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Fly Tying
flygirl08

Hello From Indiana

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Hello!

I am 17 years old from southern Indiana, and have been fishing for years. Last summer, my neighbor taught me to fly fish, and I've been hooked ever since. A few months later, I was at an auction, and my dad helped me win a small tying kit for 20 bucks. There weren't a lot of materials inside, and I fiddled with them constantly for the next few days, making smoe poorly-tied flies. I looked online to learn the proper ways to tie, and saw the huge world of fly tying. I hadn't realized it was as complex as it is. I took a few trips to Gander Mountain and to Sportmans Wearhouse and bought new supplies. What an expensive hobby! That doesn't really matter, though; I'd tie if I only had 20 bucks a week. :)

Anyway, I've been fly fishing and tying since. I'm still very much an amature, so I joined this forum in the hopes of gaining some hints.

 

May the holes in your nets be smaller than the fish you catch!

--flygirl08

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Welcome to the site and a great hobby! Once you catch fish on flies you tied yourself you will probably be hooked for life!

 

Yes, it can be an expensive hobby. Just take it slow and try to make the most of the items you purchase and keep your eyes open for inexpensive substitutes at craft stores or Walmart. Some of my favorite summer fishing flies are made from inexpensive peacock herl, rubber legs and craft foam. You can tye up a bunch of flies from these materials without breaking the budget. The hooks tend to be the most expensive component of these flies.

 

I recommend a book on foam fly patterns by a gentleman named Mr. Harrison R. Steeves ("Tying Flies With Foam, Fur, and Feathers"/ISBN-10: 0811729095/You can get the book used for around $13 on Amazon).

 

Welcome aboard!

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Welcome aboard..You will find a wealth of information here to satisfy you new addiction..Very nice to see new members of the female gender joining and getting more involved in fly fishing..Being a father of 3 daughters that love to fish..

 

I would recommend getting the benchside refernce in the future.Little pricey but wealth of technique and step by steps.only been tying for a few years,i still pick it up look through it for help.

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Welcome! :D

Yes this can get expensive :lol: but it doesn't have to be, to start :)

There is another book that I still use as a reference, The Art of Fly Tying

and it doesn't cost as much as the Benchside Reference (You could ask for

that one for a B-day or Christmas present :D ). And of course there is so much

information for free on the web sites.

My husband and I have not only learned a great deal but we have made a lot of

wonderful friends on the fly fishing sites we belong too, people on here are

wonderful for help. And I'm sure :) you will make some wonderfull friends just as

we have :D

Anyway, I'd love to see pics of your flies and once again Welcome!1 :D

VEE :)

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Hi flygirl,

 

I have been flyfishing just about as long as you, and tying a little bit longer, and yes, it is very expensive. It is really expensive to me, because i have just gotten into the world of classics. A while ago, people owed me money, and as soon as i pought my first macaw, it was the other way around. I guess that it is worth it, because flyfishing and tying is something that you could do for the rest of your life.

 

JZ

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Thanks to all who replied!

 

A lot of people think it's weird for me to fish, being a girl, but I jsut look at them like they're crazy when they say something. :P

 

My dad has bought me a couple books, one of them being The Art of Fly Tying, and I've found them to be very helpful. I will probably ask for another one for my birthday.

 

I will happily post some of my flies shortly! I made some for my neighbor's birthday as a thank you for teaching me to fish, and she swears up and down that they're good, but, being that she's close to family, she could have been exaggerating. :lol: She put them on display in her china cabinet. :lol: Too funny!

 

I've been looking for substitutes for expensive materials as well, and I have found a few. I use regular superglue for head cement, $0.33 craft foam from walmart, and my old collection of embroidery floss for some of the floss body colors that I don't have. Sometimes when I need a "dyed" feather, I use the natural color and color it with permanent marker. I'm not sure if the marker will actually last long, but I can't afford to buy every color of feather available. :lol:

 

Thanks again to the warm welcome! :)

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hey fellow hoosier !

 

cost effective head cement i learned about on this site. go to wal-mart. buy a bottle of sally hansen's "hard as nails"(white label with red lettering). $1.88. i think i now have more clear nail polish stuff than my wife.............:)

 

camoham

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Camoham,

I've heard of using clear nail polish as head cement, I've just never gotten around to trying it.

 

What part of Indiana are you from? :)

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i saw how you said that you got a book called "the art of flytying". That is pretty cool, that is the book i taught myself with. I also chuckled at how you were talking about spendy material... If you think head cement is spendy, just wait till you get interested into atlantics, and a fly calls for indian crow, or bustard.

 

Happy tying :headbang:

JZ

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welcome, you have made a really wise choice to eneter these learned halls. really you can learn all you want and more here great people willing to share answer your questions. welcome Best regards Paul

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Flygirl08

 

welcome...this is a hobby that is addicting.Hope you stay with it and look forward to seeing some photos

of your work.I see your also into photography ,there is a spot on teh post where some of the other members post bird, mountains an dall sort of neat stuff..If you ever need help just post and ask there is always someone here more than willing to help....once again welcome aboard... :D Mike

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Welcome. This is a great site for help and ideas, I'm sure you'll get a lot from it. I've been tying for many years (35 +/-) and I still love to find cheap substitutes for the more expensive materials. Candy bar wrappers, clear mylar from envelopes, all kinds of craft material, and so on. The main thing is that you have fun with it.

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Hey Flygirl, Welcome to FTF!!

 

If you want to learn anything or know anything about fly tying you are in the right place. If you have a question, no doubt one of the over 8,000 members will have the answer for you.

 

The Beginner's Corner is a great place to hang out, the forum is moderated by Al Beatty, one of the most knowledgeable fly tyers in the industry. Tonnes of information there and any question you have is a good question.

 

It's great to see another female getting involved in the hobby, my wife get's really excited when we are on the river fishing and she sees another female flyfisher, I say, "see you aren't the only girl flyfisher" People for the most part no longer use the term flyfisherman, it's flyfisher. This is good news.

 

So again, Welcome and just have fun!

 

All the Best,

 

 

Damian.

 

 

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