matthoops33
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Beginner's Essentials
I want to start tying my own flies at home, and I was wondering what I need to get started. Do you think its better to buy everything separate or to just get one of those beginner's kits until I get the hang of it?
"It's a Sicillian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes..."
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rollcaster
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/16 22:27:43
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I would say go with a beginer kit. Alot of kits come with all the tools needed and probably a decent vice. You can up grade later if you feel somthing needs improvement. You will spend enough money buying materials. I started off with a beginer kit and still like working with some of the tools it came with. I also recommend a vice that clamps on to a desk, most are like this but I seen ones that were weighted and don't think they will work that good. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollers to tie good flies. Just practice.
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fishenfool46
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/16 22:38:31
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matt bass pro sells a clamp style vise that will handle all hook sizes for like 35 to 40.0 bucks
squeeze the handle and the jaws open and when you put a hook in there it stays and i do mean stays
as for materials all i can say is start with a single pattern practice it till yea get good and move on from there one pattern at a time. the material;s will eat up most of your money.If you know someone who hunts or you hunt there is the chance for some good materials there (ie) deer hair tails squirrel.deer pheasant and the like.
if you can afford a few lessons GO they willl teach you some of the tying tricks that make things alot easier.
if you have any questions i will try my best to help you. But as for a great site i always recommend flyanglersonline.com check this site out i am sure it will answer most if not all your questions. Hope this helps. good luck. paul
I didn't say these are the ten suggestions signed God
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spoonchucker
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 02:33:36
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Patience, and self control. Otherwise you'll go batty, broke, or both.
Get Informed, Get Involved, And Make A Difference. Step Up, or Step Aside The next time you say "Somebody should do something", remember that YOU are somebody. GL
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ragadas
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 05:51:01
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Cabelas sells a kit that, while not fancy, is functional. I'm a beginner too and have that kit. Fisherie sells a kit that looks to have a better vise and a few essential tools.
Flyanglersonline is a real good place to find information and simple patterns, with lots of advanced patterns as you progress.
It's a little frustrating at first, trying to tie, but stick with it and practice...you'll get better fast.
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Skip16503
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 07:46:58
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I guess I'm different then most I think Kits come with some meterials you will never use If I were to start fresh I would start with Quality tools and the materials you need for the fish you target....
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jlh42581
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 09:55:22
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Get a decent vice, two bobins, two bodkins, hackle pliers and a whip finisher. Thats should be all the tools a rookie needs. You can buy more as you learn more.
The materials in those kits are pure junk. Fly tying materials arent really that expensive until you start buying nice feathers. Even then you can buy 1/4 capes for like $12. Better learn to size feathers and what to look for first before buying that stuff. Ask for help at a shop.
Start simple think globugs, sucker spawn, adams dry flies, hares ear nymphs, pheasant tails. Master those and youll have a good base for how you tie flies. Then you can move to complicated stuff.
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thedrake
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 16:25:07
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Buy everything separate. The kits typically have poor quality materials/equipment, not to mention some crap you'll probably never use.
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Esox_Hunter
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 18:43:16
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Another vote for avoiding most kits. More often than not, you will end up with a crappy vice and tools, and a pile of junk materials you will never use. Invest in a decent vice, high quality scissors and bobbin. For the rest of the tools you will need, you probably won't notice a big difference from the cheapo ones to the top of the line ones.
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jlh42581
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/17 22:35:10
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drake I know you need a hackle guard... dont lie.
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fcflyguy
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/18 05:08:25
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no kit get a good vice pick out what u want 2 tie and buy materal for it
FC
tied to throw not for show
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clinchknot
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/18 15:51:17
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A kit works okay to get started. It gives you the essential tools. You don't need top of the line stuff to get started. I strongly agree that the materials you get with them are junk though. I also encourage you to attend a tying class as soon as you can find one. Having someone there to answer questions and help you through the sticky parts is invaluable.
I don't give a crap if anybody listens to me or not.
