# Getting Into Fly Tying....



## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

Peak Rotary Vise 
Dr. Slick Scissors
Decent Bobbin
Danville 210 Thread in Black, Olive, and Tan
Mustad 24007 Hooks in Sizes 1,2,4,6
Hard as Hull Head Cement
Various Body Chenilles Sizes/Types
Various Marabou Colors
Various Arctic fox fur
A few different colors of crystal flash
Loco legs in Pink, Pumpkin, Olive
Bead Chain (eyes) get at home depot)
Dumbell Eyes in X-small, and Small

Those are the basics, but you will need to add the various body fur/hair materials and streamer type materials as you figure out what you tie most.


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## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

Just start doing drugs. It's cheaper in the long run and easier to quit.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

Tx_Whipray said:


> Just start doing drugs. It's cheaper in the long run and easier to quit.


That's rich......LOL


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

@Whiskey Angler gave a pretty good rundown -- the Peak Rotary vise is a great entry level vise. I have once and it suits my needs well. Dr. Slick makes lots of good tools that aren't overly expensive, like bobbins and scissors. You will probably want some hackle pliers as well. They aren't critical, but it does make things easier. You can buy a bodkin or make your own (I sharpened a stainless steel TIG filler rod), and a tick/flea brush for dogs is helpful too. Go ahead and get some small pliers and wire cutters from Harbor Freight, or at least a cheap pair of extra scissors for cutting wire and stuff. You want to use your good scissors carefully, and only on softer materials. A small pack of double-sided razor blades (in the shaving section at most pharmacies) makes trimming flies much easier, especially if you start to play with deer hair.

As far as materials go, a lot of that depends on where you're fishing. I like to use lots of flash since our water isn't very clear. I also tie a lot of dark-colored flies, and flies that move a lot of water. Gurglers are easy ties that are a blast to fish (but less fun to throw). Check hobby/craft stores for the foam and sometimes for craft fur.

If you have a local fly shop, those guys should be able to set you up with the tools and materials to tie one or two good local patterns. Get started there, and then add to your arsenal as you go.

Like @Tx_Whipray said, it's addictive. Before you know it, you'll have lots of tools and materials, and you'll be playing with hooks to find which ones you like better than others -- it's far cheaper just to buy the flies you want. If you're just doing it for fun, though, you'll love it. Good luck!


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

I'll Second Whiskey on the Peak rotary vise, I love mine. I have the loon Bobbin and scissors and they work well and I'd say get a lice brush. I'm a fan of Daiichi 2546 no 2 hooks, so I'd say get those.

As far as materials goes, look up 239 flies, he has full kits you can buy and has videos on how to tie them, those really helped me when I was getting started.

Here's what my addiction looks like these days.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

@mtoddsolomon your picture reminds me: don't forget to factor in the cost of bourbon... for some reason the cheap stuff just doesn't cut it when I'm at the desk


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

Agreed, I should take stock in Four Roses and Buffalo Trace distilleries


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## TylertheTrout2 (Apr 21, 2016)

hehe...yea, just shrimp and crab patterns he says....you'll be tieing everything under the sun if the bug bites you...


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Love my Peak Rotary and am also a fan of the Dr. Slick tools. Just be sure to pick up some cheap scissors for cutting heavier material. I like the Fiskar scissors for that. You can get them at any craft shop. Don't dull your good scissors cutting weed guards, the wire in EP brush, etc.

Also invest in a good ceramic bobbin. I think that's critical.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

mtoddsolomon said:


> Agreed, I should take stock in Four Roses and Buffalo Trace distilleries


Basil Hayden is also a budget friendly bottle....I go Garrison Brothers if I'm feeling fancy.


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

Whiskey Angler said:


> Basil Hayden is also a budget friendly bottle....I go Garrison Brothers if I'm feeling fancy.





Whiskey Angler said:


> Basil Hayden is also a budget friendly bottle....I go Garrison Brothers if I'm feeling fancy.


I like basil Hayden a lot. I was able to pick up a handle of weller the other day for $40 and a fifth of eagle rare for $24. I felt like I won the day when I walked out of the store


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## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

I'm a Woodford man, but if I'm feeling fancy, I'll grab Jefferson's Ocean Aged.


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## DeepSouthFly (Sep 7, 2016)

Ever had Knob Creek? That's one of my go to's. Wild turkey 101 or Rare Breed, Basil, Makers, and call me what you want but I do like just good ole Jack D.


