I am a lucky man!

[gzarboni]

Hello all.
I am very fortunate. There is a lady whose husband passed away 11 years ago. He was an avid fly fisherman and fly tyer. My wifes grandparents are buying this ladies home and I happened to stop by one of her moving sales. I saw some fishing stuff and we got talking and then one thing led to another. I told her that I just started flyfishing and she shared some amazing stories about her and her husbands adventures, it turns out that her father was also an avid fisherman and tyer. This was about 3 months ago. I got a phone call the other day from this lady asking me if i was interested in some fly tying stuff. I told her that I was interested but that i never tyed flies before. Well when I got there i was in shock. She has 2000 hooks of various sizes and 60 containers of furs and feathers and wings. There are vises and all kinds of stuff. She told me that her late husband tyed flies for Orvis and a man named Fran Betters in Lake placid.
I bought the lot of stuff and now I am looking for someone to teach me how to tie flies. I have looked up stuff on you tube but I would like to sit down with someone who knows what they are doing. I live in Malone NY and I am willing to travel. If there is someone who has other suggestions as to how I can learn to tie flies,please let me know. Thanks.

 

[williamhj]

Does sound very lucky indeed! Bet there is some great stuff in those containers. Here's a video of Fran Betters tying one of his flies, tied one myself this afternoon
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG9Cz-hg-9o]Fran Betters Ties the Ausable Wulff - YouTube[/ame]

I'd call some local fly shops. Many offer classes on fly tying. Perhaps some more local members will chime in as well. Personally I learned a lot from youtube as well as books on tying. Among others look for videos by Tightlinevideo, Davie McPhail, and Spirit River. They produce good quality videos and are good 'teachers' as they tie.

 

[mcnerney]

You are indeed lucky! Check around to see if you have a fly shop locally, they usually have fly tying classes, if not they probably know other avenues. You are on the right track, if you can get someone to teach you the basics your learning curve will sky rocket. Great to be starting out with such a great quantity of materials and tying equipment. Best of luck.

Larry

 

[trout trekker]

Hi gzarboni,

I can’t help you with a tying tutor referral. That’s a great, history rich legacy you have there and yes you are a lucky man. :thmbup:

Enjoy it all, TT

 

[jaybo41]

Nothing much I can add that these gentlemen haven't already said. Usually the tying classes start up in the late fall or over the winter. In addition to fly shops, if you have a local TU chapter, they may be able to refer you to someone willing to help.

Congratulations on your purchase, it sounds like you are well stocked to start out with. Tying is addictive, fun and super enjoyable. There's a bunch of amazingly skilled tiers here who have given me plenty of inspiration. Check out the "what have you been tying" thread if you haven't done so already.

 

[oarfish]

Another good option is to find a FF club, ours has a monthly tying class, wish we had more but our club has gotten very small.

Rick

 

[dakotakid]

A fly tying class is a good idea, but not absolutely necessary. The You-Tube videos that Williamhj mentioned are very well done. They usually provide explanations why they do specific steps, which is very helpful to a novice tyer like myself.

Also check out websites like:
Charlie's Fly Box (Charlie's FlyBox - Metro Denver, Colorado's Best Fly Fishing Retailer (flyshop) with online Fly Tying Tutorials)
and
Warm Water Fly Tyer. (Home - Warmwater Fly Tyer - by Ward Bean)

They provide step-by-step instruction, with pictures. Try some even before taking a class. That will undoubtedly lead to additional questions, which can be fielded by the instructor.

Enjoy!

 

[Liphookedau]

It sounds like you had a good find & made a good purchase.
Also It's a good thing if there is someone close to get you started to show you The Basics
As mentioned there are many tutorials on The internet mainly You - Tube which is quite good Davie Mc Phail,David Crawthord and many others show how it's done & how to Tie many Patterns.
You can experiment with The simple Patterns first you might even have to re-tie a few until you get The Proportions right.
Brian.

 

[Eddie O'Neill]

Very lucky indeed. Congratulations for your good fortune. In the absence of a one to one tutor, I would check Dave McPhail, one of the best fly dressers I have ever seen, IMHO of course
Davie McPhail

 

[gzarboni]

Thanks Guys. The video of Fran Betters was awesome. He is a legend around here. I will be taking all your advice and let you know how it is going. I will attempt my first fly this weekend and post a photo.

 

[flytire]

while fly tying classes arent mandatory, for an absolute beginner they sure do shorten the learning curve.

check out your local fly shop, tu chapter etc and see what they offer.

in my experience viewing you tube videos, most of them are simply music videos with fly tying in the background with no techniques being taught. rock out to some heavy metal music while tying a fly and never mentioning why you do what on the fly!

here is a you tube channel i recommend for a beginner

scflytying's channel - YouTube

here is the tools primer from that channel

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB6tss3hGZc]Beginner Fly Tying Tips - Part 1: Tools Primer - YouTube[/ame]

 

[mcnerney]

Thanks Guys. The video of Fran Betters was awesome. He is a legend around here. I will be taking all your advice and let you know how it is going. I will attempt my first fly this weekend and post a photo.

The hardest part of learning to tie flies is getting the proportions correct, pay really close attention to that detail while trying to learn. You might also want to pick up a copy of Charlie Craven's book, Basic Fly Tying, it is an excellent book that describes the proportions very clearly and also lists out the required materials for each fly starting with a simple pattern and progressing to slightly more difficult patterns as he goes through the book.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Cravens-Basic-Fly-Tying/dp/0979346029/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376745765&sr=1-1&keywords=charlie+craven"]Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying: Modern Techniques for Flies That Catch Fish: Charlie Craven: 9780979346026: Amazon.com: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51maKAS6wSL.@@AMEPARAM@@51maKAS6wSL[/ame]

And as the others have suggested, checkout Charlies Fly Box, he has 180 patterns listed with very good step-by-step details.
Charlie's FlyBox - Colorado's Best FlyShop and online Fly Tying Tutorials

 

[rockriver]

The hardest part of learning to tie flies is getting the proportions correct, pay really close attention to that detail while trying to learn. You might also want to pick up a copy of Charlie Craven's book, Basic Fly Tying, it is an excellent book that describes the proportions very clearly and also lists out the required materials for each fly starting with a simple pattern and progressing to slightly more difficult patterns as he goes through the book.
Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying: Modern Techniques for Flies That Catch Fish: Charlie Craven: 9780979346026: Amazon.com: Books

And as the others have suggested, checkout Charlies Fly Box, he has 180 patterns listed with very good step-by-step details.
Charlie's FlyBox - Colorado's Best FlyShop and online Fly Tying Tutorials

This is how I started. The best.

 

[JoJer]

Many of us are self taught in the days before computers. You're going to buy a book eventually. Pick one you like the look of that promises intro stuff. Mine was the pamphlet that came with my first tying kit and the second was Dick Talleur's "Basic Fly Tying". Especially good if you are interested in old timey original patterns. Most books like this will start with what the tools are for, what different materials are for and an intro to tying that will advance you from easy patterns to more involved techniques. I have three or four others now. Kreh, Orvis, and a stack of Fly Tyer magazines. Also a couple of wildlife and biology references with good pix of bugs. GOOD LUCK!