Cheaper or just convience?

[mute]

I got into the tying game a while back and then sold everything and went back to buying again. I probably buy $50-100 worth of flies a year depending on how many I lose or think that I just need the following year to feel successful lol.

If anything, the flies success in my book is more about how I feel about it then what the fish does. Anyhoo, I was thinking to get back into tying again. One thing I always had was a pretty crappy vice. It was one of those $30 kits that never held the hook well.

So first off, does anyone have a somewhat decent vice that is under $100? I dont need the cream of the crop as im not a professional tyer, but i dont want the vice to annoy me from tying flies.

Secondly, does anyone feel like tying is cheaper then buying flies at say a dollar a fly? Even if you stick to say only common repeatable patterns like your top beadhead nymphs and midges. Buying those materials \ variations of hooks and beads up front, to be able to produce the same 10-15 midges\nymphs for your box do you think it ultimately ends up being cheaper or actually more expensive? Obviously im sure the up front cost of all the variations of things needed (vice not even included) might be a year or two worth of flies. But after that?

 

[Dave_W]

mute wrote:

So first off, does anyone have a somewhat decent vice that is under $100? I dont need the cream of the crop as im not a professional tyer, but i dont want the vice to annoy me from tying flies.

Secondly, does anyone feel like tying is cheaper then buying flies at say a dollar a fly?

Thompson and Griffin make good vises for very reasonable prices.

The second question is tougher. Time is money. When this issue has come up in past discussions, the consensus has largely been that tying your own flies does not make sense financially.

I disagree.
Once you have made your initial investment and stick with tying going forward in your years of enjoying the FF hobby, I think it makes a lot of sense to tie your own flies (at least the basic patters) if you fish a lot and lose a lot of flies. as most serious FFers tend to do.

 

[afishinado]

Dave_W wrote:

mute wrote:

So first off, does anyone have a somewhat decent vice that is under $100? I dont need the cream of the crop as im not a professional tyer, but i dont want the vice to annoy me from tying flies.

Secondly, does anyone feel like tying is cheaper then buying flies at say a dollar a fly?

Thompson and Griffin make good vises for very reasonable prices.

The second question is tougher. Time is money. When this issue has come up in past discussions, the consensus has largely been that tying your own flies does not make sense financially.

I disagree.
Once you have made your initial investment and stick with tying going forward in your years of enjoying the FF hobby, I think it makes a lot of sense to tie your own flies (at least the basic patters) if you fish a lot and lose a lot of flies. as most serious FFers tend to do.

Agree with DaveW above.

Buy materials for the flies you fish the most and you will save money tying. If you begin to accumulate all types of materials and other tying related supplies and gizmos you will likely spend more money tying than buying.

One other thing about tying your own flies is you can customize the flies you tie to match conditions. Flies of different weights or no weight for nymphing. Maybe low-riding flies for fussy trout to match emergers or high-riding flies to skitter, or anything else to help your fishing.

You can also tie flies to match hatches for a particular stream or trip. And if you run out of a pattern, it's easier to tie some up than have to travel to a fly shop to restock or wait for a online order to arrive.

 

[dryflyguy]

For those of us who are nuts about this sport, and fish a lot - I think it's certainly cheaper in the long run, to tie your own.

I go through loads of flies every year.
Between them getting beat up by fish, getting snagged in trees and breaking off, and giving some away to friends - it really adds up.

But the most important factor IMO, is the satisfaction of catching fish on your own creations.
I still remember that nice feeling I had my first season after I learned to tie.

I also quickly got to the point where I have the most confidence in my own flies working well.
After doing this for many years, I like my flies to be tied certain ways - unlike any I can buy.
I'm guessing all tyers eventually start feeling this way too

 

[drakeking412]

previous commenters nailed it. you can save money but you have to be ultra specific on what patterns you tie and selective on the materials you buy also. I am a very firm believer that tying does save money in the long run especially with respects to streamers and your tungsten nymphs. I'm currently tying a 360 some nymph box that would cost me an arm and a leg to buy but tying I'll keep it ~300

 

[RLeep2]

Tying is (probably) long term cheaper and the added dimension of the art form involved (well, not so much art for me, I guess. I'm kinda ham-handed) makes the entire angling experience more satisfying and fulfilling. Additionally, for me, if I had to buy all my flies, I'd have been in Chapter 7 or indentured servitude a long time ago.. I wear out a lot of flies, both bass/toothy and trout.

 

[mute]

Thanks for the information guys. Trying to get back into it, not specifically for the cost savings, but the convenience. I was just curious.

I do normally stick to the common patterns, just in variations of sizes and twists.

