muskyhunter81

It depends on what you want to tie. It doesn't do any good to by materials you don't use. Find a couple new flies that you haven't tied and by the materials for them. If you need some ideas on what to tie look online. I have a few different flys on my blog, that might give you a few ideas. http://fishbaitsflybox.blogspot.com

These are the places I have fished:

California

Nevada

Colorado

Utah

Wyoming

Mississippi

Tennessee

All 50 states are on my bucket list.

Here is one I did: http://fishbaitsflybox.blogspot.com/2013/09/mahalo-nymph_10.html

Awesome, I cant wait to have a spare bedroom in my house to do something like that.

They look a hundred times better than my first flies.

I started tying about 15 years ago. I bought the cheapest vise I could find at Sportsman’s Warehouse. I used my Dad’s old materials from a kit he had when he was a kid, which was just peacock herl, oversized grizzly feathers, gray rabbit hair, black thread and a bobbin. Even though my materials were not the best I still caught lots of fish with the flies I tied using those materials. Over time, I slowly bought my own upgraded materials. I just recently invested $150.00 for a peak vise which I look at as an excellent investment because I know that tying flies is something that is not just a fad for me. I really enjoy doing it. The question of “Are kits worth trying?” has been floating in my mind recently and my advice is, buy a cheap vise and bobbin, the materials to tie a couple of your favorite flies and either buy or borrow Charlie Craven’s Basic Fly Tying book. Although the flies you pick may not be in Charlie Craven’s book, the book does an excellent job explaining how to use basic materials and how to tie with them. I wouldn’t go hundreds of dollars into it until you know that it is something that you will not only enjoy but be willing to invest a good chunk of money into. Just my 2 cents.

What fly rod set up do you pike and muskie fly fisherman use and recommend? My current set up is an 8 weight, 9 foot fly rod. I bought this setup about 15 years ago for pike/musky but back then I never seen the big flies that I have recently seen thrown. I mainly threw long skinny rabbit strips. They were nowhere near the size of the pike/muskie flies I have recently seen. I have noticed that some people are using 10-11 weight rods. Is this because the flies have become bulkier or have they always been bulkier. My concern is that my 8 weight setup may not be able to handle these huge flies. Any opinions?

Those are good looking flies.

I got so close with luck...my intentions were to take picture of some snow capped mountains and accidently ran into him.

Was going through my pictures that i have taken and ran accross these:

http://fishbaitsflybox.blogspot.com/2013/08/coyote.html

Well I found this book at my local fly shop (which is 120 miles away) so I guess it is not so local but it’s the closest one shop available. Anyway, after skimming through this book, I would say that there is a reason that this book is on sale for $16.19 at Amazon. I can't really pin what I didn't like about it. It is not a how to tie pattern book. It is more a book that shows the fly gives instructions on how to tie it but it does not have step by step pictures. It did show a silhouette of the fly on a graph giving the dimensions of the fly, but I don’t think that part of the book is useful. What it comes down to is I was not impressed. It definitely does not hold a candle to Charlie Craven's books. Just my 2 cents.

Message Sent...Thanks

I am not looking for anything in particular just seen the book and though it might be a good one.

Just got the book, Thank you. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Hatches-Introductory-Effective-ebook/dp/B004BA6NN8/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377557894&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Handbook+of+hatches+by+Dave+Hughe

Probably more truth to that than I know.

Has anyone read Fly Patterns by Fishing Guides: 200 Flies That Really Work? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764165631/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

If so what is your opinion about the book? I was thinking about buying it but don't want to if their is only a couple of good flies in it.

Mine is: http://fishbaitsflybox.blogspot.com/

Here is a Pyramid Lake Tadpole. Easy tie. The recipe is here: http://fishbaitsflybox.blogspot.com/2013/08/pyramid-lake-tadpole.html

Very nice.

Thanks...It is still free

I decided that the Peak Rotary was the way to go.

Just found the "midnight fire" chenille yesterday and that is what is used for the "midnight cowboy" fly.

Here is my Super John.

To see the recipe go to http://fishbaitsflybox.blogspot.com

Thanks for the link Flytier.

I used to live in Reno. I have done the ladder thing at the Nets. So I know about the different flies that are used there. I was just wondering if anyone knew the recipe. I think that I will just buy one from the link the Flytier posted and copy it from there. Thanks for the help it is good to know that there is somewhere to get other Tyers Input.

Any body have a picture and pattern for this fly? If you could post it it would be greatly appreciated.