budget??

[albienut]

i have been fly fishing for about 2 years now, and i'm looking into tying some flies. what kind of budget should i set aside to buy some equipment and material?

[ruge13]

To get started....relatively low. for me anyway.

I started with a $40 knock off Renzetti (which I still love) and about $30 in materials. I started with 2 bucktails in 2 colors, chart and white. A couple Mustad 1/0 and 2/0 hooks. A pack of white strung deciever hackles, pack of peacock herkl, a pack of pearl krystal flash, some cheap clouser eyes, some stick on eyes, a bodkin, white thread, and some crazy glue.

Started tying decievers and clousers and built from there.

If I was starting all over again and knew then what I know now, I would get the same vise, but spend more on materials. Not for more materials, but better materials. Like higher quality Hackles / capes and bucktails that are longer and more fine than the cheaper variety. I think that would have added about $40 to that budget.

[mike kelly]

shaun...what's the name of your vise? i'm 75% of the way to deciding on a renzetti salt water traveler, but your comment intrigued me. took my first lesson last night at concord outfitters with dave skok, couldn't recommend these classes more enthusiastically if anyone else is thinking about learning to tie!

[ruge13]

Honestly I have no idea. "Rotary Vise" was the name.

Its definately a cheaper vise. It does slip from time to time with large hooks (gami 7/0's and such) and some consider it clunky, but for what I do with it, it more than fits the bill.

If you are an experienced tier I would go for the Renzetti, but for newer tiers I could never justify the cost if that is an issue at the start. But thats just me, other tiers have completly different opinions.

[dudley]

A bobbin is important for thead controll.
Don't be cheap when it comes to sissors, you can get good ones cheaper from a fabric or craft store than from a fly shop.

[Armando]

When I Started Tying Almost Ten Years Ago, Not Much Was Known Here In Colombia Or Maybe I Wasn't In The Right Spot With The Right People.
Anyway As I Started Alone I Bought A None Rotatory Vise Which Is Ok For Starting, Soon I Realized A Rotatory Was Better, As I Was Tying Buggers And Mainly Trout Flies, I Bought Marabous In Olive, Black And Brown Colors, Peacock Hearl, Chenilles In Those Three Collors Too, Three Rooster Necks, Ans Some Tinsels. Hooks #6 #8 And #14, Total Cost Something Around 30 Bucks, I Bought Normal Bodkin, And A Pair Of Hackle Pliers.

But As You Get Further On In Tying And Learning Different Patterns Youll Be Buying The Materials Needed For Each Of Them.
I Second The No Buying Cheap Sissors, Also Get A Ceramic Bodkin, Handles Thread Better. Check Out Griffin Vises.

Theres Nothing Like Wanting To Tie A Special Pattern And Not Having The Right Materials Or None At All.
Dont Know What Your Budget Is, But I Would Get A Good Vise, That Will Last Forever And $100 Between Materials And Tying Tools.

Good Tying

[albienut]

I'm going to be tying salt water flies, can anyone recommend material I should start with?

[albienut]

vises??

so many to chose from? can anyone recomend one, i'm not looking to go all crazy on my first one.

[dudley]

Just like Shaun said:
Hooks, couple of buck tails,white saddle hackle, thread, some kind or flash, stick-on and clouser eyes(not lead).
Not only can you tie clousers and decievers, but you can try blondes
hi-ties,etc

I have a Thompson pro that I paid 20$ for 20+ years ago.

[Armando]

YEP
WHITE, CHART, BLACK, BLUE BUCKTAILS, WHITE SADDLE HACKLE, RAINBOW, SILVER, GOLD, PEARL, RED (FOR GILLS) FLASHABOU AND CRYSTAL FLASH, LEAD EYES LARGE, SMALL, MEDIUM, SATINLESS STEEL HOOKS 3/0,1/0,2,6.
5 MIN EPOXI, HEAVY THREAD IN ORANGE, RED, BLACK AND CHART.
THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO TIE LOTS OF SW PATTERNS, DECEIVERS, CLOUSERS, HALF N HALFS ETC..

