Newbie with a fly question

[auburnflyfisher]

Hello to all. I have a question regarding buying flies online. I was looking at flyshack.com and the fly prices are less than half of what they are at my local shop and I was curious as to the quality. I'm sure that all flies are not created equal but I am wondering if these are a good deal or do you get what you pay for. Thanks in advance and I'm sure this will be the first of many questions!

 

[milt spawn]

Welcome! as a fly buyer i have puchased from KBE, Cabela's, FlyShack, BigY, and some others I cannot recall. never had any problem with quality, but I have seen some variance in coloration or style. I do think it's very important to support your local shop however. whenever i'm on a trip I always source the local shop, if you don't support them they may not be there next time you need something. they also may be a little more forthcoming with info when you buy a dozen. milt.

 

[auburnflyfisher]

Thanks for the response. I totally agree with regards to supporting local business and the nearest fly shop has been great so far. I am just in the beginning of my "career" and since there is a good bit more I need to purchase I was hoping to buy some flies online since that is one area where I can save a buck or two without skimping on quality.

 

[crittergetter]

There are a couple of older threads of links of online fly shops.

Watch ebay and don't get in a hurry. You can get fly's cheap and in lots of cases you are supporting local fly shops around the country. I have averaged about .40 for basic flys like midges, hairs ear and copper johns.

Good luck.
CritterGetter

 

[ant]

Not too sure about them but before I started tying I would get mine from blueflycafe.com. Inexpensive and the quality was very good. And they're tied in the US as opposed to China, were a lot of the cheap flys come from. Their quality sucks.

 

[hookworm]

Just recieved my order from Big Y. Great deals and appears to be good quality but I have not fished with the flies yet. I am just starting out myself and after snapping off, losing in the bushes the $2 flies my local shop sells, I will take the chance with cheaper flies since they don't last long with me.
I dropped one in my self-bailing boat and never even got it tied on, $0.70 is easier to swallow when you do something stupid like that.

 

[peregrines]

Hey Auburn, welcome to the forum.

I agree about supporting local shops- but if you do want to save a few dollars and buy flies from a discount place you might want to get generic stuff like woolly buggers where the quality won't matter as much--- and maybe for some generic dries like elk hair caddis etc.

But buying locally tied flies at your local shop would be the place to go if you're looking to pick up specific imitations for the XYZ hatch on your river/stream.

The discount flies I've seen vary from total garbage to not too bad-- sometimes the tying isn't bad, but the material isn't the best quality or is a cheaper substitute for the standard material in the pattern. I would stick to simple, basic patterns--- especially weighted stuff you might have a tendency to lose on the bottom.

By the way, the Orvis deal that flashes up periodically as a banner ad on this site is not a bad deal at all-- $9.99 for an assortment of 20 flies. These are all pretty well tied and they're all basic, popular and proven patterns.

Good luck--- and keep asking questions.

 

[Ard]

Welcome to the forum,

You have already seen that virtually no question goes unanswered here. These guys are great, as you progress with your journey many things will pop up that will leave you clueless and the people here will guide you along. Then once you have things under control you'll be here from time to time helping someone else.

That's what makes this such a great place for learners to visit!

Ard