Shoulda picked up the kit friday...

[morcey2]

When I was in high school, I had purchased a fly tying kit from Gart sports back when it was west of the mall in Orem. On conference weekends, I'd sit and tie flies for most of both days. I tied tons of leeches, elk hair caddis, wolly worms, griffiths gnats, pheasant tails, and a degenerate version of the hares ear. That kit disappeared in one of the moves after I got married so i haven't tied anything for quite a while.

I was in Sportsmens Warehouse on friday on the way home from work and almost bought one of their higher-end kits.

I spent most of yesterday helping one of my brothers move, but I shoulda been tying flies today.

Guess I'll pick it up monday. [laugh]

Matt.
[signature]

[riverdog]

'kit disappeared in one of the moves after I got married"
Are you still married?
If so aren't you worried about the kit disappearing again[laugh]?
[signature]

[Joe_Dizzy]

Not sure how "high end" the kit you were looking at Matt, but if starting fresh and you think fly-tying is going to be a long term passion... my advice would be to sink your upfront dollars into a quality vise and tools, and then acquire hooks and materials based on the flies you'll need and/or want to tie. Build from there as you go.

Most tying kits - even expensive ones - are mostly "flash" and short on quality. At least that was the lesson I learned many moons ago. []

Tight lines.
[signature]

[morcey2]

[quote riverdog]'kit disappeared in one of the moves after I got married"
Are you still married?
If so aren't you worried about the kit disappearing again[laugh]?[/quote]

Yep, still married. There's lots of other stuff that my wife would have liked to make 'disappear' long before the fly tying kit. [cool]

That's not the one that was frustrating. That was when my fishing vest disappeared with at least 400 flies in it. 7 fly boxes worth. I'm pretty sure one of my oldest sons friends walked off with it about 10 years ago. I didn't realize it was gone for a couple of months. [mad]

Matt
[signature]

[Kim-n-Kota]

I got the Wapsi "Deluxe" starter kit as a gift a couple months ago and it's served me well. The vice and tools are all metal and seem really solidly made. All the hooks and supplies it came with are very usable, good sizes, and decent quality as well. I know everyone says someday I'll out-grow it and be wishing a started off with something nicer. But for a $70 kit I have absolutely zero complaints.
[signature]

[flygoddess]

That is the kit I recommend because every single one of the flies in the kit work!
And I still say, "Not all fly tying keys are created equal" There are actually some good kits out there.
[signature]

[morcey2]

I picked up the 'starter' version of the kit at SW on the way home tonight. I also picked up a bunch of other materials that I know I'll use.

Here's my first fly. A weighted olive marabou leech.



The leech yarn is a little different than what I used to use, but I've caught tons of fish on these in black, brown, and olive.

Anyway, one more hobby that I probably won't have time to do.

Matt.
[signature]

[flygoddess]

Mohair chenille or the leech yarn is attached to a large string. To use it to make a nice sleek leech, you have to pluck the fibers from the existing string and use a dubbing loop. It would make that bugger much fuzzier.
[signature]