices, multiple bobbin holders, more materials than I can possibly use in my remaining days, and a understanding of what I need to purchase when I want to tie a certain type fly, and no regrets.

I strongly recommend that a new tier get a good kit as means of exploration. 

 

[DFoster 0]

 
 

 

1 hour ago, skeet3t said:

Get a set of basic tools, good vise and buy materials for what species you target. I bought a kit about 25 years ago and still have some things I have never used.

+1

10 hours ago, WWKimba said:

One problem with kits are that they have materials that cover a broad range of fly styles/patterns and that means there will be some you may rarely/never use.  Wasted materials = wasted money.  What do you like to fish for?  This will give you an idea of what materials will best meet YOUR needs.

Kim

+1

[SilverCreek 0]

15 hours ago, HyperStriper said:

I really need a kit to start I’m dying to catch a fish on my own fly.

Local knowledge is best so my recommendation is to see if you have a local chapter of TU or Federation of Fly Fishers. Contact the chapter president and see if there is a fly tyer/fisher who is willing to help you choose a vise in that fits your budget and materials for flies that work in the waters you fish. The fly tyer will know simple effective patterns and I suspect that most fly tyers will be willing to teach you how to tie those patterns.

[skeet3t 0]

Both organizations offer free tying and casting classes. Try this long link.

https://www.tu.org/find-your-chapter/?_ga=2.2452720.1748679133.1610990674-1679235990.1580144444

[Poopdeck 0]

A hundred bucks is plenty to get started. No offense to anybody but I've never understood the advice to seek out TU chapters. Buy a vise and some material and start tying. It's that simple. There are no secrets out there anymore. 

Kimba's advice is sound. Let us know what your tying purposes are and you will get all the suggestions you could ever hope for and more. 

[WJG 0]

21 hours ago, skeet3t said:

I bought a kit about 25 years ago and still have some things I have never used.

To be fair, every tier has something they bought and never used.  (Except Mike!)

[mikechell 0]

Nope!  This is one category that I qualify as a "normal person".  While I don't buy much, even I have a few things I haven't used and likely never will.  I've got a couple of buck tails, picked up and a "flea market" fishing equipment event ... that I've never even taken out of the packages.  I liked the color ... but never tied the flies.

[skeet3t 0]

2 hours ago, WJG said:

To be fair, every tier has something they bought and never used.  (Except Mike!)

Purple deer hair?

[Bill_729 0]

I typed in "fly tying vise" in ebay and had the gut feeling that you couldn't go wrong with any of them.  Think "rotating" if you want to be 21st century. : )   My Thompson Model B serves me find for the time being.  Keep in mind that the principle purpose of the vise, as far as actual tying goes, is simply to hold the hook!  : )  Good luck to the OP!

[jcozzz 0]

On 1/19/2021 at 5:28 AM, skeet3t said:

Purple deer hair?

I have purple and pink.