In need or advice

[Fishywood 0]

Hello everyone. I am new to fly tying and look for some opinions and advice to get started. First I will be at first primary looking to Ty wet flies only with woolly bugger and pheasant tails first.

 

After being bitten by the fly fishing bug I realize that fly tying could be necessary to fly fishing.

 

I have been checking fly angler online for articles and such plus looking up other things on the interwebs.

 

I really like this Dr Slick Fly Tying Tools Gift Set with Fly Box Combo, http://www.amazon.com/Slick-Tying-Tools-Gift-Combo/dp/B002WS3CH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1458227418&sr=8-2&keywords=dr+slick

 

and this vise, http://www.amazon.com/Griffin-Vise-Superior-Fine-Point/dp/B003ESXFDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458227512&sr=8-1&keywords=griffin+vise

 

I also found this bundle set with the dr slick set and a vise,

http://www.amazon.com/Bundle-Items-Griffin-Odyssey-Spider/dp/B01CDORR56/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458227590&sr=8-1&keywords=dr+slick+bundle

I also seen orvis silver label kit and wondering if this is worthwhile to purchase

 

 

What do you think of these items? would they be worthwhile to purchase or do you have any other recommendations? I understand most kits are crap even for beginners. I am all ears, would rather get advise then be stuck with something I cant use or dont like.

I dont want to overload and buy more materials than I can use. also the size and types of hooks are critical. what's the best sizes for wet flies?

 

Is flyanglingonline the best place for recipes?

 

How crucial is a bench or is a table more important?

[fishingbobnelson 0]

Try J. Stockard http://www.jsflyfishing.com/ for good prices. Also look at the fly pattern database on this site. Green Caddis also on this site has good prices too.

There are hundreds of fly shops and online stores plus EBay. Google the item you are looking for. Spend your most money on quality scissors, after your vise, the most important tool you will use. Have a couple of pair, one for tying and one for cutting hair, fur and other materials that will dull your tying scissors. Welcome to the Forum, have fun.

[utyer 0]

There are "kits," and there are "kits". MOST kits include throwaway tools, and much of the material looks like it was swept from the floor after all the usable material was packed up and shipped out. The Griffin vises are made in the US, and no matter what price point you decide to purchase, they are as good as any similarly priced items.

 

The kit your looking at with the Griffin Odyssey Spider vise is the best value. Its only 12 or 13 more than the tools and the 2A vise. The Odyssey Spider is a fully rotational vise, and while you might not use the rotary function at first or much at all, its a good feature to have.

 

The ONLY good thing about the Orvis Silver Label kit is that they no longer have it. The vise is NOT as good as either Griffin. Id does include materials, but since your limiting yourself to a few simple patterns, simply by the materials necessary for those.

[mikechell 0]

"I also found this bundle set with the dr slick set and a vise,
http://www.amazon.co...dr slick bundle "

 

As Utyer suggested ... go with that one. I've got that vise (except mine is a cam operated jaws) and I couldn't be more please.

 

Go to and get a fantastic starter kit of synthetic materials for about $25.00.

 

Then go to E-bay for some starter feathers and furs. Buy a few spools of thread there, too.

You might not get "top of the line" materials, but you'll be able to tie most flies with less than $100 involved in materials.

 

OH ... and welcome to the site.

[flytire 0]

here is my 2 recommendations for kits

 

dynaking

 

http://www.dyna-king.com/dtl_vises/?id=383&cat_id=4

 

flyfishfood

 

http://store.flyfishfood.com/Complete-Fly-Tying-Starter-Kit-p/fffkit3.htm

 

 

Is flyanglingonline the best place for recipes?

 

not really. the pattern database on this website is quite extensive and GOOGLE is even more better

 

How crucial is a bench or is a table more important?

 

a fly tying bench usually sits on top of a table so i would guess the table is a little more important

[FlaFly 0]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with my friend flytire on patterns. There are, as he said, a huge number of really good patterns in the database. Unfortunately many, if not most, of them don't include any tying instructions, and some don't even list the materials used. Those who post often seem to assume that every viewer is an experienced tyer.

 

Whether flyanglersonline step-by-steps are the best, depends on your level. For any beginner, that's the first place I would steer them for information about tools and materials and their uses, and for some good and useful patterns for developing technique. For flies not found at that site, I generally go straight to youtube. Also there is a thread in this forum on step-by-step demonstrations, and all are excellent (assuming those are the flies you are looking for).

[Fishywood 0]

Thanks for the positive responses and advice. Can I ask a crazy question? What makes the quality of material? Can you feel or look at it and tell well this is crap or any telling characteristics? What about other wet fly patterns, what are some good ones to continue learning? Hooks for wet flies best at 8 and 10?

