inexpensive tying materials online?

[Flycaster]

Are there any online site's that sell tying materials at a discount?Wow some of this stuff is very expensive to say the least.Ebay has some stuff but i don't know what is good or not and can't afford to be spending money on stuff i am just not sure about.I can find Craft foam and a few feathers at my local hobby lobby or walmart but finding other materials like peacock herl or hackle and maribou at an affordable price is hard.Maybe i got into the wrong hobby.I have a couple questions:

Can i use regular thread or is it too thick or the wrong material?
Can i use size 8,6 or 4 that are for regular fishing.They dont say dry fly or anything like that on them?
will regular yarn work?

Thanks for the help.

[Carl Blackledge]

[QUOTE=Flycaster;164049]Are there any online site's that sell tying materials at a discount?Wow some of this stuff is very expensive to say the least.Ebay has some stuff but i don't know what is good or not and can't afford to be spending money on stuff i am just not sure about.I can find Craft foam and a few feathers at my local hobby lobby or walmart but finding other materials like peacock herl or hackle and maribou at an affordable price is hard.Maybe i got into the wrong hobby.I have a couple questions:

Can i use regular thread or is it too thick or the wrong material?
Can i use size 8,6 or 4 that are for regular fishing.They dont say dry fly or anything like that on them?
will regular yarn work?

Thanks for the help.[/QUOTE

Josh,

Perhaps a few fly tying lessons are in order, That way you will learn about the materials, as you learn how to tie correctly and especially what materials work best for each fly. Then you will know exactly what it is your trying to buy cheaper and possibly better places to look?

Just a suggestion

Carl Blackledge]

[Flycaster]

Josh,

Perhaps a few fly tying lessons are in order, That way you will learn about the materials, as you learn how to tie correctly and especially what materials work best for each fly. Then you will know exactly what it is your trying to buy cheaper and possibly better places to look?

Just a suggestion

Carl Blackledge][/QUOTE]

Thanks for the reply Carl.

I have taken an online course and watched several videos.I learned a few things about tying and using the tools but still didn't answer my questions.The videos tell me to use a certain thread and to tie on a certain type hook and that's not helping a guy with a very low income like me.I live on a small check i get from the govt and cant afford all the high priced materials.I understand why they say use these items.I just want to know if i can use regular hooks and threads and such because i can afford these alot easier.I have an idea what flies i want to tie such as wooly buggers,herl and hackle,Foam topwater flies, and a few others for panfish and bass.I wanted to know if there is a place where you can buy the materials cheaper than the big name stores have them.I wanted to try tying as a hobby but i'm now thinking it may be best if i just buy the flies i want to fish with.I appreciate your help though.Thanks.

[Mr F]

Hey Josh,

I don't know of any discount source for fly tying materials. Ebay may not be a bad bet. If you're tying a lot you could try buying in bulk but a small $5 package of strung peacock herl should last many years. Good hackle is really expensive, but one Whitting Farms cape should last a lifetime (especially if you conserve materials).

Your regular hooks will work for nymphs and streamers--my only concern is that the shank isn't the right length (in those videos they prescribe a certain hook model so the proportions will be correct). But try it and find out. For dry flies, I'd go with a dry-fly specific hook. They're made from lighter gauge wire so it won't sink your fly.

You can certainly use regular thread and yarn--but be careful of angering your spouse . . .

Heading to the craft store isn't a bad way to save money. A lot of the fur/foam/chenille is largely the same as what's in the fly shop.

Something to keep in mind: fly tying is a lot like cooking--you don't have to EXACTLY follow the recipe to get a good result. As long as you're in the ballpark with size, shape (proportions), and color you should end up with something that the fish will eat.

Unsolicited advice:

Fly Tying is a fun hobby but it's definitely NOT a way to save money. I've been fly fishing since I was a kid but only started tying about 4 years ago. I decided to start tying because I wanted to fish flies that were not commercially available (most of the commercially tied flies aren't sparse enough for my taste).

On my first go I spent $700 of my tax refund on tools and supplies. And then I was able to tie . . . with my very own hands . . . one $700 fly. But then I tied another and then had two $350 flies, and so on . . .

I've been tying for 4 years now--and I'm not sure if I've recouped my initial investment (or the money I've spent since--I spend $10-20 a week on fly fishing related items and have lost track of the $$$). For $700 I could have purchased 233(.333) $3 flies which would have lasted me many many years--but that's not the point. The point is that now I can tie the flies that I can't purchase anywhere else and I can spend cold winter nights at my tying desk instead of in sitting in front of the TV. AND I get the satisfaction of catching fish with something I crafted myself.

