im inspired

[Ladyfisher 0]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and have just started to fly fish for bass, bluegills, well panfish in general and was looking into tying after I seen a man out at our local lake missing a hand and he ties his own flies, and I said to myself if he could do it, I could do it. I make jewerly out of beads and lots of beads to start with yes I am female if you are wondering by now. Im a bit over whelmed with this and composed a list of things I think I should get :

 

 

A vise

bobbins (are these like the bobbins that thread comes on ?)

scissors ( i am a certified nurses aide and have suture removal scissors and tweezers from my job at the nursing home)

hackle pliers

dubbing needle

whip finisher

hair stacker

 

saw brassie on a list (what is this)

 

Glue

thread

 

From what im reading and saw i cant use plain hooks from the spinning gear? so that means that I have to get fly tying hooks?

 

I was thinking to start I would brush my black long haired dog or trim some fur from his belly and tie some flies. I would like to start with wooly buggers.

any and all imformation would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

Thanks,

LadyFisher :help:

[gpd4 0]

The bobbin is really a bobbin holder. It holds the spools of thread under tension. You don't 'need' it per se, but it will make the whole process much easier for you. Same with the vise.

 

If you want to tie wooly buggers, you don't need a hair stacker, dubbing needle (bodkin), or hackle pliers.

 

Do you have a local fly shop? Go in there and tell them what you want to tie. You can pick up what's called a bugger pack for about $15 and that will be a relatively inexpensive way to get the hackles (feathers) you need for the pattern. Also pick up some chenille - it comes wrapped around cardboard cards in just about any color you want. I'd start with black, brown, olive, or ginger. Get marabou feathers to match the chenille to make the tail...or tie them without a tail. You'll need some thread. Flat waxed nylon or 6/0 Uni will be fine. I counter-wrap with a fine gold wire rib - it's up to you if you want to pick it up or not. Lastly, you'll need hooks. Any 1 or 2XL streamer hook will work fine. I use a lot of Dai-Riki hooks and a #700 will do fine. Tie it on a #270 if you want a little bend in it. There's nothing that says you can't use hooks you already own, either. Just make sure the basic shape and size are similar. If you don't like it, a razor blade makes a great fly 'eraser'. Finish your flies with a few half-hitches and head cement for now.

 

Best of luck to you and welcome to the forum.

 

 

[utyer 0]

The glue (head cement,) can be replaced with Sally Hansens Hard as Nails. Great idea with the dog, the under fur will make excellent dubbing material. I have friends with collies, and I have them brush them every time I am there, and use the fur (hair) in many things.

 

Wool yarn can be used for many things, including wooly bugger bodies. Yarn both wool and synthetic can be used as it comes from the skein, or chopped up in 1 quarter to 1 half inch sections and blended in an old blender or coffee grinder to make dubbing. Small fly bodies can be made from yarn by seperating out the individual strands.

 

A couple of flies I have tied using first dog hair, and then wool yarn.

[primitivepete 0]

You tube is the most awesome resource, you know besides flytyingforum.com.

 

watch some people tie what you want to tie. It makes it way easier.

 

Fly Tyer magazine is still a great resource for me, but was awesome when starting out.

[tidewaterfly 0]

From what im reading and saw i cant use plain hooks from the spinning gear? so that means that I have to get fly tying hooks?

 

Ladyfisher, Welcome!

 

Actually it's not entirely true that you have to use fly hooks. I use many styles of hooks that are not fly hooks, but it does depend on the hook & what fly you intend to tie on it. For example, for panfish flies, an inexpensive alternative to fly hooks would be plain, bronzed Aberdeen style hooks commonly sold for bait fishing. They also come in other finishes, like black, blue or gold, and any of them will work for tying panfish flies.

 

Now bait holder type hooks are not usually good for fly tying, the various offset, or reversed points, barbs on the shank & such would create problems for tying most types of flies. Although I have seen salmon egg patterns tied on some types of bait holder hooks, but that would be a very specialized use.

 

The primary property that fly hooks have different than most other hooks is that the entire hook is "inline". Meaning there are no offsets of the point to either side of the shank. Most Aberdeen hooks are also usually inline, so that's why I said they will work for tying flies.

 

As you get more familiar with the various types of hooks, you'll likely begin to recognize which hooks will work best for different types of flies.

[Hairstacker 0]

Ladyfisher, welcome aboard!

 

Your tool list looks good. Those scissors you mentioned are very handy -- save every pair you come across, as they're great for trimming deer hair bass bugs. When you pick out your whip finisher, make sure it's a Matarelli-style. If you only get one hair stacker, go for a big one.

 

To answer your question, the Brassie is used to pack (i.e., compress) deer hair that has been spun/stacked on a hook -- very useful if you decide to tie deer hair bass bugs.

 

While you're getting your tools, pick up some 3X-long streamer hooks, which are the standard for tying Woolly Buggers. Something like a Tiemco TMC5263 model hook that is 3X-long, 2X heavy. Size 6 is a good, general size for tying woolly buggers for all-around freshwater bass fishing.

 

A decent book can also help you immensely if you don't have anyone to sit down with you and explain the basics. I heartedly recommend Skip Morris' "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple." Usually any place that carries the tools you need will also carry this book.

 

Good luck and have fun!

 

-- Mike

[RagingBull 0]

You tube is the most awesome resource

 

I agree. Just go to youtube and do a search for wooly buggers and im sure that you will get quite a few videos to choose from. Not only will you be able to see the basics on how they are tied but you will get to see what the different materials look like and how to apply them. Welcome to the forums and the addiction.

 

Tight lines.

[Ladyfisher 0]

Thanks for the reply mike, greatly appreciated :yahoo:

[JSzymczyk 0]

If you have a local shop, I have an idea. Go in, and chances are the guys will fall all over themselves trying to help you out. They don't get to talk to very many girls. Ever. Even when they're not working. Buy a couple small cheap items, but take good mental notes of what they tell you. Come back here and let us know what they said, and we'll let you know if they were on target or just trying to get in your ... wallet.

[Flytyer14 0]

I'll dig through my stuff when I get back from Germany and see If I have any stuff that I can give you. Good luck!!

[perchjerker 0]

First, a big hearty welcome to the group.

 

You should have access to a disposable suture kit, or know someone who does. Some of the BEST fly tying scissors going are to be found in these kits. There are forceps (tweezers to most), haemostats, and other goodies in them that are definitely usable by anyone tying flies or fly fishing. The suture-removal forceps and scissors don't have much application; or at least, I haven't found one in the last 30 years!

 

perchjerker

[Hairstacker 0]

perchjerker, I'm glad you weighed in, as I didn't realize there were two different suture kits. All I know is I have a medical worker who is giving me scissors (and hemostats) from one of these kits and they are very sharp scissors with fine points -- sounds like it must be the suture kit you mentioned (versus the suture removal kit).

 

-- Mike