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

I would suggest bucktails in white, chartreuse, black or purple, tan, and pink for clousers. They are a must. Also I think whiskey angler meant 34007 mustard hook rather than 24007? You're starting down the rabbit hole.... Oh and don't forget the Sally Hansen's Tough As Nails and other assorted cements and epoxy.


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## E-money (Jul 7, 2016)

The Mustad 34007 hooks are cheaper for sure and great to learn on, but after a half dozen hook spits I swapped over to Gamakatsu SL12S and SC15s and now a good stick means a fish in the boat. That is just my experience.

And get a black and decker rechargeable hand held vacuum! Makes clean up super simple.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

eightwt said:


> I would suggest bucktails in white, chartreuse, black or purple, tan, and pink for clousers. They are a must. Also I think whiskey angler meant 34007 mustard hook rather than 24007? You're starting down the rabbit hole.... Oh and don't forget the Sally Hansen's Tough As Nails and other assorted cements and epoxy.


Correct...that's what I get for thinking I know without checking to see if I actually know.


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## Whiskey Angler (Mar 20, 2015)

E-money said:


> The Mustad 34007 hooks are cheaper for sure and great to learn on, but after a half dozen hook spits I swapped over to Gamakatsu SL12S and SC15s and now a good stick means a fish in the boat. That is just my experience.
> 
> And get a black and decker rechargeable hand held vacuum! Makes clean up super simple.


If you have a cat, keep the door closed. My cat goes [email protected] for bucktails and hackle.


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## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

This is what happens when you leave stuff where your lab can get to it...





























Those were bucktails. The red one stained the carpet so bad we had to give the buyers a flooring allowance. (The house was on the market at the time) She also got so sick she shit red liquipoop all over the place the next day, which also stained the carpet.


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## DeepSouthFly (Sep 7, 2016)

I got 2 dogs that would have a field day with all this stuff.


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## tailwalk (Nov 20, 2016)

Bobbins, scissors (one good pair for materials and another for cutting wire if you're using brushes. Could also just be a pair of wire cutters) a bodkin, a comb/brush, and of course a vise. That's pretty much a complete list of tools needed, imo. Learn to whip finish by hand. I bought the tool and now it sits in a drawer. Waste of money. So was the dubbing loop twister. Maybe if I did a ton more flies with dubbing loops, but you can also just use a paper clip. Best advice I've seen to beginning tiers (that I of course ignored completely ☺) is to find a fly that works and buy what's needed to tie that fly. At most, get stuff to do a light and dark version. It's tempting to buy a bunch of stuff and get creative but if you can stick to a few patterns you'll develop tying skills and not end up needing a storage unit to keep all the stuff you don't even use.


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## Tx_Whipray (Sep 4, 2015)

I can't overstate how important good scissors are.


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## DeepSouthFly (Sep 7, 2016)

Yeah I had a shat ton of stuff in my e bay cart but I'm about to start deleting some of it. I feel the same, once I find something I like I'll stick to it and a lot of the other would be a waste.


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

What happened to me was when I first started, I was in Ohio and fished warmwater. Then moved to eastern shore and then mostly the salt with some warm and occasional trout . Then it was to the Black Hills and mostly trout with some warmwater. Along the way I gathered materials as needed. Now in Fl. and the salt with some warmwater again so still had those materials. Even still adding. Point is you may end up with a bunch of stuff by the time you are in the Lords landing net.


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## DeepSouthFly (Sep 7, 2016)

Racked up last night on a closing Gander Mountain in my area! Most of the good stuff was gone but got some good hackle at half off.


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## bananabob (Jun 3, 2015)

I get a lot of stuff at Dollar Tree. Plastic bins for materials, plastic bead chains, super glue. Clear nail polish for $1 vs Sally Hansens for what ever they charge for basically the same stuff. You never know what you might find usable for pennies compared to a fly shop plus there's usually one close almost everywhere. Closest fly shop to me is 45 minutes away.


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## mwong61 (Jul 28, 2013)

Tx_Whipray said:


> I'm a Woodford man, but if I'm feeling fancy, I'll grab Jefferson's Ocean Aged.


If you guys shop at Costco they have a private label (Kirkland brand) 7 year old that is surprisingly good. As I understand its made at the Buffalo Trace distillery. A great everyday snort. (2 or 3 snorts if tying EP flies, those things drive me nuts...)

