Fly Tying

[nick_s]

who ties there own flys........i am thinking of starting to do it to fill in time....i am wanting to tie saltwater flys to start of with.what gear would i need to start off with?are there any books to learn from or do i need to get lessons ect.

[nick_s]

also how much does it cost to get all the gear

[Narralakes]

Hi Nick,

I tie most of my own flies. You can get a couple of books at most fishing shops like Fishouttawater or Ottos, but they are very expensive. If you are a member of the Sydney Flyrodders, they have a fly tying meeting once a month for novices and experts and swap/learn/teach about fly tying. That's where I got started and very rarely buy any flies now. Once you get the basics you can just look at pictures of the flies you want and just copy them. There are also some fly tying videos. The gear is not too expensive if you compare it to lures, not many people would make there own lures so fly tying comes out ahead once you get the gear. There is a massive amount of fly tying material and you will probably start building a collection, just work on a couple of flies to use all the time, then get proficient at more. A vice, bobbin, whipper, sharp scissors is what you will need to start off with, you can buy these at the stores mentioned above or off Ebay, which has some very good deals. A rough guide for gear is 1. vice: $30 for average, couple of hundred for top vice 2. bobbins $10 - $15

3. Whipper: $15 - $20 4. scissors $15 - $30, then hooks, threads, super glue, epoxy if your making candies etc. There are heaps of good web sites worth looking at as well, just do a search for fishing/flyfishing/flies and you'll get heaps of info. Try Ken's article on flyfishing on his homepage, there's some starters there as well.

cheers

[Big-Pete]

nick_s,

I have been teaching fly tying for about ten years and it is addictive, especially when you land that first fish on a fly you have tied yourself.

Big Pete

[Guest bluecod]

A rough guide for gear is 1. vice: $30 for average, couple of hundred for top vice

40124[/snapback]

Ken,

I recently saw a vise advertised for around US$1500 - but you're right, my vise cost $40 and it has done everything I've wanted it to

it is addictive, especially when you land that first fish on a fly you have tied yourself.

40124[/snapback]

Damn right!

One thing about flyfishing - its a HOOT - doesn't matter about the size of fish you're catching, its new [to me] and a challenge on home tied flys. Even PODDY mullet are fun

Have a look at this LINK, it gives plenty of ideas and there's heaps more on the 'net.