What kind of materials can I use to practice tying flies?

[harryhh]

Hello Folks,

I have a vise and basic tools.

I was wondering what inexpensive materials might be used to practice tying flies.

Regular sewing thread.

Super glue.

Just about any hooks, preferably with a turned down eye, size 20 to 4?

Would some kind of yarn brushed out into strands be useful?

Some other kind of fiber?

Maybe buy some kind of cheap hair, like Horse hair?

Online I've seen rabbit pelts, raccoon tails, coyote heads, pheasant skins?

Some cheap flashy strands of something from a crafts place?

Other things from a crafts place?

So, are there inexpensive but useful things to practice with?

Harry

 

[Ard]

I would stick with basic actual fly tying supplies because there will not be a huge amount of time between your first attempt and a fish-able finished fly. Sewing thread would be a bad choice due to low break strength and super glue is much less forgiving than an off the shelf fly tying cement. For feathers you can find low priced hackles in small lots that will suffice for getting the hang of various application techniques. A couple packs of colored yarns or chenille will provide body wrapping materials. Get yourself a good book which covers basic flies and their construction and you'll be posting pictures of your flies before you know it.

Ard

 

[dillon]

The fly most people are taught to tie first is the wooly bugger. It is an easy to tie streamer and is a very effective fly. The main materials include chenille for the body, marabou for the tail and some rooster saddle hackle. These are all inexpensive and you can google it to find the other items you will need and to find a video with tying Instructions.

 

[silver creek]

I split fly tying materials into several basic categories.

First is the material source:

There is synthetic and synthetics are manufactured so quality is consistent.

There are natural materials and this is the stuff that is harvested form game and is farm raised. It can vary in quality and a beginner has NO idea what they need and how to sort and judge quality. You need help or you can get some lousy stuff.

Then there is where you can buy or get the material:

The first is stuff you can get at a craft or hobby store and that includes foam, beads, special fabrics like organza and organza ribbon, floss, holographic tinsel, craft fur, glues, scissors, some feathers, etc.

You can also get fur and and hair patches if you know a taxidermist.

If you know a hunter or are a hunter you an harvest bird skins and wings - pheasant, grouse, woodcock, partridge, turkey, ducks, geese, deer, elk, etc.

Then there is stuff that is strictly sold for fly tying. If you are not a hunter you will need to buy the stuff above at a fly shop. Then there is stuff that you have to buy at a fly shop. That is dry fly hackle, dyed CDC feathers, commercial dubbing both synthetic and hare's ear, strung dyed marabou, fly tying hooks, tying wax, etc.

You can use regular fishing hooks for tying but I urge you to consider that the hook is basically the skeleton that you are building the fly upon. If the natural has a specific shape or must float, you need to use the proper shaped hook and a hook of light weight to tie the fly one. So the hook is critical.

What I suggest you do is to take a good fly tyer with you to buy materials at a craft store OR to a shop to buy materials. Natural materials especially fur, hair, and feathers really vary in quality. Fior example you might want to tie a pheasant tail nymph and buy one of the side tail fibers that does not even have fibers long enough to tie the size you want. If you don't know what kind of materials you need you are at a disadvantage.

I think most of the seasoned tiers will tell you that quality materials make quality flies and quality materials are easier to tie with.

 

[Lewis Chessman]

I think Ard is right. Correct proportions are a big part of producing a fishable fly so buying a few small packets of coloured hackles to suit the hook sizes you're tying to would be wise. The good thing is they're not terribly expensive things and can be picked up now and again, as needed - I still have some hackles from my first kit in 1975! Thread diameters really matter - you'll struggle to turn out a neat, small fly with sewing thread.

One idea might be to look for part-used job lots on eBay. A lot of folks take it up then let it go and I often see some real bargains for beginners most days in the UK. I'm sure it'll be so with you.
Sure, in time you might buy the odd marabou feather duster, My Little Pony, etc, from a discount store because you can envisage how you'll use it but when you're starting out I think you'll get better results more easily by buying proper stuff. The result will be more readily taken by the trouts and your confidence (and satisfaction) will grow more swiftly.

Two wee tips, though; 1) the nylon net bags oranges sometimes come in can be cut up, tied in and and teased out to make a decent hi-vis orange tail and 2) the metal foil around whisky bottles can be cut into strips and tied in to weight a fly. It's the only reason I buy the stuff, honest.

Just an afterthought, but a good fly is very much like a beautiful woman - when dressing, less is often more.

 

[harryhh]

Thank you folks,

All very good information. And, I see the point that I would probably quickly turn from practice to tying real flies.

Watching how things are done on videos, I want to practice making my wraps properly. Spacing things out properly. Knowing how much space to leave for this or that. Trying to get my mind straight to do things in the proper order.

For some things like hackle, I think I would probably need real hackle to practice with. Nothing else would act the same.

