I recently have gotten into fly fishing. Should fly tying be a skill all fly fishermen have? I know that its something I would enjoy if/when I get into it later down the road. But is it significantly more economical to tie your own vs buy them from a shop?
No, especially when you factor in the cost of a vise. But, eventually you should try it, its really fun, creative and rewarding
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
quote:
Originally posted by ifish… Should fly tying be a skill all fly fishermen have? I know that its something I would enjoy if/when I get into it later down the road…
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>That’s pretty much the answer. If you have the “desire” to tie, you should. If you want flies that cost less, then tying your own is not going to save you money.I love tying flies. I can’t think of ever buying a fly. It’s hard for me to even tie a fly that is a copy of a standard pattern. Except for Borski’s patterns.
Best of luck with your new hobby.
Probably not a real cost saver. I tie more to have a very specific pattern or color. Reds pick up on patters and you need to change your style slightly.
Chris.
1802 Action Craft. 115 yamaha.
Right there with Nikon your up front cost can be costly, but the overall experience is way worth it. Overtime it will save you money at $3-$4 a fly … and you can tie all day long for $.50 to a $1 a fly. He mentioned the Terra vise and its a good vise for the money. Make sure you buy a rotary vise if you buy one.
Thanks for all the replies guys. Lots of great info. Yall have convinced me, soon as I have the time/money to get set up with it I will . I had not run across the Terra vice it seems like the best starter option. And I know I’ll need some guidance so I may be PMing some of yall. The thought of catching a big red on a fly you tied yourself does sound very rewarding. Thanks again
quote:
Originally posted by ifish…Yall have convinced me, soon as I have the time/money to get set up with it I will . I had not run across the Terra vice it seems like the best starter option…
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Don’t think that you have to spend money to tie flies. “fominroman” likes when I post this picture.I tied all these flies with vice-grips. If you have the ‘desire’ to tie then, cost won’t restrict you. And no… they aren’t rotary vice-grips.
I do own a nice vice, and I use it. But when I started, I wasn’t going to let the cost of a vise stop me.
quote:
Originally posted by nikonjediOpti, Nbk and iFly… lemme know what patterns you want so I can sell you flies… I can’t imagine paying that much for a fly…
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Don’t know how I got a mention for store bought flies. I haven’t bought any manufactured flies. I did try to buy some feathers at your store and I got a look from the "salesperson’ like I had two heads.
They said something like, “What? Saddle what? Are those feathers? Ummmmm, we um… well, ummmm. We are getting some more things in next week.”
Me: “So are you getting any white saddle hackle? There are none in your store and they are about as basic a fly tying material as there is.”
Salesperson: Oh… um… I um… well, ah…
Nikon, please edit me from your former comment.
ifly,
Before you purchase any fly-tying materials might I suggest that you attend one of the Charleston Angler fly-tying classes. This will give you a chance to see if you have the both the coordination and patience to tie flies.
Assuming that you are fishing in saltwater then the Terra Vise is a good initial choice for a rotary vice. The jaws are very blocky and make tying small flies (eg freshwater flies) below about size 16 difficult. Others on this list may correct me on this! I am tying flies on one from 2/0 to 14 hooks.
Then comes the plethora of tying materials and the varying colours! Have fun!
Tight lines
oops
my apologies to ifly,
my last post was intended for ifish!
Snook, I caught that right off. 
Nice of you to offer your expertise to iFish.
come on now snook I tied on a 22 to the other day for some bream and did it like a champ … haha
come on now hurricane, you tied a 22 what? On to what? If this was a fly what vice did you use?
haha
Yeah Nikon, I think you misinterpreted my intent: I have been where ifish is, only recently. Got a flyrod, very new to it. I knew I would get into tying eventually if I caught the flyfishing bug. But until then, it worth it to just buy some flies, even if they are $5 a pop. Well, now I am past that (as you know) and am tying my own. Now I look sideways and hit the brakes when I see roadkill on the side of the road!!
BTW I like TyOneOn’s suggestion of using a visegrip- Right on dude!
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
Yea paying 4 bucks for a clouser, 5 for a crab pattern, and 2 bucks for a 22 zebra midge, [:0] not cool at all, crazy how the bigger saltwater flies cost more and often are a good bit easier to tie than trout flies, at least you can see em in the vise!
