Go cheap or big?

I'm new to fly fishing, only since last Summer. I'm still pretty bad, but
my casting has improved and I love eating trout. I'm on a limited income so
flies can be expensive. I'd like to learn to tie my own. My question is,
would it be wise to start small with a basic kit like Scientific Anglers
($50@WM) till I decide whether or not to commit to this art, or should I
hold out for more expensive vise, etc, on the assumption that bad gear can
sour a newbie. I'm a firm believer in spending the $$ for quality, but OTOH
I may suck at fly tying. I'd love to hear some opinions. Thank you.

nb

notbob wrote:
I'm new to fly fishing, only since last Summer. I'm still pretty bad, but
my casting has improved and I love eating trout. I'm on a limited income so
flies can be expensive. I'd like to learn to tie my own. My question is,
would it be wise to start small with a basic kit like Scientific Anglers
($50@WM) till I decide whether or not to commit to this art, or should I
hold out for more expensive vise, etc, on the assumption that bad gear can
sour a newbie. I'm a firm believer in spending the $$ for quality, but OTOH
I may suck at fly tying. I'd love to hear some opinions. Thank you.

I have no experience with the Scientific Anglers kit but in
general kits have cheap junk for tools and a lot of cheap
materials for which you'll never have a use.

You don't have to spend a lot for a good Thompson A type vise
and a few good tools. As for materials, first pick a fly/flies
you know you'll use and buy only the materials you need to tie
that particular fly/flies.

Tie ten or twelve identical flies at a sitting, you'll be
surprised how much better the last one is compared to the
first one.

Now, having said all that. Forget once and for all that fairy
tale about tying your own saving money. Ain't true, ain't
never been true, ain't never gonna be true. You cannot save
money by tying your own flies. There are a lot of good reasons
for tying your own, but saving money isn't one of them.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On 2009-05-02, Ken Fortenberry wrote:

money by tying your own flies. There are a lot of good reasons
for tying your own, but saving money isn't one of them.

LOL.....

Sounds like brewing beer. In the end, if you work at it, you'll end up with
a better product.

nb

On 2009-05-02, Ken Fortenberry wrote:

You don't have to spend a lot for a good Thompson A type vise
and a few good tools.

According to Fly Fisherman Magazine, it appears the "A" vise is no longer
available, but the "Pro" seems to be, and in a price range I can manage ($42).
Is it roughly the same vise, renamed?

http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/index18.html

"Thompson went out of business and this vise is no longer available at the
retail level."

But..........

http://www.bearsden.com/page59.html

???????

As for materials, first pick a fly/flies
you know you'll use and buy only the materials you need to tie
that particular fly/flies.

Tie ten or twelve identical flies at a sitting, you'll be
surprised how much better the last one is compared to the
first one.

OK. I plan on tying 20-inchers, a very productive stone nymph,
hereabouts, and seems like an easy starting point for a tying novice.

nb

notbob a écrit :
I'm new to fly fishing, only since last Summer. I'm still pretty bad, but
my casting has improved and I love eating trout. I'm on a limited income so
flies can be expensive. I'd like to learn to tie my own. My question is,
would it be wise to start small with a basic kit like Scientific Anglers
($50@WM) till I decide whether or not to commit to this art, or should I
hold out for more expensive vise, etc, on the assumption that bad gear can
sour a newbie. I'm a firm believer in spending the $$ for quality, but OTOH
I may suck at fly tying. I'd love to hear some opinions. Thank you.

nb

Hi,

You might want to check if there is a Tying club in your neighborhood.
They usually have spare tying kit to let or rent and they will help you
get a start with courses and social gathering. The social thing is the
main ingredient when tying in a club. ;-)

--
Hope to read you soon,

Denis
www.uqtr.ca/~lamyd

You'll have to eat the SPAM to E-mail

On 2009-05-02, Denis Lamy wrote:

You might want to check if there is a Tying club in your neighborhood.
They usually have spare tying kit to let or rent and they will help you
get a start with courses and social gathering. The social thing is the
main ingredient when tying in a club. ;-)

That's a good idea, Denis. I'll check into it. The area where I now live
is driven by fly fishing tourism, in season. There's even a community
college fly fishing guide course.

nb

notbob wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
You don't have to spend a lot for a good Thompson A type vise
and a few good tools.

According to Fly Fisherman Magazine, it appears the "A" vise is no longer
available, but the "Pro" seems to be, and in a price range I can manage ($42).
Is it roughly the same vise, renamed? ...

I have no idea. My first vise was a cheap Indian Thompson A
knockoff and it did just exactly what it was supposed to do.
It held a hook. I really don't know anything about entry-level
vises in today's market.

Mr. Lamy had some good advice vis a vis the fly tying clubs.
Those guys would know about functional but inexpensive vises.
And I'm sure someone will chime in here too.

Good luck.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Sat, 02 May 2009 15:53:58 GMT, notbob wrote:

I'm new to fly fishing, only since last Summer. I'm still pretty bad, but
my casting has improved and I love eating trout. I'm on a limited income so
flies can be expensive. I'd like to learn to tie my own. My question is,
would it be wise to start small with a basic kit like Scientific Anglers
($50@WM) till I decide whether or not to commit to this art, or should I
hold out for more expensive vise, etc, on the assumption that bad gear can
sour a newbie. I'm a firm believer in spending the $$ for quality, but OTOH
I may suck at fly tying. I'd love to hear some opinions. Thank you.

Forget the kits. Buy a Thompson A vise and some good tools. If there
is a fly shop in your area, they may give tying lessons or know of
lessons being taught somewhere in your area. Take some lessons.

Your first fly should be an easy one to tie. A wooley bugger is ideal
because it is fairly large and easy to tie. Buy only the materials
you need to tie it. As Fortenberry has stated, tie several of them;
the first will look like hell, but the tenth one will probably be
pretty good. It will also give you an idea of what fly tying is all
about.

You may not like it or be good at it and won't follow-up on it. You
have a minimum amount of money invested, so quiting won't be too
painful financially. However, if you DO like it and the bug bites
you, you will buy a better vise or two, you'll need more tools, better
tools, lots of materials - feathers, dubbing, biots, herl, threads
(lots of threads), etc, etc, etc. None of it comes cheap. In the
end, you will end up paying about $3 for every fly you tie. I figure
each fly I tie costs me about $5 because I have so much invested in
it. BUT, with my travel vise/kit, I can tie any fly I need when I am
on one of my many trips. There is something to be said about relaxing
in a fishing cabin after dinner with a beer and tying flies with a
couple of your fishing buddies. And, if you have THE fly for the
river at that time, giving a couple to friends is a wonderful gesture
and one that won't be forgotten.

Good luck.

Dave

On 2009-05-03, Dave LaCourse wrote:

Good luck.

Dave

Thank you to you and Ken for your kindly forbearance and exemplary advice.


(Rod Serling, gimme a street sign!)

nb

On Sun, 03 May 2009 15:27:56 GMT, notbob wrote:

On 2009-05-03, Dave LaCourse wrote:

Good luck.

Dave

Thank you to you and Ken for your kindly forbearance and exemplary advice.


(Rod Serling, gimme a street sign!)

nb

One thing I forgot to add:

If you take lessons from either a fly tying club or a fly shop, they
usually supply all the equipment, tools, AND material while you learn.
It didn't cost my wife or me a cent to learn. The costs, however,
upon graduation where and remain high. d;o(