06-10-2012, 03:25 PM
The first flies that I tied were tied using sewing thread, brown and black yarn, and used a piece of black plastic sheeting (used to cover silage) as the wingcase. I tied them on a size 8 baitholder hook.
I caught quite a few fish up oak city canyon and on the beaver river on those before I got a proper fly tying setup.
Tying flies to save money doesn't always work out the way you think it will, but it can be done. If you decide that you're going to tie a specific subset of the flies you use instead of buying them, it can actually work. I started (or re-started) tying just nymphs about 4 months ago, specifically hares ear and pheasant tail nymphs. Those can be tied with a minimum of material and equipment. I gradually started collecting more materials for other flies. Then it was no longer gradual, and I'm going to have to take over one of our rooms in order for my fly tying stuff to be at least a little organized.
I"m getting to the point that I'll probably not need to buy any flies with a couple exceptions. I still buy a few examples of flies I'd like to learn to tie and see how close I can get to them. Then, I'll start making modifications to the pattern to make it look more like I think it should.
The other exception is when I see a good deal on bass flies that I haven't quite been able to perfect yet.
Matt
[signature]
I caught quite a few fish up oak city canyon and on the beaver river on those before I got a proper fly tying setup.
Tying flies to save money doesn't always work out the way you think it will, but it can be done. If you decide that you're going to tie a specific subset of the flies you use instead of buying them, it can actually work. I started (or re-started) tying just nymphs about 4 months ago, specifically hares ear and pheasant tail nymphs. Those can be tied with a minimum of material and equipment. I gradually started collecting more materials for other flies. Then it was no longer gradual, and I'm going to have to take over one of our rooms in order for my fly tying stuff to be at least a little organized.
I"m getting to the point that I'll probably not need to buy any flies with a couple exceptions. I still buy a few examples of flies I'd like to learn to tie and see how close I can get to them. Then, I'll start making modifications to the pattern to make it look more like I think it should.
The other exception is when I see a good deal on bass flies that I haven't quite been able to perfect yet.
Matt
[signature]