Starting fly tying

[juststartedagain]

Hi,

I want to start fly tying (something to do whilst stuck in hotels travelling) and wondered if there was a good beginners kit or good set of individual tools & vise etc that members could recommend? Also what are the main materials/threads/hooks/varnishes etc that I would need.

For nostalgic reasons I am interested in tying some of the older patterns - I have some old salmon singles tied by my grandad that I want to copy.
I'll try and upload photos of them onto here when I get a chance.

Many Thanks in Advance.

[billytheghillie]

forget kits buy tools and vice separate, the snowbee fly mate vice is a good buy (£29) scissors hackle pliers and a whip finish, though you can do this by hand,bobbin holder. black thread, some bucktail, capes, which work out cheaper than bags of hackles. always buy good quality hooks i.e. partridge and some clear varnish. gold and silver tinsel and wire, some flashy stuff i.e. twinkle, angel hair. artic fox is good stuff for wings and is very easy to work with.

[jkboy]

I reckon BTG is spot on - steer away from ready made kits, assemble you're own buy buying only the essentials.

For me I would say these are:

Vice (no need to burst the bank).
Decent scissors.
Scalpal.
Bobbin holder.
Big sewing needle for attaching tubes in the vice.
Small sewing needle to apply varnish.
Hackle pliers.
Thread, red and black should cover most situations.
Bucktails, orange, yellow, black will see you right.
Hackles, I would go with decent capes rather than the packets of individual ones (same colours as above should do to start with).
Silver and gold tinsel for bodies and wires for ribs + some crystal hair or similar.
Varnish.
Decent hooks and some tubes.

That should probably get you going and you can build up other materials/colours as you go. Magazines are also handy for getting inspiration as is this place.

Hope this helps.

[rpsalmon]

When I started tying flies I didn't have a vice, much of the time I still don't bother with one, as long as you plan ahead there isn't a problem.

For salmon flies you can largely forget the oval tinsel, just use thin silver, gold or copper wire as it will not only be stronger but will last longer.

Flat tinsels can be bought in bulk, or what I do these days, because there are far better colours, is keep the chocolate wrappers at Christmas. I find Roses and Quality Street offer a good selection that is quite strong plastic/flexible tinsel and some are semi-translucent, but as the wrappers seem to change quite often, it pays to keep as eye on any changes. Obviously there is an interesting aspect to the practice of using chocolate wrappers, relating to resupply!

Take a look around the supermarket and you'll get a pleasant surprise. I know a guy who buys I certain brand of milk chocolate, two flavours, for the couple of inches of turquoise and magenta coloured tinsel on the front!

I also suggest you take a trip to your local bargain discount store, no doubt full of lots of crap made in China, but with some goodies. I bought a sweeping brush head made of plastic fibers, they had a nice flick in them, and so when heated and stuck to a glass, provide a far better fiber than Boar Bristles! Not bad for 99p! Then there was the needlework & patchwork kits for a similar price, lots of goodies in those! A doll, I ended up buying 3, because it had a fine peroxide blond hair that was ideal for hair wings. A kiddies birthday/decoration kit with hats etc, all included some tinsel type materials. Then there was the fake fur for little girls, fantastic for hair wings! Since you've probably got the idea, I'll only tell you about one more obvious one, the feather duster that has a lifetimes supply of large multicoloured feathers (not ideal for fly dressing but far from useless!)and was only 50p!

From some kind of odd shop, and I can't remember where it was, I bought 20 entire peacock feathers for 10p each! A two day stay in a bag of naphthalene, and quick blast in the microwave sorted any bugs!

[Sloggi]

rpsalmon said:

For salmon flies you can largely forget the oval tinsel, just use thin silver, gold or copper wire as it will not only be stronger but will last longer.

Spot on. You can also buy an excellent selection of coloured wires these days that really add interesting contrast to the copper/gold/silver tinsels.

[tynetraveller]

If you are starting to tie, you will need some of the basic equipment already mentioned- I would buy an indian AA vice, a ceramic bobbin holder and a good pair of scissors. Next I would decide on two or three basic patterns on which to cut my teeth- Say Stoat's tail, silver stoat and muro killer, and get the correct materials for those flies;

I would get a bit of experience before you start saving pennies on sweet wrappers- The proper materials will be much easier to tie with.

After you have tied a few of these , maybe then get the ingredients for Ally's and cascade. When you can tie those five, the rest is up to you.

It helps to have a well tied pattern in the size you are trying to tie already at hand in order to copy exactly as possible.

[juststartedagain]

Thanks for the advice.

My wife is buying me what I need for my birthday in a few weeks so I'll get cracking on a list along with where to buy.