If it swims throw a fly at it!
quote:
Originally posted by iFlyquote:
Originally posted by nikonjediOpti, Nbk and iFly… lemme know what patterns you want so I can sell you flies… I can’t imagine paying that much for a fly…
</font id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”>Don’t know how I got a mention for store bought flies. I haven’t bought any manufactured flies. I did try to buy some feathers at your store and I got a look from the "salesperson’ like I had two heads.They said something like, “What? Saddle what? Are those feathers? Ummmmm, we um… well, ummmm. We are getting some more things in next week.”
Me: “So are you getting any white saddle hackle? There are none in your store and they are about as basic a fly tying material as there is.”
Salesperson: Oh… um… I um… well, ah…
Nikon, please edit me from your former comment.
why the hostility? Look, not every employee at our shop knows fly-tying. If our shop only sold fly-fishing/tying materials, then I would expect all of them to be fluent in those departments, but the fact of the matter is we also deal will offshore and inshore tackle, which means I need guys from each walk, in the shop and there are gonna be certain things that a person may not know.
I have plenty of white saddle hackles in the shop… we do sell out occasionally, but we try to keep them in. Like you said they are a pretty basic material, so guess what?? they sell out occasionally, and I apologize that we didn’t have them the time you came in.
I get pretty tired of hearing complaints like this (not singling you out) We are a small local shop, and
There is a difference between hostility and frustration. Repeated trips (thought you said one) to a store to try to get materials with no success is frustrating. It didn’t enrage me.
Let me try to offer a fig leaf (or a dove feather). I would love to buy locally. If you say I can call in and ask if material is available and if not, you can get it (I don’t need special order), then that’s all I am looking for. I really just go to your stores for flyfishing supplies. You know it’s frustrating walking out of a store empty handed.
As for me beating a dead horse… I wish there wasn’t one to beat. Whenever new fly fishermen ask about “how do you get into fly tying” or “is it worth it”; I will pass along my experience. I was throwing saltwater flies in Charleston water before Charleston Angler was here. It ain’t real pretty to watch but, I try to help the new guys, with my non-professional advise, when they start asking questions.
Hook a brother up, Mike. That’s all I need. I don’t even want a discount.
I really wasn’t trying to come down on you or anything man… glad you didn’t take it as such.
It really upsets me when I don’t have what people want as well, but I’m dead serious when I say just call me and I’ll make sure and get it for you. We have been doing a better job of refilling our supplies, and in getting new materials as well. Unfortunately we only have so much space here for tying materials so we can only do so much. But I regularly place orders for myself and buddies who want things we don’t regularly carry, and if more people start wanting a particular thing, we just put it up on the shelves.
Call me at the MTP shop anytime I’ll hook ya up with whatever pleases you (if possible)…
the number is 884-2095, or email me directly at mike@thecharlestonangler.com… (don’t PM me I rarely check it.
Like I said, I really do apologize for the poor experiences prior, but we always do our best to learn from mistakes and try not to repeat them… All the guys in the shops may not be able to help you in the tying area, but we have quite a few really skilled guys that know there stuff… find one of them, or call me and I’ll make it happen…
Talk with ya later man… keep spinnin’ thread…
Mad Mike
"to hell with insane… I’m OUTsane!!! "
quote:Good policy and no apology needed. Good to hear you have the same concerns that I do. I've just been trying to find the rhythm of buying my stuff locally. Looks like we will get there, even though I offered the wrong kind of plant. Someone told me I was suppose to offer an olive branch and I mistakenly put a piece of a fig tree out there. What do I know about plants?! :wink:
Originally posted by Mad_Mike…Like I said, I really do apologize for the poor experiences prior, but we always do our best to learn from mistakes and try not to repeat them…
Mad Mike
"to hell with insane… I’m OUTsane!!! "
Tying is certainly not a skill you have to have. I know guides that hate tying flies and buy all of their own. Granted, tying certainly becomes addicting and is very cool to catch fish on your own flies. It definitely can save you money over the long haul.
There is no normal life, there’s just life.
Tarpon 140
Knot the Reel World Fly Fishing LLC