Newb to fly tying

[evofly]

I've been fly fishing now for a few months and have thoroughly enjoyed it! Even catching sunnies is fun on a fly rod.

I now want to get into tying my own flies. So where do I begin? Obviously I need the correct equipment, so any recommendations on equipment and what i need would be appreciated!

Ok so once I have the equipment where should I start? That is what are good flied to start out tying? Nymphs look fairly easy (famous last words "how hard can it be") so I was thinking I'd start there. Again any recommendations would be appreciated, especially for literature when it comes to fly tying.

Thanks!

 

[BelAirSteve]

I'll be the first to say it - this is not a new question, and has been asked and answered on this board many times. If you search, or even browse this Fly Tying forum, you will find a lot of good information.

Having said that, I take a swipe at some of the more general questions:

Equipment:

1. A basic vise, depending on your budget you could spend anywhere from $35 to $200 plus. I started out with a Bass Pro kit, and upgraded once I was convinced I really wanted to tie.

2. Basic tools - bobbin for thread (maybe 2, and get the ceramic kind, worth the little bit of extra money), bodkin, hackle pliers, whip finishing tool.

3. Hooks, beads, and supplies for specific flies

You will hear this advice over and over again - start with 2 or 3 patterns that you know will work on your local streams, and tie a hundred of them. Things like pheasant tails, hares hears, walt's works, wooly bugger. Buy the specific materials you need for each of those flies, and keep practicing.

I would advice you tie a larger, but usable size first, like with the pheasant tails, start tying in a size 14. If you start with something too small, you will get easily frustrated. Get your technique down, and then gradually move down to smaller sizes and different materials.

As far as reference material, my local fly shop recommended the Orvis Fly-Tying Guide by Tom Rosenbauer. It covers all of the basic techniques to tie a good number of flies, and there are large, well documented pictures and detailed descriptions of each step.

One more piece of advice - if anyone tells you it's cheaper to tie your own flies, THEY ARE A LIAR! ;-)

 

[evofly]

Thanks for the response! I agree I should have looked more before posting - being at work I was looking for a quick thread with the search function but, nothing came up, although I didn't look to hard.

LOL - after buying flies for the last month or so I can't imagine its cheaper to make them than buy but, I've got to imagine the satisfaction of landing a fish with a fly I tied would be WAY more satisfying!

 

[evofly]

The Orvis fly tying kit seems like a good place to start for a newbie...

 

[whheff]

I would suggest checking with you local TU chapter to see if they will be having tying classes.
Also the LL Bean store at the Promenade has tying classes every Tuesday night.

 

[sandfly]

check with mainstrean outfitters (daves one stop) in doylestown, they have a tying getogether on thursday nights starting in sept. I think. Loum on here and beadhead2 run it..they will get yo going on what to do...

 

[BelAirSteve]

evofly wrote:
I've got to imagine the satisfaction of landing a fish with a fly I tied would be WAY more satisfying!

Definitely - and it brings another dimension to preparing for a day of fishing. Instead of buying the flies at a local fly shop, you end up doing your research and tying ahead of time.

Another piece of advice that always comes up with new tiers - keep some of those early flies, and compare them to the flies you tie after one year, and two years of experience. You will notice a change. Of course, some of those flies will still catch fish. I use some of my early flies for fishing warm water streams...the bluegills and fall fish aren't as picky as the trout!

 

[hack]

Evo:

I am still a Newb too (My username is reference to my inability), and as well as fishing, I have started doing some tying.

I would HIGHLY recommend finding a TU or other gathering where you can watch and get your hands dirty too. It is really amazing to watch a lot of these folks tie. Check out the events Forum for last springs Fly Tying Jam - Heritage Angler got together some great people from this board that I had the privilege of meeting and they are amazing.

YouTube is also a great resource. Search for Johnny Utah - he has several good videos online. From there, the suggestions will keep you busy for hours.

