Free Fly Tying Materials

Do you know where you can get free fly tying materials? Probably the biggest complaint I hear from fly tying beginners is the cost of materials and fly tying tools. They read the books, watch the videos and are given a list items that they must have to start tying flies.

Fly tying has been done for hundreds of years, do you think the first person to create his own flies went down to the local fly shop and bought everything he needed to tie that perfect nymph, caddis or wolly bugger? No, the first fisherman had to rely on nature to provide many of the materials needed to tie his flies. He didn’t go buy a brand new rotary vice or flashy box set of fly tying tools. He made the tools he needed and improvised with what he had on hand.

Nothing has changed in the world of fly tying. You can still do this today. Have you looked at how basic most of the fly tying tools are made? Many if not all of them can be produced with a little thinking outside of the box for far less than the highly expensive name brand fly tying tools sold in most shops and magazines.

Now back to the original question. Do you know where to get free fly tying materials? Guess what its hunting season. If you’re not an avid hunter yourself go to your local pub and hook up with someone who is. Most hunters will be happy to give you squirrel tails, deer tails and feathers from all types of game birds. Hmm, maybe that’s how the fishermen got started tying flies in the first place. There was a time in history where sportsmen didn’t want to waste any part of a kill so they found ways to utilized fur, feathers, and antlers. Fly tiers wanting free fly tying materials should take this same approach and utilize what is already wasted in many cases.

Ok, the hair, fur, feathers and other materials might not be an exact match to what the fly tying book tells you to use, but with a little dye, trimming and creative thinking you can make them work fairly easily. So next time you head out to the store to buy an expensive pack of fly tying materials think twice, because there are plenty of free alternatives lying around being wasted.

Fly Fishing For Beginners | Fly Tying Kits And Supplies

In the previous post I discussed several different types of tool every fly tying beginner will need to get started. In addition to the tools you will need some materials to make your flies. The basic fly tying materials include:

1. Hooks - You'll need an assortment of hooks designed for tying wet, dry, nymph, and streamer flies. The general size range will be from size 10-16 depending on what you will be tying. Mustard makes a good quality hook and they can be found at most quality sporting goods or tackle stores. In this category I'll include bead heads and head cement as well.

2. Hackle - These are long narrow feathers usually from the neck or saddle area of a rooster or chicken. Hackle is often died and usually available in a wide range of assortments, various hades of browns, blacks and tan will be the most common.

3. Dubbing - This is the material used for making fly bodies and you will want an assortment of colors in this as well.

4. Thread - Here you want to look for colors generally in shades of brown, black , tan an olive. they come in various sizes but 3/0 and 6/0 will be the ones you'll use the most often.

5. Fur and hair - squirrel tail, deer fur, fox fur, calf tail are all common in fly tying. The squirrel tail will be the one you definitely need to have on hand. All of these can be found online fairly inexpensive at eBay.

This is a basic list of the types of materials that the beginner at fly tying will need. Often the easiest thing to do is purchase kit with an assortment of all of these items. Before you go out and purchase a bunch of materials read some books, look online , rent some videos about fly tying to give you a better idea of what types of flies you want to start out making. You don't want to buy a fly tying kit or materials and get them home and find out you don't have what you need to make the fly you want. If there is a local fly tying club in your area I highly recommend joining and teaming up with an experienced fly fisherman to help instruct you.

Fly Tying For Beginners | Intro To Fly Tying Tools

As a beginning fly fisherman you may decide to take up the age-old art of fly tying. Fly tying is a wonderful hobby that date back to the 1800's. It is the process of creating artificial baits " the fly" that imitates the natural food that fish eat. Flies can be made to catch almost any fish from trout, salmon, pan fish, bass and many species of saltwater fish. If you’re a fly fishing beginner you might also find that you will enjoy tying flies when you cant make it out to your favorite fishing hole. I'll start at the beginning by showing you the basic tools involved in fly tying.

1. The Fly Vice - The key component required to hold the hook for tying the fly. Fly vices come in many differnt styles. Some vices are made to mount on a bench or table. They also come in pedestal models that stand on a heavy base to keep them from tipping. Portable fly tying vices are also available for tying flies streamside when necessary. Choosing the right fly vice is very important I'll get into the details in a later post.

2. The Bobbin- If you have ever used a sewing machine you should know what a bobbin is. Bobbins are used to hold the thread, yarn, or wire necessary for tying flies. Most likely you'll want a couple of these.

3. Hackle Pliers - these are a spring-loaded type of pliers used to hold hackle. Hackle usually refers to feathers, hair or fur used in creating flies.

4. Hair Stacker - This device allows you to stack the various types of hair you will be using so that the ends are even.

5. Scissors- you'll need a small pair of sharp scissors on hand any time you working on your flies. You may find it best to have a couple pair of different sizes. Main thing is to choose good quality pair that fit you well.

5. Bodkin- this is basically a long needle with a handle useful when adding glue to the fly, picking out hairs or other delicate type work. You can probably make one if you’re resourceful.

6. Whip Finishers- these are tools designed to help you tie the finishing knots necessary when creating your fly.

This a pretty good overview of the basic tools the fly tying beginner will want to have on hand. Many of these items can be purchased in beginners tying kit or second hand though online auctions. I'd suggest online auctions as they can often be bought at a big discount form a person that decided fly tying wasn’t for them. Your better sporting goods stores and tackle shops will also carry basic fly tying tools. In my next fly tying post I'll discuss the various materials you be needing including hooks, hackle, bead heads, etc....