For the top shelf stuff my 2 faves are Blantons and EH Taylor.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

@DeepSouthFly I did not read the other replies, so some of this has likely already been said.
Vise. Get a rotary. A little pricey but a Traveler will last you a lifetime, I know a guy that's selling a really nice vise (Regal) let me know if you are still looking for one.

Tools. You can buy a kit for very little then decide to upgrade a piece at a time as you go. Then the initial stuff becomes backup.

Materials...My advice would be to decide what you want to tie (I'd start with some basic patterns, cracks/clousers/ducers etc..) and then just but what you need for those patterns. If you discover that you don't have something that you need just stop by the house, and I'll hook you up. It's really easy to end up with a bunch of stuff that takes forever to use. Go see Kevin in Apalach for your bucktail, I've been to fly shops all over and his are easily the best.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

DeepSouthFly said:


> About to get into tying my own flies.


Yer bout to get screwed up fer sure.... like the rest of us! Ha!


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

mwong61 said:


> If you guys shop at Costco they have a private label (Kirkland brand) 7 year old that is surprisingly good. As I understand its made at the Buffalo Trace distillery. A great everyday snort. (2 or 3 snorts if tying EP flies, those things drive me nuts...)
> 
> For the top shelf stuff my 2 faves are Blantons and EH Taylor.


I've got two bottles left of the col. Eh Taylor, that stuff is great! 

When I did the bourbon trail a few years back I noticed the Kirkland bourbon in the vault at Jim Beam. They keep a sample of every mash so if they have numerous complaints the can go back to sample something in that timeframe to see if something was off. Anyway, I asked about it and apparently it's a knob creek mash and bottle, check it out next time you're at Costco, they usually have the 100 proof knob creek not far away and the bottles look almost identical. Bourbon is fun


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

Tx_Whipray said:


> This is what happens when you leave stuff where your lab can get to it...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My dogs love it when I open up my buck tail bin. The little female pit tries to sneak off with them when I'm not looking.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

mtoddsolomon said:


> View attachment 12726
> I'll Second Whiskey on the Peak rotary vise, I love mine. I have the loon Bobbin and scissors and they work well and I'd say get a lice brush. I'm a fan of Daiichi 2546 no 2 hooks, so I'd say get those.
> 
> As far as materials goes, look up 239 flies, he has full kits you can buy and has videos on how to tie them, those really helped me when I was getting started.
> ...


Man you can find stuff what novel idea


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> My dogs love it when I open up my buck tail bin. The little female pit tries to sneak off with them when I'm not looking.


I have a cat that will open a drawer in my fly tying desk and dig something out that she can play with. That, I'm not worried about so much as being alert if she grabs a fly off the desk when I'm not lookin and runs off to try to eat it!


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

permitchaser said:


> Man you can find stuff what novel idea


huh?


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## MatthewAbbott (Feb 25, 2017)

Backwater said:


> I have a cat that will open a drawer in my fly tying desk and dig something out that she can play with. That, I'm not worried about so much as being alert if she grabs a fly off the desk when I'm not lookin and runs off to try to eat it!


I had an outside cat get hooked by a crappie jig once. Think I'd rather thumb wrestle Edward Scissor hands than try and get another jig out of a cats mouth again.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

mtoddsolomon said:


> huh?


My fly tying desk has piles of stuff. Sometimes I have to search for things like eyes or hooks


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## MatthewAbbott (Feb 25, 2017)

permitchaser said:


> My fly tying desk has piles of stuff. Sometimes I have to search for things like eyes or hooks


I've been missing my brown sharpie for 3 days now... it's gone... I guess I'm going to have to buy a new one.


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## mtoddsolomon (Mar 25, 2015)

permitchaser said:


> My fly tying desk has piles of stuff. Sometimes I have to search for things like eyes or hooks


 Ahh yeah Pegboard really helps take out the hunting for materials time frame.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

MatthewAbbott said:


> I had an outside cat get hooked by a crappie jig once. Think I'd rather thumb wrestle Edward Scissor hands than try and get another jig out of a cats mouth again.


I left my jig rod leaning up against my wall in the house without the jig hooked into the keeper. At 6 am my cat got hooked in the mouth and I was woken up to a awful sound and my drag screaming. I jumped out of bed and grabbed the rod and played him out like a fish. Cats put up one hell of a fight!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

RunningOnEmpty said:


> I left my jig rod leaning up against my wall in the house without the jig hooked into the keeper. At 6 am my cat got hooked in the mouth and I was woken up to a awful sound and my drag screaming. I jumped out of bed and grabbed the rod and played him out like a fish. Cats put up one hell of a fight!