I re-found a web page that lists some things that sound useful to me.

I think I once read that you can cut thin strands from a mylar balloon or from a potato chip bag.

I do have a small kit of materials to start with. And a kit with "enough materials to tie 12 Joe's Hoppers." I also ordered some foam bodies, hooks, and silicone legs to make some poppers. I have some chicken and pigeon feathers.

I'm a little afraid to start with my small kit of various materials and ruin the flies I try to tie. I think I will practice a bit on household stuff and some of the inexpensive things you folks have mentioned. Then try the foam poppers when it comes in. Next, those Joe's Hoppers look easy. Then graduate to the various materials in the kit.

I have also ordered the Orvis Guide to Beginning Fly Tying. And my little local library is going to try to find some other books for me look over.

I'll make a list of stuff that you have suggested, found on the net, or thought of myself, and see what I can find at the Walmart.

Harry

 

[mcnerney]

Harry
I often recommend that new tiers get some hands on training at your local fly shop or maybe there is a fly fishing club in your area or possibly a Trout Unlimited chapter. Having someone actually help you get started will cut your learning curve way down.
I also like to recommend getting a copy of Charlie Craven's book "Basic Fly Tying". Charlie is a professional fly tier and owns a fly shop in the Denver, CO area named Charlies Fly Box.

Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying: Modern Techniques for Flies That Catch Fish: Charlie Craven: 9780979346026: Amazon.com: Books

We can also help, just post up some photos of your work and ask for our help, we have some awesome fly tiers on this site who are more then willing to share their knowledge.

 

[flytie09]

Some inexpensive material to try your first dozen or so flies with (or more):

- spools of very thin gauge copper gold and silver wire
- cat fluff for dubbing
- black garbage bags for shell backs on nymphs
- tan latex gloves for grubs / maggot / caddis bodies
- craft foam sheets... 1 of each color
- set of magic markers
- old bic pen for half hitch tool
- brown, black and tan yarn for stonefly and leach bodies
- red floss - royal coachman essential
- hunk of polypropelene white rope - wing posts for parachute adams/klinks/you name it
- super glue
- sally hanson's hard as nails - clear
- glass or metal beads.... theses don't always slip on hooks very well
- christmas tree tinsel

- craft stores have oodles of different types of usable feathers
1) peacock tail feather
2) pheasant tail
3) goose biots - black
4) Goose / Turkey tail feathers

From your hunter buddies:
- deer hide and tail
- quail/ grouse / pheasant feathers -> find an outfitter that does guided hunts as they throw tons of good feathers away every day

There are tons of stuff out there to practice with........ the problem is the quality is not so great. Fly tying specific material and suppliers/stores have very good quality control....

Finding an Orvis intro to fly tying workshop would be great for you. Find a mentor who will save you hours and piles of cash on useless stuff.

Charlie's Fly Shop online step-by-step tutorials are the best out there (from the great Charlie Craven). I'd highly suggest these for any beginner.

Cheers,

ft09

 

[harryhh]

Thank you mcnerney,

I have a short list of fly tying for beginner books that folks recommend. I will add this one. I also have listed a book "benchside reference" or something like that. A more advanced book recommended for any level tier. My local library is trying to find that for me to look at.

I live in north central Illinois farm country and there are not many fly fisherman here. I was surprised to find that there are some. Mostly older gentlemen. You never see any though. Whenever I go fly fishing where there are other people, someone always stops to watch. They say they've never seen it done. I always say I don't really know that much about it. They always say something like, "Well, you sure look good." Fly fishing must be an impressive thing.

Harry

---------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 PM ----------

Thank you flytie09,

Nice list of stuff. Thank you for taking the time to think it up and type it up.

I have some of that stuff already.

Also, there are new things here to add to my list of inexpensive stuff.

I was going to load up on such stuff, even purchasing a fair amount of inexpensive things. But, I agree that I will probably want to advance to tying real flies fairly fast. I think I will make a good list of different materials, but limit how much to get. I will try to get a diversity of materials but set a limit. If I need more practice stuff, I could always get it fairly easy.

Harry

 

[flyminded]

I'll second Charlie Cravens book ....and if you are ever in Denver, stop by his shop - he will take the time to help you and answer questions.

 

[silver creek]

Get a single edge razor blade or and exacto knife to cut materials off of your practice flies. You can reuse the hooks.

One of the most difficult skills is dubbing. You can practice that with homemade dubbing.

First is obtaining the materials.

Natural fur is composed of two kinds of hair. The fine hair is the under fur and the longer hair is called guard hair.

The underfur is used for dry flies and a mixture of underfur and guard hair is used for nymph dubbing. So for dry fly dubbing you must hold onto the guard hair with one hand as you nip the fur next to the skin with your other hand and then pull the soft under fur away from the guard hairs. If you are making nymph dubbing you can use a much of the guard hairs you want to make the rough. spiky dubbing.

