I got a fly-tying kit for Christmas, so I sat down today to try it out for the first time. After several screw-ups (broken thread, etc.), I finally got one that I think looks decent.
It’s supposed to be a seaducer. The one in the kit called for red and white hackles and red thread, but the kit didn’t have any red thread, so I decided to go with some black hackles and thread.
So what do you guys think? Will it catch any fish around here, or did I totally screw up with the color combo?
Hey,you got to start somewhere.Tie one in all white with some of the krystal flash in it,also one all white/K flash with a red head is popular also.
Here’s #2 - decided to go with an electric chicken version. Don’t know if it’ll work, but I think it looks pretty cool.
I’m much happier with the way this one turned out - looks much more like it is supposed to. I can already tell this is going to be an addicting hobby. 
Gotta spend your time and money on something…
you are a brave one. my first hundred or so will not be seen by anybody else. there are some fine web sites that will take you through a series of flies each adding additional skills. the improvement from your first to second is impressive. lots of long cool nights coming for you to fill the box. clousers seem to be the most all around favorite. i have to confess that i probably enjoy tying at least as much as fly fishing. i mostly spinfish but the few that i have gotten by fly were a blast and i see why people go the extra distance. its also greatly enhanced by catching something on your own tie. when you get the bug bad ive found the best way to get a good selection is to buy out somebody who is giving it up on ebay or similar. then you just pick up the missing elements from a supplier.
you will never walk through the toy store the same. “the hair on that doll would make a great tail.”
we dont need no reservations we dont need no cruise control
great job frenzy. when we going to get out there and throw a few casts? you just might have to let me in on this fly tying stuff. looks like a blast. with all this practicing and potential fly tying, im not sure i’ll ever make it to the actual fishing:smiley:
Go Cocks
Pawleys, that is nover reassuring for me considering you have one in the mail coming to me…How bad is it?
quote:Been busy with all the holiday stuff but should be free over the weekend. What you got going on Saturday?
Originally posted by USCinshoregreat job frenzy. when we going to get out there and throw a few casts? you just might have to let me in on this fly tying stuff. looks like a blast. with all this practicing and potential fly tying, im not sure i’ll ever make it to the actual fishing:smiley:
Go Cocks
I decided last minute to go try the fish today but got SKUNKED! First time in a long time that I’ve been out and not caught anything. Oh well, that’s why it’s called fishing - not catching.
Let me know about Saturday. Don’t know that I’ll be able to go fish, but we can get together and throw the fly some.
well as of right now saturday and sunday i work 6-6 . i’ll get plenty of practice in on the water though because ill have access to a dock all day on the ICW. So i won’t embarass myself when i get together with you guys. I should be pretty free the rest of the week though.
Go Cocks
Bob Clouser & Lefty Kreh have a couple of good tying videos out which I beleive are also available on DVD. Bob Popovicks & Tim Borski also have some good techniques and ideas on tying although I think the Clouser and Kreh stuff is more suited for the inshore fisheries in your part of the country. Anyway if you can tie a clouser you can do Copper Heads, Bend Backs as well as an aray of other shrimp, crab & other critter imitations with Deer Hair, Bunny Fur, Poly Yarn, Craft Hair, Super Hair, Mylar, Crystal Flash, Flashabou and or other natural or synethic blends. Just have fun, keep it simple and focus on impressionistic patterns that imitate a wide range of critters and baitfish. It’s also a pretty good idea to tie a few up in different sizes and weights so you can adapt to changing conditions. I wish my first couple of flies looked as good as your’s.
calibogue
im on about #5000. but they still might be bad just quicker.
you gotta tell me.
i tied a few that just scare the fish right up on the bank when i started. but you aint getting pics.
looking forward to yours and ■■■■■■■■ on mine.
as always, mine are fully guaranteed.
mine is a little edgy. figgered thats what a swap is for.
now if i could just find enuff trout to justify the work.
PI
we dont need no reservations we dont need no cruise control
i have been looking into getting a tying kit and was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on what are the best for beginners? also can you find good ones on ebay? cuz im kinda broke after the holidays…thanks for any advice
might as well be dead up here if i cant find that live bottom
PawleysSI,aka Hutch,
Someone told me PIO was selling flys. Do they carry copperheads and clousrs? New to the long rod, but have an old timer buddy who did lots of fly fishing and tying when he lived in California and wants to learn the salt. I’ll bring him up one day to meet you. Happy New Year.
Capt. Bushrod - PI
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk…that will teach you to keep your mouth shut!!!”
Don’t waste your money on a starter kit, just get you a good vice, some quality black nickle or salt water hooks, a few basic colors of Danville Flat Wax Nylon Thread in 210 Denier with a few good ceramic bobbins so you don’t have to rethread everytime you need to change thread colors and you’ll be good to go.
The only other sutff you’ll need is some bed chain, which you can get it at the hard ware store, as well as a few lead or brass dumb bell eyes and weighted cones and you can start tyinig. The only other thing that you may want to pick up is some foam craft sheet and a few foam poppers or cylenders for your top water stuff like bangers, sliders garglers and crease flies.
As for your tying materials I’d pick up some deer tails, super hair, craft hair and some systhetic flash like Estaz, Fashabou, Crystal, Mylar Tubing and some Poly Yarn in a few basic colors like white, chartresue, black, green, blue, olive, pink, purple, orange & red along with a few basic hackle colors and you can tie just about any type of saltwater pattern you need.