[FlaFly 0]

You're going to get lots of opinions to a question like that. I'm going to generalize and say that it depends on what you need it for, and of course there are all kinds of materials with different measures of quality. For example, EVA foam is EVA foam... it's pretty much all OK. Things like feathers are different. If you are a commercial tyer, tying flies to sell, and you are palmering hackle (that's what you do on a wooly bugger), you want the hackle to be the same length (distance from the hook shank) all along the fly, and what makes a quality hackle is length and straightness. We just had a discussion about this. If you're starting out tying a wooly bugger to use for bluegill fishing, or making a tail for a popping bug, just about any hackle will be OK at least to the fish.

 

I'm pretty sure there are several members online that have knowledge of good books or online sources discussing material quality, so I'll turn it over to them.

 

By the way, you haven't introduced yourself (there's a thread for the purpose) or let us know about where you are, how you fish, etc. That's helpful in answering questions like this. Also would be nice if you'd beef up your profile so folks can see who they're talking to in the future.

[flytire 0]

the fly pattern database is far from perfect but is a good start and contains a lot of flies

 

it also has a lot of junk that doesnt really belong

 

use the beginner lesson on flyanglersonline

 

general rule of thumb

 

along with a photo as a visual l reference, a fly recipe when listed in the correct sequence is basically the tying instructions. takes a few flies to learn the process

 

(first thing tied down, last thing wrapped forward. use a photo for references)

 

example

 

 

 

Hook: TMC 5262 #8-18

Thread: 70 Denier, dark brown

Tail: India Hen Back Fibers

Rib: Fine Gold Wire or Gold Oval Tinsel

Abdomen: Natural Hare's Mask Dubbing

Wingcase: Mottled Turkey Tail

Thorax: Natural Hare's Mask Dubbing, Picked Out.

 

 

tying advise: take fly tying lessons. shortens the learning curve

[fishinguy 0]

Check youtube for fly patterns. Any good video will list the hook model and size. Dr slick tools are good. I have that kit. Its nice. The fly box isn't top quality, but fairly large. Griffin is a good vise from what I've heard. Cam jaws are preferred by most people though. I went with a peak rotary. Natural materials can vary allot from package to package and brand to brand. And often, you get what you pay for.

[FlaFly 0]

Also note the material list on the dB is the stuff the tyer used. No law says you can't use whatever thread, hook, etc., you already have, assuming they are close.

[Poopdeck 0]

My advice is to jump in with both feet. You will find in very short order that there is nothing magical or difficult in fly tying. You will be up and running in no time. Youtube has every pattern you may ever want to tie. Any vise will be just fine. As for the rest of the tools there's no need to drop a bundle of money there either. The cheap ones will last decades. Make sure any bobbin you buy has a ceramic insert. you can get cheap ceramic bobbins for 6 bucks and they will never break, at least mine never have and I have about a dozen of them. The only thing you may want to go top shelf on are scissors. Enjoy.

[Dave G. 0]

For the first 5 years of my tying experience I never owned scissors, I used single edge razor blades and sometimes still do to this day. Nice to have ? Yeah. Gotta have top shelf ? No. I have a little pair of drug store Fiskar's scissors I think I paid $10 for more than 20 years ago now and they are still sharp.. I cut hackle with them, even oval tinsel etc. And often trim thread from the head with them, if I can't get in there on a #20 fly the single edge will. I wrap rods and cut the thread the same way, off the spool with scissors, off the rod blank with a single edge razor blade.

 

IMO, for wooly buggers and most nymphs and a lot of wet flies a vise is a vise. When you start into some fancy salmon flies and tiny dry flies you might want something finer and with rotation. I think the Odyssey will tread you fine even into the future.

 

Materials will be self explanatory as you move along. Meanwhile www.troutandfeather.com has some online tutorial videos about that subject. And Tim is good about getting you just enough detail to maybe make a better choice .

[FlaFly 0]

I don't want to start the "which vise" debate all over again... there are numerous threads already on this topic, but I do have a minor adjustment to what you guys are saying. I've said over and over that the full rotary vises are essential for a commercial tyer or any other tyer to whom speed is the essential quality. It isn't to me. I've got the whole rest of my life ahead of me, and sometimes I take a couple of days to get around to finishing a tie. I still use simple vises, but I have one qualification.

 

My first vise was one that I could not rotate, even manually, to work on the bottom of a fly without unclasping the hook and turning it over. So I got my next vise, that allows me to loosen a toggle and manually turn the fly over. I think you're going to wish you had that capability. Most ads online and in BPS, etc., don't mention that at all, so the best thing if you have a BPS/Cabela/whatever near you, go in and look at them first hand.

[skeet3t 0]

Still using the cheap vise I bought over 20 years ago. I still have some of the materials in the kit. Never found a use for purple deer hair.......yet. I just tie 6 or 7 patterns that are useful in SE TN.