VISES I WOULD LOOK FOR: RENZETTI TRAVELER $159
GRIFFIN PATRIOT CAM VISE $159
GRIFFIN ODYSSEY $94.50
REGAL $150
CROWN VISE (REGAL IMITATION) $45
OF COURSE THERE MORE BRANDS, BUT THIS ARE SOME OF THE BEST VISES i'VE USED, IF MONEY NOT AN ISSUE DYNA KING BARRACUDA $330
IF MONEY AN ISSUE CHECK OUT THAT CROWN VISE, HOLDS ANY HOOK SPECIALLY FOR SW TYING.

[Sean Juan]

No one else thinks its funny that he's trying to budget fly tying stuff...

I'm like a heroin addict when it comes to the stuff.

A good vise is very important - its more expensive to buy a cheap one and then a good one, that just a good one at first. If you want to use big hooks the choice is far more limited than it is for trout guys.

[albienut]

i saw the KING BARRACUDA, i don't want to go that nutz yet. but thanks alot for the advise on the other vises, i'm going to check them out now.

[albienut]

i'm in the firm belief in if you buy cheap you buy twice. but i would also like to get the most bang for the buck.

[Iwan]

Albienut,

I would recommend the Dyna-king Kingfisher. I think it retails at $129 but I shopped around and got mine for $99. It's a great vise and well made. It is not a 'true' rotary but it does for me. Holds from #28 - 8/0 hooks. There is one on eBay right now......

The old saying is true. Buy cheap, but twice. The jaws on 'cheaper' vises start to wear and hooks suddenly start popping out. This happens usually during the most critical part of the fly....... :mad:

All Dyna-king vises have great jaws that hold tight. They also have recessed grooves to hold really big hooks.

Iwan.

[mike kelly]

albienut also check out this web site reviews a bunch of vices across price ranges:

http://www.flyfisherman.com/ftb/hwvise/index.html

[RogerStg]

No one else thinks its funny that he's trying to budget fly tying stuff...I'm like a heroin addict when it comes to the stuff.


More like crack for me. But I didn't want to scare him off... everybody deserves and addiction. --126-3-

FWIW, Albienut, you should buy a decent low priced vise like a DanVise, bobbin, half hitch/bodkin, and only the materials for one pattern at a time. That way you won't have anything you don't need (I know, that will change ;) )
I'm guessing a $100 to start.

It'd also be a good idea to find a fly tying group to join, like UFT or UFTRI, etc. You might want to attend a meeting or two before you buy anything. Let a few friendly folks know what you want to do and you'll probably get some help.

[Ray]

$200 - $250 (that will get you good tools)

Go to some of the winter FF shows to get some good deals

[flatwingflinger]

STAY AWAY FROM KENNEY ABRAMES PATTERNS AND JUNGLE COCK! Great stuff but not cheap. Most of us who get into it buy at least five saddles to start and after reading his book.. buy a lot more. Sometime, maybe, turn away while you still can! I'm **** poor right now. --124-3 When buying bucktails, the best I've found for the money are the ones at the Saltwater Edge. Seven bucks a pop but excellent length and texture with a high level of consistency. A few good colors would be white, chartreuse, yellow, black, blue. With flash the only color you really need is pearl, has the flash you need and will change shade in relation to the darkness of the rest of the fly.

[Quicksilver]

Where there's a will, (to not spend money), there's a way. In the last few years I've started dying my own bucktails and hackles. White bucktails can be purchased for cheap on ebay. Wal Mart has the lowest prices for Rit dye. Cut up one bucktail into a bunch of pieces. At the start make the pieces smaller than you could purchase in a fly shop. Also pluck 4-6 hackles off a white neck. Dye a small piece of bucktail and the hackles one batch at a time, experimenting with the dilution of the dye to get the desired color. I generally start with 1/4 teaspoon of dye to a half gallon of water and thin it from there. I usually end up massively diluting the mix to get the subdued colors that satisfy my particular addiction. I think this is the best way to get a perfect match for colors of deceivers since the bucktail and hackles are dyed in the same mix. If I was replacing my Regal I would buy an Anvil vise. Alot of guys have good things to say about the Danvise.