Clousers, Copper Heads, Charlies, Deceivers, Surf Candies, Bangers, Sliders, Garglers, Crease Flies as well as a number of bait fish and other Crab and Shrimp patterns can all be tied with the above stuff. Just about all of the starter fly tying kits I’ve seen have a buch of junk that you will never use for saltwater tying. Besides tying a blast once you learn a few basic technique and figure out how to manage your material. There are a lot of great tips on the tying videos!
I would also recommend pick up some good head cement like, Daves Flex Cement, Hard as Hull or Soft Flex for finishing off and resecuring your ties. It’s the only way if you fish salt water!
capn bushrod
we stock a few jackson hole crabs and gaines poppers. i also have a selection of my flies that i rotate fairly often. mostly clouser and spinoffs, chernobyls, and spoons. EC seems to be a favorite color but im trying to figure out how to imitate the cajun croaker. that color is familiar but im not sure how to mix it up. im thinkin spread a bunch of bucktails around at a keg party on st patricks day and hope for the right remix. it has got to be the ugliest thing ive ever seen work.
my mylar spoons sell pretty good and im looking for a way to buy bulk mylar cord. those 18 inch packs dont last. its supposed to be for antenna support ropes which means it must start long. thot i had some lined up but the thornes guy fell through. i work most saturdays but will be off jan 12 for big rock show and 19 at riverkeeper booth in gtown heritage festival.
im thinking of offering some starter tying classes at the store during the slow months. do you think they would go? i have a lot of vises; some associated with fly fishing.
id like to meet your friend. eventually the fly thing is going to take off at pawleys. there are some nice accessible wading spots and the occasional fish. im gonna try this a.m. before work. my buddy got a couple dinks last night and i missed my only hit(i was mostly messing around with a floatnfly and a few other weird rigs to try to hit on the hot ticket). i would say the wind will be in my face but that would give away my spot.
L8R
hutch
we dont need no reservations we dont need no cruise control
Sounds good Hutch, I’ll look you up at the festival if I don’t get into the outfitters before then. And I’ll drag ol Joe with me. This guys a hoot, has about 15 flyrod/reel combos, a jam up tying desk, loves to fish, just hasn’t had much experience on the salt.
I think you’d be surprised how many folks would show up if you offered a fly tying seminar. I know about half a dozen buddies that would join me there. Hold it at the store and stir up a little business for your employer too. What’s the Big Rock show?
Capt. B
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk…that will teach you to keep your mouth shut!!!”
preciate it jmb. what vices are worth the money. from what ive heard the Renzett’s are the way to go. thanks again jmb
might as well be dead up here if i cant find that live bottom
Just got my flies from the swap. very different designs and styles. you may want to get in on the next one frenzy. i have enjoyed this one and will continue to learn as i study and test out these flies.
Capt bushR-- henrys is part of big rock. a big national distributor for tackle and hunting. not much fly stuff but the basics. several hundred vendors and manufacturers. its in greenville in a huge auditorium. ill start a thread if they have any cool new fly stuff.
i would step up in the vice world slowly. if you can start at the top thats fine but imo you just need something that will rotate for clousers and such and that will hold the size hooks you need. its a cost effectiveness debate.
the kits on ebay can be ok for learning a lot of different styles. you get a bunch of small packs of a lot of materials. i have had better luck buying out people who are quitting and cleaning out the house. better yet someone who is quitting and cleaning out someone else. the best deals have been the highest risk. just a bad picture of tupperware containers and no list of contents. i havent been burned yet. small quantities get eaten up by shipping costs. i have learned to bid on stuff that has some indication of salt stuff. boulder co. address is a bad sign. good signs are big hooks and lots of flash. you can also get buck tails by the bucket if you are willing to clean them up and dye yourself.
food coloring/ cheap kool aid gets you the most variety for a few cents but is not the cheapest for dying big lots. kiwi watermelon is close to the pink in electric chicken. that stuff is a permanent protein dye if you fix it with vinegar. my guts must look like a jimi hendrix poster much as we swilled it as kids.
fly tying is a whole world out there on the net. some very helpful sites.
welcome to the jungle (cock)
we dont need no reservations we dont need no cruise control
I definitely want to get in on the next swap. I’ve been tying some things up over the past couple of days - spent much of the day at the vice - and I’m getting much better/faster and my flies actually look like they’re supposed to.
Thus far I am really impressed with my Crazy Charlie/Gotcha and Copperhead flies. They’re not too difficult, I know, but they really look just like the ones I picked up from Charleston Angler, so that’s pretty cool.
So far I’ve learned more from just looking at flies and trying to duplicate them. That’s why I think the swap would be awesome to do - learn from some of you guys who have been at it for much longer than me. I definitely have a lot more to learn, but I’m looking forward to the adventure.
Hey guys, bout how much does it cost to get started in fly tying? tossed the long rod on the water today for the first time. the ego took a big hit, but ive got plenty of time to practice as long as the wind and rain stay down
Go Cocks
The kit I got came from CA and cost $100. It was the Metz SuperSlam Saltwater Kit. It has a good mix of stuff that you can tie some useful flies with - Clouser minnows, Gotchas/Crazy Charlies, Seaducers, Permit Crabs, and Black Deaths (tarpon fly). I have mainly tied the first two - I can’t get the seaducer to come out right, the permit crab is a pain in the arse, and I don’t have a large enough rod/reel for tarpon, so haven’t bothered with the black death.
I have gone back and bought more stuff since then to be able to tie other flies with (i.e. copperheads) and will continue to pick up stuff as I need it. I think it’s going to be a costly hobby, but like I said - gotta have something to spend your time and money on.