Fly tying on a budget

[August9999 0]

Hey there,

 

I'm new to fly tying. I am strapped for cash as I am to young to have a job. I need to know where I can get fly tying materials the cheapest. So where do I get these materials the cheapest?

 

Thanks,

August

 

P.S. I am looking for mainly an online retailer but if BPS is cheapest that's an option as well.

[williamhj 0]

what materials are you looking for? i.e. what flies are you tying etc.

[August9999 0]

what materials are you looking for? i.e. what flies are you tying etc.

I'm mostly going to be tying saltwater flies. So clousers, schminnows, gurglers, etc.

[williamhj 0]

Check out Fly Tyer's Dungeon. May not have all you need but has a lot. Also has great prices

[August9999 0]

Check out Fly Tyer's Dungeon. May not have all you need but has a lot. Also has great prices

Okay, thanks. I'll check it out.

[mikechell 0]

popper bodies can be cut from flip flops. Dollar a pair at Dollar Tree.

Halloween wigs can provide fibers. Also at Dollar Tree or (They'll be super cheap the first of November)

Small bead plastic necklaces make good eyes. Also at Dollar Tree.

Plastic fiber "feather" dusters provide thicker fibers than wigs for flash and tails. Need I say it?

 

About half to two thirds of the material I tie with are Dollar Tree and sale materials. You might even find some fur at Good Will ... or road kill harvesting.

 

 

[Bugsy 0]

BPS? Keep looking. Not only is it not the cheapest, I've found their prices to be higher than virtually any online fly shop.

 

One way to control what you spend on tying materials is to stop now and get another hobby avoid buying stuff you don't need. The price may be tempting, but if you aren't going to get use from the material, the bargain never was.

 

Your targeted species are redfish, snook, seatrout, and juv tarpon,...right? There are undoubtedly many patterns that will work for several or all of those species. Focus on buying materials for those "staple" patterns. You can build your tying skills and still have a fly box full of useful patterns.

 

For example, one pattern you may like is the Tarpon Toad (which catches more than tarpon). It's basically rabbit and/or marabou, a few strands of flash, some polypropylene yarn and a pair of mono eyes (or plastic bead chain). For Clouser Minnows,two deer tails and a pack of lead eyes and you're in business. Gurglers are essentially three-material flies and are inexpensive to tie.

 

I hesitate to recommend any one place since I source materials from many. For the flies you'll be tying, I think you'll find most fly shops are fairly close in price. If you're only buying $50 in materials, it's trivial if one shop is 10% higher. If you're a commercial tyer and spending $500 at a time, then the higher cost of goods will eat into your truck payment. That said, jsflyfishing.com is a reputable seller with a growing inventory at competitive prices. They don't have everything (who does?), but I'm sure you'll find more than enough to get you started and keep you going.

[flytire 0]

target 5-10 fly patterns you want to tie and buy only the materials to tie them.

 

these materials become building blocks for future patterns

 

there may be materials just laying around your house that could be use to tie flies

 

the only BPS ive been into (foxboro, mass) had a small portion of wall (about 10 feet wide) that had any kind of fly tying suppiles and half of the pegs were empty. that store was not even close to being a fly shop. maybe other store in different ares of the country of more fly tying materials.

 

since you appear to target saltwater vs freshwater fish try a GOOGLE search for "saltwater fly tying materials" and i think youll find some sites just for saltwater

 

heres one place

 

http://www.saltwaterflies.com/catalog.html

 

dollar and craft stores can be a treasure trove for tying materials. you wont find museum quality materials but youre not tying museum quality flies! yet!

[FlaFly 0]

There's another current thread on this topic. I've always made a pitch for craft stores as alternates, but for salt water flies, you won't get around needing feathers (hackle and marabou) and you won't find those except in fly suppliers or BPS., I have seen posts where people used dusters like this one to get a substitute for flash. They come in bright colors. Haven't tried it myself.

 

 

[flytire 0]

Marabou and feathers can be found in craft stores not just in fly shops or bps. Somebody needs to retry the craft shops!

 

Lots of saltwater patterns use marabou and feathers.

[heavynets 0]

Golden Rule Fly Shop. http://www.goldenruleflyshop.com/

 

Also make sure you consider the mailing charges or driving distance when deciding which place has the cheapest prices.

[add147 0]

Also any hobby shops like Hobby Lobby, Michaels and fabric stores like JoAnn's are great places to find stuff on clearance. Usually you can get stuff up to 80% off regular price. With the holidays approaching after Halloween and Christmas sales I am sure you can find all kinds of stuff that could be used.

[FlaFly 0]

I've looked at the feathers in Michaels, and they're ratty. never saw a single hackle I'd want to use. Similarly the marabou are really lacking. I'd think the peacock tails would provide a pretty good supply of herl.

[mybadhabit 0]

Craft shop marabou isn't the best, and out of the bag I bought I could only use a couple of the feathers in it, hence worthless.

[phg 0]

As a beginner, stick with materials packaged for fly tying. As you get more experience, and better understand what you are looking at, you can get some good deals from non-traditional sources.

 

For practice flies, check out the closeouts and "bargain basement" offerings. These are quality materials that didn't sell well, because of the color, or some other limitation. They may not make great fishing flies, but they are good enough for learning to handle the various materials.

 

Also, attending every gathering of fly tiers that you can, especially local TU or FFF events. Most of us have significant accumulations of little used materials that we are willing to give away, if we feel the recipient will make good use of them.