RoaringForkFlyer

Congrats to the winners! Some GREAT flies in there... good fun. Thanks for putting on the contest Horseshoes!

Getting closer to the end! :bugeyes: Loving the prizes... I need to start praying hourly for a victory.

:bugeyes: I've been following some rams around lately just waiting for them to dribble a bit... :wallbash:

Thanks guys. Some good laughs and some good advice! I'll be using some of the golden retrievers underbelly as well as freezing all feathers I find... careful to hide them from game wardens. Thanks again for the great advice as always... gives me the freedom to start looking at what I find around me to tie. :bugeyes:

I've been using some feathers of local fowl here in the area in place of what I'd buy at the fly shop. Had success with the gold ribbed hare's ear in that I use a local black feather for the darker backing and the tail. There's a TON of hunting up here and I'll have an abundance of deer, elk, turkey, countless birds, some fox, and rabbit materials throughout the year... I'm wanting to learn to use them to supplement other items. Because.. why not? Just wanted to know the thoughts of you vets on replacing store bought materials for those you can supply yourself, especially when they aren't "exactly what the recipe calls for." Also... what about using the hair from pets? I laugh typing this because I envision shaved dogs resting below a fly tying bench... but you know what I mean. Any of you replace with local, wild materials or domestic pets?

Flies should be arriving at your door any day now! Will you let me know when/if you receive them?

I joined not too long ago and have been gleaning a LOT of information from these boards (thanks to all of you). I've picked a few patterns and I'm working on just getting them up to snuff, hoping a trout will find them appetizing. Well, last night, it happened. Caught a 20 inch rainbow on a Prince nymph I tied the night before. Probably one of my favorite catches. Had 4 hits on the elk hair caddis I made but to no avail. Thanks again for the help guys! Hopefully this is just the beginning. ...and I promise not to come on here every time I catch a fish on one of my flies

Oh man, I'm on this. I got a busy weekend but as soon as Sunday afternoon hits I'll be working on my nymph and caddis. I've only tied one of each so far with less than stellar results. Never tied a scud before. I've been trying to get my brother on the forum since it's such a good resource for rookies and this might be just the ticket to get him to join the community. PM approaching!

Alright fellas, I did it. I followed many of your suggestions pretty much all the way. Lionus, I must say that you were correct in your pricing and I must thank you a lot for your specific links and help. That's the kind of stuff I was hoping for when I came to this forum. All good advice from you guys; got the best hook packs, quality starter vise, and avoided the kit curse. Thanks again guys. Hopefully I'll be tying within the week! See you on the water.

Wow fellas, that's much more than I'd hoped for. A lot of great suggestions and direction on where to head. After your firsthand experience, I can see that kits are not the way to go and after many of your posts it's obvious I can get a decent set-up under $200 buying piece by piece. Thank you again. I'm going to get over to Denver to check out some fly shops as well as hit up the ones here. The tools and prices Lionus posted are great and I'll probably go that route after doing a bit more research. Thanks again guys! Any further tips you have, I'd love to hear 'em.

This is some of what I was hoping for Fred. Thanks for the honest response. I'll check out Cabelas kit but having tied a bit when I was a teenager, I think I might want a bit more. But my question was about efficiency and cost and that may be the way to go. Thanks again for your expertise, especially being a teacher. I would like to buy one step above my "upgrade rate" meaning, I'd rather not buy TOTAL entry level stuff that I'll upgrade FOR SURE... and instead, buy just that one step up. Again, I just need to perfect a few local flies this summer and we'll call it a success for now. ....problem is.. I'm so antsy and ready to get back to tying that I'm finding it hard to not just make some impulse buy.

Thanks Devin! Great site and I'll take my hook size into greater account.

I'm back in the Rocky Mountains after a long stint in the South. I used to fly a lot and tied some but have been out of it for far too long. Now I'm wanting to get back in the saddle. I've read a LOT on here about which vise, certain scissors, and how kits suck but I finally decided to register and ask a few questions. VISES & KITS: People at some fly shops have actually steered me TOWARDS a kit and away from buying piecemeal, claiming that they'd been, "tying for years on the Bass Pro vise and it works just fine. No need to spend more unless you want to." SO SERIOUSLY... I know that kits come with a bunch of unneeded stuff but for bang and buck... is there truly a HUGE downside? Bottom line; I've got around $200 available now to jump back into tying and I'd like to get the basics out of the way. I'm in the Rocky Mountains and I'll be tying Adams, Caddis, nymphs, and other whatnot but mainly those. I'd LOVE to have a primo vise and such but I don't have the funds right now and I KNOW that kits "suck" but please be honest, can I get a low end vise and tie Adams throughout the summer in a way that will be effective and not a huge headache? If not, I'd love some help on which way to go with tools and a vise that total under $200. Thanks for all the help in the previous threads from other beginners I've read. I really have liked reading through what you've written and I appreciate the way you have helped beginners like myself from whatever level we come in at. Hopefully I can return the favor someday in the future to another beginner.