I hope you had a Boga to weigh it. Cat, dog, parrot...land slam


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

MatthewAbbott said:


> I've been missing my brown sharpie for 3 days now... it's gone... I guess I'm going to have to buy a new one.


Yeah good luck finding the illusive...."brown Sharpie!" I guess Sharpie doesn't think too much for them to market them by themselves. They way to sell you a rainbow of colors just to get to the "brown!" Only place where I found where you can buy just one color is Micheals.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

mtoddsolomon said:


> Ahh yeah Pegboard really helps take out the hunting for materials time frame.


Problem with that method of storage is one day when you get as much material as I do, the entire wall will be peg boarded and that's when I think momma will not be so down with the idea! LOL

Storage drawers or bins are not so bad and if you have an animal and small kids, will save you some aggravation. Plus it will keep things more "ship shape" around the tying table and momma will be happier that your table looks somewhat neat.


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## DeepSouthFly (Sep 7, 2016)

Long story short but ended up driving to Mobile last night to trade for a loomis cross current 8wt pro 1, really pumped about it too, but ran in bass pro while i was there. 
picked up an apex vise, bobbins, hooks, eyes, cement, and some other things. 

Got home late but had to give it shot, basically disaster. hahaha
kept breaking my thread, the craft fur I got from hobby lobby is way to short, and made a mess in the kitchen so gonna get crawled by the wife when I get home so it's going great thanks guys. hahaha


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

DeepSouthFly said:


> Long story short but ended up driving to Mobile last night to trade for a loomis cross current 8wt pro 1, really pumped about it too, but ran in bass pro while i was there.
> picked up an apex vise, bobbins, hooks, eyes, cement, and some other things.
> 
> Got home late but had to give it shot, basically disaster. hahaha
> kept breaking my thread, the craft fur I got from hobby lobby is way to short, and made a mess in the kitchen so gonna get crawled by the wife when I get home so it's going great thanks guys. hahaha


Sounds about on par for fly fishing in general


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## MatthewAbbott (Feb 25, 2017)

Backwater said:


> Yeah good luck finding the illusive...."brown Sharpie!" I guess Sharpie doesn't think too much for them to market them by themselves. They way to sell you a rainbow of colors just to get to the "brown!" Only place where I found where you can buy just one color is Micheals.


Lol. I know right. Thanks for the heads up on where to find it in singles.


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## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

DeepSouthFly said:


> Long story short but ended up driving to Mobile last night to trade for a loomis cross current 8wt pro 1, really pumped about it too, but ran in bass pro while i was there.
> picked up an apex vise, bobbins, hooks, eyes, cement, and some other things.
> 
> Got home late but had to give it shot, basically disaster. hahaha
> kept breaking my thread, the craft fur I got from hobby lobby is way to short, and made a mess in the kitchen so gonna get crawled by the wife when I get home so it's going great thanks guys. hahaha


I used to catch my thread on the hook point and it weakens it. Just remember that pretty flies are for attracting fishermen. Most fish will fall for the ugliest fly in the box.


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Backwater said:


> Problem with that method of storage is one day when you get as much material as I do, the entire wall will be peg boarded and that's when I think momma will not be so down with the idea! LOL
> 
> Storage drawers or bins are not so bad and if you have an animal and small kids, will save you some aggravation. Plus it will keep things more "ship shape" around the tying table and momma will be happier that your table looks somewhat neat.


I finally caved a while back, moved my reloading/tying desk to the garage (now it's just a reloading desk again, now I'm in the "roll top club" and my "area" isn't a disaster.


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## Dschouest42 (Jul 12, 2017)

Welcome to the world of fly fishing and fly tying. I started tying at the kitchen table 4 years ago now, and my flies looked like something from an Aphex Twin music video, on acid!
Fast forward 4 years and I have a nice little desk in my room with my supplies organized in storage bins and a tackle box. My cats have chewed up at least two bucktails, and I have learned to tie countless patterns.
The best advice ever given to me was from my mentor Stephen Robert. He said find one or two patterns, and tie them until you can tie them in your sleep. For me, it was a Clouser Minnow and a local flavor of Bonefish Charlie, called a Lafluer's Charlie. I have caught more fish on that Charlie than on any other pattern Ive ever tied. Just keep at it, remember your proportions, and have fun!


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