You can also use snips of yarn to make dubbing buy cutting short pieces of yarn, then using a comb to separate the fibers. You can use different yarn colors and consistencies.

Then you must mix the dubbing to get the random fiber placement and colors. You can use all synthetic, all animal fur, or mix a combination.

There are 4 ways of mixing dubbing. By hand, by mixing in soap and water, by mixing in a blade coffee grinder and finally with air turbulence (automotive air hose, or canned air in a closed container).

It’s the perfect rainy day project, combat premature dubbing loss with Mohair | Singlebarbed

Mix your own dubbing | Global FlyFisher | Making your own or improving store bought dubbing. I recommend that all dubbing be passed through a coffee or spice grinder prior to using. The grinder tends to separate and air out the fibres providing a lighter product than would be normally accomplished by just using the blend out of the bag.

Fly Tying: A Complete Dubbing Techniques Tutorial by Dennis Shaw – the limp cobra

YouTube

Here is how I dub:

Dubbing

 

[harryhh]

That's good stuff Silver!

And the info in that "Complete Dubbing Techniques" is great.

Harry

 

[Lewis Chessman]

Harry, Silver's spot on about re-using the hooks on flies you (or the fish!) don't like. Hooks are an essential aspect of fly tying. Their shape, weight and quality all matter from a fishing point of view. Have a look on line at the vast range now available to us, read the recipes for the flies you intend to make and buy a couple of dozen of the appropriate shape and in a couple of sizes if relevant to that pattern.

I'd not recommend skimping on cheaper hooks - buy from a respected maker. You're going to put time and a little money into making and fishing them so to suddenly find they're soft or brittle or blunt would be soul-destroying.

If you strip down old flies you have already fished check them well for sharpness and strength before starting and discard any which aren't perfect.

Have a look at Davie McPhail's videos on YouTube. He is very clear, as is the camera work. While I doubt his Atlantic salmon fly tutorials will be of any relevance to you check one or two out for technique - it's often easier to see (and do!) on a big fly than a wee one. There are quite a few patterns there I'm sure will work well for you like the foam Daddy. Hell, I'd eat one of them!

Btw, flytie09 mentions Sally Hanson's Hard As Nails. It's a nail varnish many of us use to finish the heads and comes in a small bottle with a nylon brush applicator. Some like to cut this back a bit to make a more precise tool for our purposes. Also, if I'm tying a fly with a tinsel body I'll often give that a coat or two for protection from sharp teeth, prior to tying in the upper body. These days there are many strong, plasticated tinsels on the market but the older metal tinsel gets lacerated easily and some flies get destroyed by the first fish to attack it - a bit peeving if it's a minnow!

Best of luck with it. I've got to say, fly tying opens up a whole new world in fly fishing, several worlds, in fact, and there's great satisfaction in catching fish on a pattern of your own making - and invention.
And you'll never look at kid's plush toys in the same way again!

 

[wthorpe]

I own more fly tying books than anyone should need, but the Craven book is the best one.

 

[silver creek]

If you are going to get serious about fly tying, I suggest 2 books. the first is the one you mentioned, which is Ted Leeson's and Jim Schollmeyer's, The Fly Tiers Benchside Reference. This is a reference book which means it shows various methods of performing the steps in tying flies. It is NOT a beginners book and so it is NOT the first book you should buy. If you want it, it is listed below.

The Fly Tier's Benchside Reference: Ted Leeson, Jim Schollmeyer: 9781571881267: Amazon.com: Books

The first book you should use is a beginner's guide. Charlie Cravens is the most recent and is very good. It is probably the best, but Charlie has his idiosyncracies. He is right handed but ties left handed. Ignore his suggestion that you do the same.

Amazon.com: Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying: Modern Techniques for Flies That Catch Fish eBook: Charlie Craven: Kindle Store

It is cheaper here:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/ch...tying-charlie-craven/1113806057/2677864122292

The basic tying book I used was Fling and Puterbaugh, The Basic Manual of Fly Tying. It is simpler than Craven's. Both may be in your library.

The Basic Manual Of Fly-Tying: Fundamentals Of Imitation: Paul N. Fling, Donald L. Puterbaugh, Nick Lyons: 9780806986548: Amazon.com: Books

 

[harryhh]

Thank you folks.

I've bookmark a couple more fly tying web pages and added to my list of recommended books.

Harry

 

[Critter]

Man if you don’t have the funds to buy much stuff, you can still learn. When I was about 10 I got a vise, and we didn’t have money to buy the “ fly tying stuff”. And I used sewing thread ( there are some thinner shinny ones) feathers from birds I shot,or found dead, rabbit and deer hair ( tyed a lot of bass bugs, frogs, muddler minnows) from hunting. Used rit dye my mom had to dye hair and feathers. You just have to use your imagination, i didn’t have any problems catching fish on them either.