In the short to mid-term, it might be cheaper for you to buy a few of the flies you want to fish. Cabela's has dozen packs of most popular flies for $11.99 (and a buck a fly is a pretty good deal!) Sometimes they even put the dozen packs on sale.

BUT do consider fly tying for the longterm. It won't save you any money but it's a lot of fun!

Hope that helps,

-MF

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Don't tie flies to save money......

Only tie flies if is seems like you would enjoy it.

Some of my friends have entire rooms in their homes with thousands of dollars worth of tying materials.

After all that investment, many don't have time to tie flies so they just buy them.

.

[VinnySteel]

I would echo everything that has been said above. I've only been tying for a year or so and I can relate to how expensive tying can be. If you search around on the internet you might find some cheap materials but in my experience it ends up costing you even more money when you buy poor quality materials. Hooks and Hackles are definitely not an area where I would try and cut corners. If you try and tie a specific fly on the wrong hook your fly will not be proportioned correctly. I would suggest picking one or two flies that you really want to tie and buy the materials for just those flies. For instance a wooly bugger is a fairly inexpensive fly. A bag a Maribou, a cheap bag of strung rooster hackle, some wire, chenille and a few streamer hooks can be done for $20 or so. Also instead of buying a whole cape for your more expensive hackle look into the whiting farms 100 packs. They're nice cause you can buy them to fit whatever size fly you are tying instead of having to pick from the cape (and it's cheaper).

Good luck!

[mattv-mcfly]

VinnySteel hit the nail on the head. Tie flies that you are going to use. I have hundreds of patterns just sitting around that are never going to be fished because I either don't have confidence in them or know they don't work. Simple = the best. Some of the best patterns that will out fish every other pattern you own usually won't take loads of materials to be able to tie for example woolly buggers and pheasant tails nymphs.

I only tie buggers in brown, olive, and black because I only use those colors. I would go further in debt if I wanted to tie in more colors than that.

To answer your question:
1. You can use regular thread but you will find a HUGE difference from using fly tying thread. Differences like a smoother, stronger, and more aesthetic finish.

2. Conventional hooks like offset bass hooks can be used to tie flies but they aren't meant to do so. More advance tiers will innovate these style of hooks successfully but many are not that level. I feel like most common "conventional" hook used in fly tying are octopus style hooks.

3. Regular yarn will not work in most cases. Regular yarn is primarily made of wool and other animal fibers which tend to react differently in the water depending on the material. Fly tying yarn is mostly synthetic and designed for tying with.

Your local fly shop's bargain bin is your best friend. Just make sure you check to see if the material is in good condition before purchasing it. I think the more advance you get fly tying the better you get at learning how to cut corners... but it could mean the opposite for some.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

For decades fly tiers have collected materials for tying flies from anywhere and everywhere. Before WWII I doubt if anyone actually sold tying materials.....it was all just collected.

Craft stores....yarn stores.....road kills......old carpets.......pet hair........farm chickens......feather dusters.......

__________________________________________________ ____________________________

I have been in the business for over 50 years so I have seen it all......

Before we got the genetic chicken hackles like Hoffmans and Metz some of my customers would go to farm auctions (1960s) and buy live old stewing roosters, cheap. They would kill them, skin them and tack them to a flat board and salt the skins. One of these guys said the chickens went to 2 to 3 dollars.

.

[Flycaster]

Thank's everyone for the info and all the answers.I am not wanting to learn tying to necessarily save money because buying flies can be expensive also.I want to learn as a means of staying in the fishing game when i can't be on the water somewhere.I am disabled and do not have a huge income thus the search for less expensive materials.I am not needing the best or planning on tying award winning flies.Heck my flyrod only cost me $25 and i am happy with it.I'm pretty sure it will catch fish and that's all that matters to me.I have never been one to sit in front of a TV a lot and that is what i have been doing lately.Just looking to keep my mind occupied and trying something new.As for the local fly shop's.....I wish we had one.Just bass shops around here.I am usually the odd ball trying to cast a fly rod and everyone around me is starring at me like they have never seen this before.Not many fly fishers here.Most of what i have learned has been online videos.It has been fun though.Thanks for all the help guy's.I am sure i will have more questions for you.

[Darian]

Lots of good info above. If you haven't already done so, check each on-line website for materials in the section for "on sale", clearance or discount items. This is stuff that doesn't sell quickly or is outdated but mainly cheap. This type inventory turns over so you should check at intervals for items you can use. I'm betting you already know that bass gear shops have stuff you can use for Bass (e.g. rubber leg skirts, some tails, etc.).