Pattern wise - Green Weenies and San Juan Worms are two of the absolute easiest, and let you get started cheaply and successfully pretty quickly. From there, you can keep working on techniques and take it as far as you want.

Also - Check eBay for materials kits and tools - I bought a few tools from there and have been happy with the cost and quality for inexpensive stuff. I have found the most important 3 tools so far (after a vise) to be Ceramic Bobbin, Whip Finisher and GOOD scissors.

Good luck and Enjoy ('cause that's the point, really).

 

[FrequentTyer]

I'm sure Heritage Angler will weigh in here, but the 2012 Fly Tying Jam is on the horizon and will likely be held in December. All of the advice above is great stuff, and as Hack points out the jam is a great opportunity to learn a few tricks.

 

[FeetWet]

I have been tying since March 2012 and have been having a blast. I picked up a vise and some tools at a second hand shop and have been at the bench ever since. I am even selling some now. I mostly fish warm water because it's within a few miles of home, but I have used my flies for browns and brookies farther up the road.

 

[evofly]

Thanks for all the advise fellas! I've tied a few wooly buggers and hare's ear nymphs:

The yellow nymph was the first nymph I tried tying. It turned out to be bigger than I wanted so I just call it my woolly mammoth nymph. To my surprise I caught a perch on that over the weekend on Lake Wallenpaupack! My first fish caught on a fly I tied - it was damn cool even though it was a small fish.

I'm definitely going to check out the local fly tying meets. Real interested in the LL Bean meet since its at the Promenade so it gives my wife and kids something to do while I up there. Any one have more info on the LL Bean meet? I know its Tuesday nights but, what time, what should I bring, etc...

 

[Heritage-Angler]

evofly wrote:
Real interested in the LL Bean meet since its at the Promenade so it gives my wife and kids something to do while I up there. Any one have more info on the LL Bean meet? I know its Tuesday nights but, what time, what should I bring, etc...

Call 610-798-4400 and ask for George or Steve. The tying classes start at 6PM on Tuesdays, and George is the instructor. You'll need to bring your vise and tools - they supply the rest. You may want to wait until they start a new "cycle" of classes, just so you don't jump in over your head.

 

[PhilC]

Here's a website to check http://www.derekspace.net/


I pretty much taught myself, but the classes could help get you up to speed as well...

 

[nealfish]

over at mainstream, what gear should you bring? i was thinking about going over there some time but i dont know what to bring. same deal with the tying jam, whats the gear?

 

[Heritage-Angler]

nealfish wrote:
same deal with the tying jam, whats the gear?

If you plan on tying at the tying jam, bring a vise, tying tools, and any materials you need to tie your chosen fly.

If you are new to tying, or just want some help with basic techniques, we'll have a table set up for that. We'll provide all the materials, tools, etc to tie a few simple patterns. Instructors will be there to help with this. In addition, the folks tying their chosen flies will be available to help with any skills or techniques they use to tie their "demo" flies.

The Tying Jam will be like an entire tying course, all condensed into 8 hours. You can pick and choose the flies and skills you'd like to learn, but I'd suggest working with the beginner's instructor, and then choosing a couple flies/techniques to add to your skill set. The people tying will all be "instructors" for people that want to learn more about how they tied their flies.

It'll be information overload to try to learn everything on display in one day.

 

[franklin]

If you want to meet some other Bucks area fishermen and tiers check out http://www.buckstu.org/.

There are some talented tiers in the membership including LouM and Beadhead.

 

[sandfly]

they suck, all they do is copy my patterns and call them their own Franklin......

 

[beadhead2]

At least I don't cut my fellow fishing's friend's fly off of his line !!!!
I just steal their ideas

For any one interested on Thursday 9/20/2012 we will be starting our monthly fly tying get together at Mainstream Outfitters ,which is on 611 N of Doylestown
The time is 6pm till 8pm
It is an informal get together ,we tell lies and tie flies ,not
necessarily in that order lol
So bring your tying stuff ,or just come and watch