Favorite non-traditional fly tying material

[BioBlue 0]

I’m starting out in fly tying, and I’m already aware of how expensive some materials can be. What are your favorite material substitutes that can be cheaper than the more traditional options?

example: clear nail polish as a substitute for UV resin 

[RickZieger 0]

Look at the Flytyersdungeon.com for materials.

He has some great prices.

Rick 

[chugbug27 0]

Most basic natural materials are not so expensive. A lot of modern flies are marketed to get you to buy a new material. Stick with old tried and true patterns at first and tying will be much more affordable. And yes go with Flytyersdungeon for synthetic dubbing and other replacements if you prefer, especially for warm water and salt.

For trout flies, with hares mask, peacock herl (strung is fine), pheasant tail, a few different hen necks, and a few shades of deer hair, an assortment box of squirrel dubbing and one of beaver dubbing, a small and medium gold/silver mylar tinsel, and several shades of goose boots and Danville fly Master, you can tie soft hackle flies for wets, comparaduns for dries, and a wide assortment of nymphs. Altogether for well under $100.

[gadabout 0]

The things that are really expensive, like good dry fly hackle, don’t really have substitutes.  The best you can do is find good deals, buy less than premium grades, half necks, etc.

The things that are easy to substitute tend to be things that are not too expensive to begin with, and I question the economics of doing so.  You might find something in a craft store that sells cheaper per ounce than the equivalent item purchased from a fly tying supplier, but if you have to buy more than you would use in ten lifetimes, what did you really save?
 

As someone who is just starting out, you are not in a position to know what is a reasonable substitute and what is not.  As you’ve discovered, UV resin is kind of expensive.  It’s also totally unecessary, for the most part.  People use it for the convenience factor because it sets up quickly, but what’s the hurry?  Head cement works fine for most flies.  Nail polish can be used where you desire a glossy finish, but that’s just cosmetics.  It is also more expensive per ounce that ordinary fly tying head cement, but some people don’t seem to realize that.

[Fruitrollup 0]

Keep in mind, unless you are tying a crap load of flies, a lot of the dubbing, skins, feathers, etc. will last a very long time.  A 3” square patch of elk hair will tie over 200 elk hair Caddis flies, a packet of SLF squirrel dubbing will tie 300 size 18 to 14 nymphs, a clump of pheasant tail feathers will also tie a couple hundred PT nymphs, etc…hooks are probably the most expensive single consumable component followed by beads in tying trout or bass flies (not counting the exotics for salmon flies and the like.). Pick a fly pattern, buy those materials and become proficient at that fly.  Then move to the next pattern. Pretty soon you will have a nice supply of materials you can use.

[flytire 0]

i'm not going to buy a full skein of yarn to tie a dozen or two flies. total waste of money

 

when a small spool of year will tie a dozen or two of flies

 

 

there are not too many products specifically designed for fly tying. most products come from outside industries

[Fruitrollup 0]

Let’s see, 17 yds x 36”/yd / (5”/fly}  = 122 flys or so.  A whole skein of yarn might make sense if you tie 100’s of flies at a time, share with others or have unlimited storage, but for a new tier, it might be overkill. 

[Poopdeck 0]

What fruitrollup said. I don’t buy expensive material, period. No need to. I won’t buy jungle cock because I won’t use it even if a pattern calls for it. I would just leave it out and not substitute it with anything or simply never tie that fly.  I buy inexpensive half capes and 100 packs for hackle. I stick with brown, black, Dun and grizzly. Anything else and you’re just a hoarder. Fly tying material is actually very inexpensive. I would tell you to simply use fly patterns as a guide and don’t go nuts buying every material out there because that’s what some other guy used to tie a fly. Most importantly, tie flies that’s are proven fish catchers on the waters you will be fishing and not flies that get the most “likes” by fly tiers.

[Philly 0]

Craft foam, either 3 mm or 6 mm foam.  I tie most of my warm water flies with it.  The simplest one is and my go to popper is a foam circle punched out of a foam sheet.  

[DFoster 0]

If you intend to fish with your flies you will be amazed at how little the fish care about premium materials. When I started I caught some really nice trout on some really poorly tied flies some of which I tied from feathers that my grandson collected from their chickens or from under the bird feeder. The dogs in our family had undercoats that made reasonable dubbing.  After all using what was at hand is how this craft got started in the first place.  Expensive materials have their place but save the pricey stuff for after you get some time at the vise. Good luck and enjoy!

[BioBlue 0]

On 6/24/2024 at 7:02 PM, Philly said:

Craft foam, either 3 mm or 6 mm foam.  I tie most of my warm water flies with it.  The simplest one is and my go to popper is a foam circle punched out of a foam sheet.  

Thank you for the foam recommendation! I honestly never new about the benefits of having a variety of thickness in craft foam. I do want to also thank you for actually understanding what I was asking. I never meant this to turn into a debate on the value of pricey materials. 😅

[Sandan 0]

On 6/23/2024 at 10:21 AM, Poopdeck said:

What fruitrollup said. I don’t buy expensive material, period. No need to. I won’t buy jungle cock because I won’t use it even if a pattern calls for it. I would just leave it out and not substitute it with anything or simply never tie that fly.  I buy inexpensive half capes and 100 packs for hackle. I stick with brown, black, Dun and grizzly. Anything else and you’re just a hoarder. Fly tying material is actually very inexpensive. I would tell you to simply use fly patterns as a guide and don’t go nuts buying every material out there because that’s what some other guy used to tie a fly. Most importantly, tie flies that’s are proven fish catchers on the waters you will be fishing and not flies that get the most “likes” by fly tiers.

"Anything else and you’re just a hoarder." I have lots of different color necks and saddles. I use each and every one of them. Substituting is AOK, of course. I do agree with the rest of what you said.

[Sandan 0]

My fave non-trad materials, probably McFlylon and standard Z-lon. Wings, posts, shucks, tails, wing cases, legs, chironomid pupa gills, etc. The stuff is pretty versatile

[utyer 0]

Almost all of my dubbing is homemade.  I  have use many different scraps of yarn both synthetic, and wools.  Most of that I find in yard sales, is small bits.  I get ALL my copper and other wire by stripping old electronics.  For the last 20 years, I have been using Gutermann Scala thread, which costs about 30 cents per hundred yards.  The only  hackle I buy are Hofmans, and I got most of these in trade for flies.  I need very few of these, since I prefer to tie Compara-duns, whitch use deer hair rather than hackle for both the legs, and wings.  

[Bryon Anderson 0]

On 6/22/2024 at 9:59 PM, gadabout said:

The things that are really expensive, like good dry fly hackle, don’t really have substitutes.

 

On 6/22/2024 at 9:59 PM, gadabout said:

The things that are easy to substitute tend to be things that are not too expensive to begin with

I agree with Gadabout on both points, and I would add that the extra time you'll spend chasing down suitable substitutes will often negate whatever negligible cost savings there might have been to start with.