I may leave off the materials and get them myself - probably easier - especially if she see a feather duster on the list - will wonder what the hell I am doing (or expecting her to do!!) ;D
I'll trawl through the forum as I know I have seen some sources in terms of where to buy materials etc.

Starting with Stoat variations sounds like the way to go initially - no doubt some good tips on here and I have a few variations to copy including some old tyings on big singles that my grandad did.

I can remember my grandad tying flees - most of the feathers etc came from birds he had shot himself (for the pot) and I can remember him using the silver or gold paper from cigarette packets. Not sure what happened to all the tools as my Dad didn't have them either..... .......at least I have some of the flees...

As I said I'll try and post my efforts when I get going in a few weeks.

[robbie]

Take a look at Lakeland Fly Tying website. Quite specialist stuff. Useful if you know what you want, and on the occasion I used them, the mail order was seamless.

[juststartedagain]

Good idea Robbie - I have one of their current catalogues - will be easier if I mark what I need/want and then the other half can order..
cheers

[flee]

The stoats tail is probably the best pattern you could start tying and it's one of the best patterns you could have in your arsenal,the only good advice that I could give is try not to wind too much thread round the hook ,just a few turns at a time are required to nip in a length of wire, floss, or hair and to finish some nice tight turns with a whipping tool keeping the head neat and small then varnish.

It,s always nice to catch a fish on a fly you've tied your self.

[juststartedagain]

Thanks Flee...

Looking forward to starting tying and then catching on one of my own creations... ;D

When I look at the numbers of flys I have bought over the year so far, and the cost, and then think how many I could have tied myself and in a greater selection of sizes and had change left for several good days fishing!!

[doublehooked]

E-Bay.
You will get most of the materials you need Cheaper on E-Bay plus tools, vices and hooks.
If you are starting up there is not a need to spend too much, if you are going to stick in and progress then buy better tools etc.
All the gear I have is not pro quality(is there a need to pay megabucks for a vice) my flies catch fish.

Regards

[robbie]

I am sure you are aware of the negative attitude towards "WROC" as someone calls it on this forum, however if you are ever in Glasgow it is worth a visit as it has at least 3 aisles of fly tying equipment and materials. I recently discovered that Border Gun Room in St Boswells now also carry an extensive range as well, however they do not have a web-shop, again worth a visit if you are nearby.

[juststartedagain]

I was thinking about WRoC (about an 1hr away) as they also do demos - be useful just to see how to get going/whip finish etc then it will be easier to understand the instructions with the photos on here/in books. Plus good to just have a look at the quality of stuff - dont want to spend a fortune but also dont want to buy crap.

e-bay looks good for materials esp jungle cock cape

thanks again

[flee]

I think it is always best to buy J/C capes in person rather than ordering on-line because 1.you can see what you are getting for your money and 2. these capes are quite fragile ,have you seen the way posties and courier drivers through parcels around even if they are marked fragile thus increasing the risk of damage.
When you buy a cape make sure there is not too many split feathers (you get what you pay for so don't set your budget too low).
I hope you find this useful

[robbie]

I forgot to mention that I store my materials in a 3 Tier, plastic set of drawers on wheels, that cost me something like £10 from Homebase. Not overly robust but perfectly adequate for fly tying. I also have my vice attached to a large,wooden, kitchen tray with raised sides. this allows me to pick everything up and tie where I feel like, on my lap while watching TV etc etc the raised sides allow me to attch things like lamps or sight boards.

[juststartedagain]

good tip - I also saw some some good storage boxes on B&Q today (not allowed to go fishing today as moving house on thursday) for next to nothing compared to buying "fly ting storage boxes". Ideal for hooks and threads etc.

Will add to the list I am preparing...

There is a good taxedermist near where I live who also sells a good range of fishing tackle and fly tying stuff - he appears to have a good range of capes and feathers etc etc

[juststartedagain]

Managed to find some excellent old fishing books yesterday in an antique shop (whilst being dragged around looking at furniture) - among them was Fly Dressing by John Veniard - the 1952 edition - for £5!! Whilst quite old - I found the instructions etc to be very clear and easy to understand compared to some of the modern books I have flicked through. Some interesting older patterns as well....

wish the wife would hurry up and buy the stuff so I can get started on tying!

[smokiesalmon]

glasgow angling centre its got the lot plus more .good mail order .if you get the chance its worth the drive from perth the guys there will put you right m8 its fishing heaven.

[juststartedagain]

thanks - heard mixed reports re GAC but I like the fact that they do demos so i can see some of the techniques first hand before trying. I'll pop down one Sunday and have a look....godd to be able to see the stuff as well before buying..