Which Equip.?

[MarkD]

I can feel my first foray into fly tying quickly drawing near. Up to this point I've stood on the sidelines and watched my father, brother, and even my brother's girlfriend tie all manner of flies. It's time that I join the party.

I'm looking for advice on quality equipment. Should I stay away from the "kits" that most catalogs offer? I would imagine that picking and choosing my materials and tools will pay off, in terms of quality, rather than buying a kit.

I'm in search of suggestions on vices, hooks... in short, any and all materials I might need. It may or may not be important to mention that 90% of my fishing will be in the salt, mostly stripers.

Thanks in advance.

[rel]

<FONT color=black face="Times New Roman,Times" size=2>MarkD- Welcome to the addiction. I use the Thompson A vice- really simple but then I don't tie professionally, just for myself. Hooks I prefer Eagle Claw sizes 2-2/0 generally the 254 or 254SS and the Pate saltwater series( like the Mustad 34007 only sharp out of the package).&nbsp; Thread I use mono, 3/0 and 6/0 unithread nothing fancy. The rest is whatever looks like it will do what I want at the time. Good luck rel</FONT>

[JimW]

<P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>I use an inexpensive vise.&nbsp; The rotary feature on the vise is a plus, this type can be had for about $25&nbsp; <A href="http://www.hookhack.com/vises.html">http://www.hookhack.com/vises.html</A></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>BTW the above link carries most materials, I have found their hackles to be of good quality.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Verdana size=2>Thread: plenty of white flat waxed nylon, it doesn't break as easily as the 3/0 mono.&nbsp; My 7 year old likes to tie some creations of her own.&nbsp; I've found type 'A' is nearly unbreakable.&nbsp; A ceramic bobin is well worth the additional cost, if I had to buy over again I'd have all ceramic, I think it's a Griffin.</FONT></P>
<P>Good luck and have fun.</P>
<P><FONT color=green face=Garamond size=5><EM>Jim Whalen</EM></FONT></P>

[bassman]

Hi Mark...First off...ITS ALOT OF FUN!...You will save a ton of money tying your own. I've been tying for almost 25 years now and I am always learning new and interesting stuff. First I would invest in a quality vise. The Thompson is fine for alot of applications but once u get into epoxy you will wish u had a rotary. The rotary also works great for attaching materials on the bottom of fly and the far side. Regals are great and so are Griffin Patriot Cams...I have both and resort mostly to the Griffin. My Griffin came with pedestal *and* C-clamp for around $120 bucks...Nice vise..Im sure its a bit more now but still under $150. Scissors..Man ya gotta have a decent pair. I like scissors with long blades such as the Tiemco and Thopson Ice. Both of these have serrated edges and will last a looooooooooooong time if you do not cut wire and such with them. I have had my Thompson Ice scissors for 8 years now and they still are wicked sharp, and I tye ALOT of flies.
Bobbin...Ceramic is the way to go...Over time you will want more than one.
For stripers you can start out with just a few bucktails/dumbell eyes/thread/flash/hooks and start cranking em out. As you progress keep making mini runs to the shope for stuff.
I would stay away from the kits for I feel half the stuff in them would be useless for what you want to tie for stripers...
Your on your way to a healthy addiction....best of luck...Jeff

[DFix]

Bassman's right on the money. Nothing to repeat. Tho' I still tie with a Thompson Ultra (and I've had it since the late sixties), I have to say after watching a couple guys with rotary vises there's nothing like them. And, I'll probably have one before the Wilmington show...the new vises have interchangeable collets for holding larger hooks, all the bells and whistles, etc. You can't go wrong with the right one. Last but not least, you might want to get a magnifying light for those nights you don't want to quit. Good luck and bleary eyes!!!

[MarkD]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Off I go to spend more money, but now, in an informed manner.

[ssully]

Mark,

You just got very good advise all around. Definitely go rotary. If you check out the past threads in this forum there is alot of other good advise. Feel free to email me.

P.S. The Y2K Tying Clave is Wednesday night for anyone else interested. Email me as well.

[jefff]

Fly tieing is wonderfull but who really saves any money tieing flies? Most guys who I know that tie including myself end up collecting so much material and if you include the cost of the vise and tools I know I haven't broken even yet. Don't tie to save money but to increase your enjoyment of the sport.

[ssully]

Jeff,

I agree with you tie for fun. The initial investment can be very costly if you buy everything (quality stuff) outright. Since I just got back into tying I have defrayed some of the cost by splitting purchases of materials with a friend.

But when I go into a shop and look at a $12.00 Yak fly I believe I may be saving some bucks in the long run. Just my .02

[TomDunlap]

Mark, where do you live? if you live anywhere near foxboro i'd be glad to let you know about a fly-tying group there Tom Dunlap

[larrwhit]

just a note, last year when my 11 year old wanted to take up fly tying he asked in a couple groups like this for sample flies and extra materials. the response was amazing. people sent him all sorts of stuff from flies to capes and even a couple of vises. its kind of risky to give out an address so I got him a po box that was only for the responders for safety sake so try asking the nice people in the group for some help.

I'd also like to once again thank alan P. from upstate ny for the great stuff he sent jr.