General Fly tying

Welcome to our Community
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Feel free to Sign Up today.
Sign up

TheFifthScallop

Who am I kidding? I’m a whore.
Amateur Fighter
Nov 15, 2015
5,833
7,373
I got into fly fishing about 2 years ago and I absolutely fell in love with it. During the lockdown up here in the PNW, they closed fishing completely in Washington and closed all boat ramps in Oregon. So for a little bit I could t get on the water. In that time I started to tie my own flies to keep my sanity, especially since Jiu Jitsu was taken away. It’s another aspect of fly fishing that I find meditative and just overall enjoyable.

Does anyone else enjoy this hobby as well? If you do, post some of your flies! Here’s some trout flies. Two #14 midges, #14 beadhead soft hackle. 7400D7D4-AA93-4957-9002-5AD8D5889E99.jpegE833FB3C-8F18-40BA-AD0A-7839EADC20AB.jpeg7A65BBF9-5C5D-4302-A49C-65F981A6DE7F.jpeg
 

TheFifthScallop

Who am I kidding? I’m a whore.
Amateur Fighter
Nov 15, 2015
5,833
7,373
06B4B91D-A21A-4EBB-B6AD-A0306FBB09ED.jpegA8D94363-DDD3-40B0-8D42-3C7513B66E74.jpeg A summer steelhead pattern

This was on my original vice. I had to make an upgrade.
 

sparkuri

Pulse On The Finger Of The Community
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
34,420
46,562
Super in.
Wild @Wild me some lures for Christmas.

15989324312257873231360490727381.jpg
I've never been, so before the shutdown I ran to Cabellas and picked these up.

15989325720383256054564793749898.jpg

Now I'm on school quarter break, so creating a fly fishing yt channel to learn.
I had signed up for classes, then lockdown canceled them.
 

La Paix

Fuck this place
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
38,273
64,597
I got into fly fishing about 2 years ago and I absolutely fell in love with it. During the lockdown up here in the PNW, they closed fishing completely in Washington and closed all boat ramps in Oregon. So for a little bit I could t get on the water. In that time I started to tie my own flies to keep my sanity, especially since Jiu Jitsu was taken away. It’s another aspect of fly fishing that I find meditative and just overall enjoyable.

Does anyone else enjoy this hobby as well? If you do, post some of your flies! Here’s some trout flies. Two #14 midges, #14 beadhead soft hackle. View attachment 14515View attachment 14516View attachment 14517
This is great man. Why haven't you posted in the outdoor thread? I got into fly fishing around April for the same reason. Nothing else to do and BJJ shut down and I absolutely love it.

How much did it cost to get the equipment to tie your own? How long until you got the hang of it? Can you see a difference in quality from hand tied vs something bought in a package?

The flies I've had the most success with this year for rainbows and Brook trout are brown wooley bugger, bead head leech, Tom thumbs and lately the gomphus nymph is on fire. I doubt I'll ever willing go back to a spinner rod, fly rod is the shit.
 

La Paix

Fuck this place
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
38,273
64,597
TheFifthScallop @Thefifthscallop how much space does one need to setup? We are close to selling our home and plan to rent over the fall/winter before we buy. If I bought the tools could I setup on a kitchen table or something small to keep me busy through the snow or is this something you need more of a dedicated area with space? I've never really considered doing this but now I'm browsing sites to order up some gear. What kits would you recommend? Let's say I have $300-$500 to invest here, what should I buy?
 

TheFifthScallop

Who am I kidding? I’m a whore.
Amateur Fighter
Nov 15, 2015
5,833
7,373
This is great man. Why haven't you posted in the outdoor thread? I got into fly fishing around April for the same reason. Nothing else to do and BJJ shut down and I absolutely love it.

How much did it cost to get the equipment to tie your own? How long until you got the hang of it? Can you see a difference in quality from hand tied vs something bought in a package?

The flies I've had the most success with this year for rainbows and Brook trout are brown wooley bugger, bead head leech, Tom thumbs and lately the gomphus nymph is on fire. I doubt I'll ever willing go back to a spinner rod, fly rod is the shit.
I think I may have posted a fish or two in the outdoor thread.
The tying kit that I bought was around $70usd and it came with everything I needed to tie a few different patterns: woolly bugger, parachute Adams, elk hair caddis, midges, etc. I’ve since upgraded my vice, my bobbin, picked up a dubbing spinner, and bought more tying materials... A lot more.
It took me about 2 weeks to start to get the hang of it. In the beginning the stuff I tied was absolutely horrible, but they still caught fish. As far as seeing a difference from what I’m tying to what you can by from the fly shop there’s no question that I wasn’t even close in the beginning, but I imagine I could sell some of what I’m tying now.
There’s a time and place for gear rods, but I agree with you. I enjoy the fishing with a fly rod much more.
 

TheFifthScallop

Who am I kidding? I’m a whore.
Amateur Fighter
Nov 15, 2015
5,833
7,373
TheFifthScallop @Thefifthscallop how much space does one need to setup? We are close to selling our home and plan to rent over the fall/winter before we buy. If I bought the tools could I setup on a kitchen table or something small to keep me busy through the snow or is this something you need more of a dedicated area with space? I've never really considered doing this but now I'm browsing sites to order up some gear. What kits would you recommend? Let's say I have $300-$500 to invest here, what should I buy?
I use my wife’s computer desk. I just move all her stupid technology stuff off and bam, lots of room. If for some reason I can’t use her desk, I just go to the kitchen table. When we buy a house I’m going to setup a designated tying area though. I want to build a sweet little table with drawers for all my materials and tools.
 

TheFifthScallop

Who am I kidding? I’m a whore.
Amateur Fighter
Nov 15, 2015
5,833
7,373
TheFifthScallop @Thefifthscallop how much space does one need to setup? We are close to selling our home and plan to rent over the fall/winter before we buy. If I bought the tools could I setup on a kitchen table or something small to keep me busy through the snow or is this something you need more of a dedicated area with space? I've never really considered doing this but now I'm browsing sites to order up some gear. What kits would you recommend? Let's say I have $300-$500 to invest here, what should I buy?
Get a good rotary vice and a good bobbin. Those are super important. If you have a local fly shop, go check out what they have and talk with them. In my experience the fly shop has been my savior. They always have pointed me in the right direction.
 

La Paix

Fuck this place
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
38,273
64,597
Get a good rotary vice and a good bobbin. Those are super important. If you have a local fly shop, go check out what they have and talk with them. In my experience the fly shop has been my savior. They always have pointed me in the right direction.
Good info thanks. You ever see any package deals online worth buying or is it better to piece it together? I love our local fly shop but they don't carry much low end of anything so those fly making kits, assuming they sell them, might be pretty pricey.