Orvis Spectrablend dubbing collections, good base for newbie?

Hi all,

I'm a new fly tier, looking to build up my dubbing collection. I'm
looking at getting Orvis' Spectrablend dubbing assortments -- one for
dry flies, one for nymphs, and one for caddis - which it seems would
cover the entire spectrum of what I might need, and in handy little
containers no less.

Any opinions? Is this what I want, as a good base collection of
dubbing materials?

[And to be clear: I'm not too worried about having a few colors that I
don't use. I've already had the frustrating experience of sitting down
to tie a fly and not having the proper dubbing color, and it's worth
$45 (3 assortment collections @ $15 per) to me to avoid this in the
future.]

Thanks for your thoughts...

- Tim

I am not familiar with the Orvis, but I have purchased other brands where
the container holds about 16 diferent colors, with a hole in the bottom of
each so that you can tease out the dubbing.
My biggest complaint about them is the amount of dubbing of each color. It
is really small. for a few cents more they could fill these things up, but
they want you to come back for more.
That being said, if it is a product that I do not use much, like angora
goat, and sow bug blends, it is worthwhile. But dubbings that I use a lot,
like adams grey, callibaetis, light yellow, etc, I go through the tiny
amount they give you in a hurry, and it ticks me off.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

I'm a new fly tier, looking to build up my dubbing collection. I'm
looking at getting Orvis' Spectrablend dubbing assortments -- one for
dry flies, one for nymphs, and one for caddis - which it seems would
cover the entire spectrum of what I might need, and in handy little
containers no less.

Any opinions? Is this what I want, as a good base collection of
dubbing materials?

[And to be clear: I'm not too worried about having a few colors that I
don't use. I've already had the frustrating experience of sitting down
to tie a fly and not having the proper dubbing color, and it's worth
$45 (3 assortment collections @ $15 per) to me to avoid this in the
future.]

Thanks for your thoughts...

- Tim

Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone (of Zelon fame) has some dubbing
samplers that I really like. They have a very nice beaver blend, and a wide
variety of Zelon blends that are great for nymphs. I'm not sure what all the
Orvis blends are in the Spectrablend series, but those two from BRF serve me
well. Actually, I only bought the beaver blend as a set, the Zelon dubbing
I've ended up buying one color at a time. As for quantity, I learned from
one of the BRF tyers that I was putting entirely too much dubbing on the
thread. Now the flies look much trimmer and better proportioned, and my
dubbing supply is lasting much longer.

HTH

Jim Ray
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

I'm a new fly tier, looking to build up my dubbing collection. I'm
looking at getting Orvis' Spectrablend dubbing assortments -- one for
dry flies, one for nymphs, and one for caddis - which it seems would
cover the entire spectrum of what I might need, and in handy little
containers no less.

Any opinions? Is this what I want, as a good base collection of
dubbing materials?

[And to be clear: I'm not too worried about having a few colors that I
don't use. I've already had the frustrating experience of sitting down
to tie a fly and not having the proper dubbing color, and it's worth
$45 (3 assortment collections @ $15 per) to me to avoid this in the
future.]

Thanks for your thoughts...

- Tim

Jim wrote:
Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone (of Zelon fame) has some
dubbing
samplers that I really like. They have a very nice beaver blend, and
a wide
variety of Zelon blends that are great for nymphs. I'm not sure what
all the
Orvis blends are in the Spectrablend series, but those two from BRF
serve me
well. Actually, I only bought the beaver blend as a set, the Zelon
dubbing
I've ended up buying one color at a time. As for quantity, I learned
from
one of the BRF tyers that I was putting entirely too much dubbing on
the
thread. Now the flies look much trimmer and better proportioned, and
my
dubbing supply is lasting much longer.

HTH

Jim Ray
wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,

I'm a new fly tier, looking to build up my dubbing collection. I'm
looking at getting Orvis' Spectrablend dubbing assortments -- one
for
dry flies, one for nymphs, and one for caddis - which it seems
would
cover the entire spectrum of what I might need, and in handy little
containers no less.

Any opinions? Is this what I want, as a good base collection of
dubbing materials?

[And to be clear: I'm not too worried about having a few colors
that I
don't use. I've already had the frustrating experience of sitting
down
to tie a fly and not having the proper dubbing color, and it's
worth
$45 (3 assortment collections @ $15 per) to me to avoid this in the
future.]

Thanks for your thoughts...

- Tim

Jim
Go for it. I love those little box's.It sure is a good start. If your
like in 30 years you will have a room full of dubbing.
Good tying to you...Streamcaddis