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jlh42581
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/18 21:12:14
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I give private lessons 
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tippy-toe
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/18 21:19:09
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ORIGINAL: Skip16503
I guess I'm different then most I think Kits come with some meterials you will never use If I were to start fresh I would start with Quality tools and the materials you need for the fish you target....
I agree...I still have feathers in a container that came with the kit I bought 20 years ago... Don't get crazy...tie some easy patterns that will work for you, get a good book....
I have the right to remain silent.....I just don't have the ability
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Sage4wt
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/18 22:49:00
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I would get it all seperate. Like everyone else, I have stuff in my kit that I never used.
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anchke
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/18 22:57:33
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Count me in the buy separate camp for the reasons already given.
Make a list of what's in a good kit, and then use that as your shopping list. In the long run you won't spend more, because you won't be buying junk that you end up discarding and replacing. That's what I tell my missus, anyway.
The vise I use most is my HMH Spartan with a base, not a C-clamp. It looks like a traditional vise, has jaws like a bulldog, has rotary capability and adjustments are easy and quick.
Personal opinion: Many swear by rotary vises, but: a) they'd require me to unlearn old habits, b) many rotary tiers don't actually use the rotary features, and c) many rotary tiers dither with their vises more than I could tolerate.
But check 'em all out. It's your dough. There are vise comparos on the Web.
Counter-intuitive suggestion: In a fly shop bargain barrel long ago, I found a used Sunrise vise which prolly began life in a kit and which I bought for (I think) $2.00. It is the proverbial POS. The jaws won't hold either small or large flies, and you have to check frequently to make sure the screws aren't loosening up by themselves. HOWEVER, I learned it will hold #8, #6 and #4 streamer hooks passably well. Plus it has a kind of rudimentary rotary capability which makes it useful for sharpening hooks, tieing Clousers, painting heads, putting on eyes ...
I'm just saying that a POS sometimes has a limited range of usefulness if you can identify what that range is. But it's just too frustrating to use the POS as your main tool.
Bon voyage.
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Cold
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/19 09:56:18
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Matt, these guys are all giving some pretty good advice, though one thing I'd recommend, as a fellow beginner, is to get a fairly cheap vise to start out with. Other than the vise, most costs to get into tying are fairly modest compared to other aspects of fly fishing. I'd suggest starting with a cheap vise, get decent tools (1 each: bobbin, whip finisher, scissors, hackle pliers, bodkin), and only the materials to tie what you want to tie. To begin with, I'd suggest some angora for sucker spawn, chenille, marabou, and streamer hackle for wooly buggers, and a pheasant tail for PTs. From the use of these tools, vise, and materials, you'll learn alot of things like what you wish your vise had, what you love/hate about it, features you'd like in your tools, other tools you'd really like, any tools you might want duplicates of (bobbins, scissors, etc.), and most importantly, if tying is for you.
It'll be a while before I upgrade my vise, but when I do, I think I'm going to steer clear of the cam jaws in favor of the thread-tightened variety. The cam just isnt something I've really liked, and I'm slow as molasses anyway, so unscrewing and rescrewing wont slow me down.
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scudbug
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/24 12:48:05
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ORIGINAL: tippy-toe
ORIGINAL: Skip16503
I guess I'm different then most I think Kits come with some meterials you will never use If I were to start fresh I would start with Quality tools and the materials you need for the fish you target....
I agree...I still have feathers in a container that came with the kit I bought 20 years ago...
Don't get crazy...tie some easy patterns that will work for you, get a good book....
Tippy didn't you only tie your first fly 2 years ago. I only remember cause I saw it. It was garbage.
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tippy-toe
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RE: Beginner's Essentials
2008/11/24 13:25:28
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Scud...Stalker??
I tied flies long before I met you...they did suck but I caught fish on them...
Now that I have honed my skill almost to your level I thought I could offer some advise..
I have the right to remain silent.....I just don't have the ability
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