Hey all! received a 50$ Visa gift card and decided what better way to spend it than to get myself on some fly tying? not sure if it's economically going to pay off- I guess I'll find out! Anyway, I found myself with my vice and told from cabelas coming out to about 27$ (that's including tax) so I have about 23$ to spare on materials. Now, I have no idea what exactly to spend that money on, so I'd love some input. I'm going to be fishing for trout, carp, and the occasional panfish here and around the local ponds. So within 23$, what materials would you guys recommend so i could cover as many bases as possible and what flies would be best to tie?

thanks,
Danial

Study the below and then buy:


http://castersonlineflyshop.com/

http://stores.ebay.com/britebeads

http://www.eflytyer.com/

http://www.robinsleaders.com

http://www.goldenruleflyshop.com/

http://www.hagensfish.com/

http://www.barlowstackle.com/

http://www.hookhack.com/

http://www.feather-craft.com/

http://www.flytyersdungeon.com/

http://www.blueribbonflies.com/

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/

http://parkerflies.com/

http://www.saltwaterflies.com/

http://www.theflyshop.com/

http://www.saltwateredge.com/

http://www.bearsden.com/

http://www.mrfc.com/MadisonRiverMontanaFishing/Default.aspx

http://www.hideandfur.com/

http://www.artsnflies.com/

http://www.tackle-craft.com/

http://www.flytyingfurs.com

http://www.kiene.com/

http://www.fliesunlimited.com

http://www.bobmarriotts.com/

http://www.kingfisherflyshop.com/

http://www.btsflyfishing.com/

http://www.millersflyshop.com/

http://mmflyshop.com/

http://crazyanglertackle.com/

http://www.buzfly.com/index.html

http://stores.ebay.com/Scotts-Fly-Shop

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

http://www.cabelas.com

http://www.basspro.com/

Blue Quill Anglers
http://www.bluequillangler.com

Unfortunately, that will not go very far, so, take your time and pick carefully. My opinion, you have a couple of options. If you're an experienced fly fisher, then buy the materials for your favorite fly or two. If you don't have a favorite fly, I'd get some lessons or at least talk to some experienced tyers before buying.

Dirty Water Fly Shop in Plano was doing tying sessions on Saturday mornings before the holidays. Not sure if he has restarted them yet. Tailwaters in Dallas has tying nights too. The local clubs, especially the Dallas and Fort Worth clubs, offer a lot of opportunities to learn to tie.

If you don't like those options. The Crystal Bugger version of a Woolly Bugger is a good general purpose fly that does not require any hackle, which would kill your budget. A Zebra Midge is a simple trout fly.

Materials for those flies would be: Hooks (hooks are expensive) - I'd suggest a long shank streamer style in a size 10 for the buggers. A size 16 nymph hook for the Zebra (16 is a little big for a midge, but it will seem tiny to a new tyer). Mustad can be a cost effective brand. About $5.50 each, so, $11 total.

Thread - 140 denier in black. Just stay with one color for now. Danville is about $2.45

Lead wire - you can use lead wire wrapped on the hook shank to weight a fly. It is way cheaper than bead heads and cone heads, and works very well. $3.50

Feathers - Olive marrabou. Later, add white and black. $4

Chenille - use the shiny stuff like Catus or Pearl chenille for the body and you can skip adding hackle for a while. Again, I would start with Olive size medium. $3.25

Wire - A spool of either gold or silver wire in probably Brassie size for both patterns. $2.50

I'm over your budget, but I'd go to Hobby Lobby and pick up a sheet or two of 2 mm craft foam. Cut it into strips and you can make some foam poppers or hopper patterns.

The next thing I would want is some rubber leg material or spinner bait skirt material can also be used for legs.

Good luck! The initial start up costs to start tying can be painful.

Welcome to the world of fly tying. As Rex said, we have a pretty good group of people who tie flies each Saturday and Sunday (9 am-noonish) at Dirty Water in downtown Plano. You should swing by some weekend. Even if you don’t have a full setup yet, Danny (the shop owner) has all vises, tools and materials you can use to get started.

Here are fly tying kit patterns Bass Pro Shops sells. I think they take Cabelas gift cards, too.
Woolly Bugger
Clinger Nymph
Bass Bug

I have used a Wapsi Foam Spider Kit that looks similar to the packaging by Bass Pro Shops.

Good Luck!

two words... Road Kill
Fur and feathers for free.. stinky but free.
Check and understand local laws first.. No birds of prey!

hmmm need to come check that place out. Do yall tie a certain fly or just whatever?

Both. Danny is usually tying up flies of his own design for the shop so if you want to learn that pattern, he will show you how. Lee Blanton is also usually around on Saturdays tying deer hair bugs and is happy to offer tips on those flies. You can also bring materials and tie whatever you want. It is a pretty laid back and I am sure if you had some specific pattern you wanted to learn someone there would be able to assist.