I am a fourteen year old and I want to get strated in fly tying. Those flies are getting so expensive!!!! Can anyone recommend a good beginner fly tying kit? Thanks a lot! Pj Edds

Pj,
Most kits tend to have a lot of low quality junk. If you or your parents have access to e-bay you can pick up an AA vise for about ten bucks and it will be fine to get started with. A trip to your local library might produce a book about tying. I'll just bet if you had an idea of what material you might need and posted it, you might get some PM's asking how some of us could send you some materials. I know for a fact that there are some members who would be thrilled to help one of our younger flyfishing brothers get started. I don't tie much in the way of freshwater flies, but I'll just bet I have some materials that could help you out.

Youre better off getting the bits and pieces as you can rather than in a kit, you'll be glad you did in the long run. For the flies theres an outfit that sells fly "kits" thats has enough material for a couple flies along with directions (dont remember the vendor though) until you can start collecting materials in bulk (like necks and caps) those are pricey but again will last a long time if one gets good quality on the git go.

D.

Here's my two cents.

Good sissors are worth the $15-$20.

A bobin with a ceramic guide is worth the extra $2.00, but don't drop it on concrete or you'll need a new one.

A rotory vise is nice, but not necessary. I have a Griffin Patriot, which is not considered a "true rotory", and I love it. A vise is used to hold a hook, which leads me to believe vises costing over $100 are a luxury and those over $200 (although I'm sure they're nice) are ridiculous. By the way, I got mine on E-Bay for $75 (half price).

When buying dry fly hackle, don't buy saddles, buy necks. With necks you have the small feathers used for wings (like on Adams) and you will have all different sizes that you won't get on saddles. You get very few #18 and smaller on a saddle.

Don't get too caught up in all the particulars in fly recipies, particularly hooks. For example, a #16 dry fly hook from manufacturer to manufacturer will not very much. At least the fish don't seem to care if it's a Mustard or an Orvis hook.

And finally, tying flies is more than a way to save money - it's a hobby by itself. For me it's a way to be involved in fly fishing even when I can't be on the water.

Hope you enjoy you're new hobby.

Flyfishpj,
You've been given some sound advise. I'd like to give you another option to ponder. I would very strongly suggest you go to your local Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) or Trout Unlimited (TU) affiliated Fly Fishing Club and take their Beginner’s Fly Tying Class for free or relatively inexpensive. Go to the above web sites to see where the closest club is in your area. Another option is to go to your local Flyshop and take their Beginner’s Fly Tying Class for a bit more $. Either way, they will get you started in the right direction and you'll have a better understanding of what equipment you'd like to get. Good-luck!

i received an umpqua deluxe fly tying kit for christmas. i hadn't intended on starting tying flies for awhile, rodbuilding was addressing that cool feeling of catching fish on something i made.

still, there's plenty of material in the kit to get started. one bad aspect to it was the vise, which unfortunately, is an essential part of the experience. the crappy vise, something similar to a thompson AA vise (but not the same), simply would not hold a hook despite my attempts to change the settings on the screw for the cam. marked, made in india. watch out for this vise. luckily, the guy at my local shop where the kit was purchased double checked my complaint and agreed. he went in back and brought out a used griffin vise he said he uses in his fly tying class. my choice, he'd send the umpqua vise back or i could do an even swap for his griffin. i took the griffin. works great for now although i was trying to figure out how to budget a peak vise. nice to get such service.

eric
fresno, ca.

The advice posted about gear is fairly sound. Good scissors are a must and a big pair of cheap ones are good for cutting bulky materials. Also; keep a razor or X-acto handy for cutting off bad ties (never use good scissors for this). I started on a Thompson vice. I also have a Griffin Patriot vise and love it. The comment about ceramic tube bobbins vs. metal tubed bobbins is correct and ceramic can break. I'd recommend two bobbins. One cheapie (for yarns and wire) and one Dr. Slick with the titanium tube. Fly shops are the place to start for tying materials. You can get advice and info. as well. Craft stores are a good second source (yarns and tinsels come to mind). As far as reference materials: books are swell and there's billions of patterns on line. Try not to get carried away looking on-line. Best bet is a book that shows tools and techniques as well as patterns. Best one I've seen is by Eric Leisure. It's the book my son learned out of. Amazon, Marriott's, Cabela's...all have the book. It's a classic.
Hooks; I use Japanese made ones for most ties but have discovered Eagle Claw makes a very good inexpensive hook.

Also a good book is "Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple" by Skip Norris. It will give you the basics - introducing you to many of the concepts used in most flys.

One thing I do that is a handy trick is I use toenail clippers to clip off lead wire (since you would not want to use your good sissors for that). Using clippers allows you to clip close to the hook and is eaiser than sissors.

If you are going to tie flies for western trout waters than I'd recommend two books: Tying Dry Flies and Tying Nymphs both by Randall Kauffman. These two books are excellent tying books as they have step by step pictures and instructions. As for an excellent nid range vise I'd recommend the Dyna-King Kingfisher or Kingfisher Kit if you'd like quality tools with your vise. Just my $0.02 worth. Good-luck!

Thank you all for advice. I have asked some other people and they told me they could give me some simple stuff but they also recommended the Cabela's Jack Dennis Beginner Fly Tying Kit. Does anyone have any say on this or should I forget about the $90 dollars this costs and just buy the $50 trout kit from Bass Pro. Thanks again!! Pj

P.J. go for the Jack Dennis kit --- he is an actual flyfisher that has contributed back to the sport of flyfishing , everything you will get in his kit you will use and catch fish with .... If you dont believe me ask Jackster or SOCalFF , yep Tight fly's grub. B.D.

Actually, BD, I have been looking at that kit for awhile from Cabelas. I think I will get that. The only thing is, it doesn't come with the tools.. Shouls I get the Deluxe or Standard Tool Kit, and Jack Dennis Beginner or the Regular, I can't tell the differance. Thanks a lot!!!!

Pj Edds

The Kingfisher Fly Tying Kit comes with all the tools you'll need to compliment the Jack Dennis material kit. Here's what it says about the Kingfisher Kit at Dyna-King Vises web site.

Dyna-King has addressed every beginner's needs. This "KIT" includes the "Kingfisher" Vise (with choice of pedestal or clamp base), Dr. Slick tools (including scissors, bobbin, threader, half hitch tool, hair stacker, cement needle), An instructional CD rom and book. Tying materials include dubbing, thread, daiichi hooks, hackle feathers, peacock herls, elk & deer hair, and head cement. Everything a tyer needs to tie some caddis flies right away.

http://dyna-king.com/flyvise_dtl.asp?itemval=8&pv=0&pid=083

Like BD said, Jack Dennis is a big name in the flyfishing industry.

Good-luck!