With that being said, what hook brands does everyone recommend when typing common BH nymph patterns and junk flies like Mops, Suan Juans, eggs, etc in 14-18?

 

[drakeking412]

ALL my nymphs/junk are tied on Trutta hooks. Cheap and supporting a group of PA guys

 

[shakey]

mute wrote:
Thanks for the information guys. Trying to get back into it, not specifically for the cost savings, but the convenience. I was just curious.

I do normally stick to the common patterns, just in variations of sizes and twists.

With that being said, what hook brands does everyone recommend when typing common BH nymph patterns and junk flies like Mops, Suan Juans, eggs, etc in 14-18?

I use eagle claw hooks when I can, but eagle claw fly tying hooks are getting harder to find.

My second choice is mustad. I tend to use the. Lassis models .

Thirdly I use Gaelic supreme . A lot of my soft hackles are on these.

After that I have vintage pflueger and partridge hooks .

I scour eBay and captain hook’s discount warehouse for these.

BTW EC has super sharp hooks coated with Teflon that are nice. These tye easier with a little superglue on the shank.

 

[shakey]

*classic model mustad. It won’t let me edit

 

[DGC]

I am convinced that trying to learn to tie on a cheap vise that takes constant fuss to hold a hook is the main reason new tyers abandon the effort. I have advised the true rotary Griffin Odyssey Spider with double thumbscrew tensioning over the years as a very nice vise that can regularly be found for $75 to $90 TYD.

Materials from FFP (orders shipped free on $25 minimum, hard to beat). Barbless comp hooks from the Hardydeluxe ebay store. The name of the latter is a misnomer; they carry no Hardy gear.

Whether tying is cheaper or not depends mainly on your tendencies as a consumer. You could buy light Cahill's and Adams in sizes 22 to 10 and be done with it, save money, and likely catch just fine. Buy these on standard wire hooks and trim as needed on stream and you can fish them as nymphs if you use shot.

I struggled to learn how to tie pre internet, but now can't imagine flyfishing without. I carry easily 1K flies, and that is after cutting back some the last couple of years. It is an inherently enjoyable activity for me, quite irrespective of saving money.

 

[scs]

Tying with a cheap vise made me appreciate my renzetti. Don’t know if I’m saving any money, but I’m tying what I think will work for the water I fish and tie multiples at a time.

Steve

 

[poopdeck]

Yes, lots of money to be saved if you fish. If you just sit around and tie flies for art or to collect in endless boxes then you won't. I tie only patterns that I fish and that's it. If I need to replace them I tie a few more. Pretty much all I buy are hooks as I have all the materials I need for the flies I fish. Material goes a long way. I like to fish with reckless abandon. I don't care how many I lose, break off, wear out or give away. That's the joy in fly tying for me.

I have 27 bucks wrapped up in 3 vises. A Pettijean flymaster, (6 bucks maybe 40? Years ago, an inherited Griffin and an auction find regal medallion for 22.50. All a vise has to do is hold the hook. All of mine hold the hook. The Griffin double thumbscrew works great and they are in you price range. A rotating vise is in no way needed even in the least bit so that's a preference completely up to the individual. All of my tools are the cheapest I can find and I've had them for decades so don't stress over a 50 dollar bobbin when a 6 dollar one works just fine and will outlast you.

I like Allen hooks and any cheap hook I happen to find when I need it and pretty much stay away from the expensive gotta have hook so I don't chance losing a fish of a lifetime. I've never lost a fish of a lifetime because of this.

It doesn't take up that much if my time because I'm not tying endlessly and blindly down it doesn't take up that much room because I don't buy and store material and tied flies. I say keep your investment small, buy only the materials for the patterns you actually will fish and have at it. You will save money on your flies.

 

[nymphingmaniac]

definitely save money if you fish a lot, and fish your nymphs the way they should be. If you only tie to save money, as others have said, time is money and i wouldn't do it for that reason.

 

[maxima12]

Time is Money. Right On. If you are good at tying fly's and spend the time, you can make enough money to pay for your inventory, put some in pocket and replace and even double inventory used.

Most fly shops, sports stores will gladly accept your offerings as long as quality, pricing and reliability exists. The biggest money maker in a fly shop are flies.

Tying flies can be a family activity too! Guess what? "were all going to learn to tie flies, as a family, together". "No way, your crazy, i am not doing it". Month later, wife says, "I was browsing a fly fisherman magazine at the store and saw a neat fly we should tie".

Right, what world do i live in. It could happen. Think about it.

Year later, wife says, "Honey, let's get a boat and kids say, come on, Dad, please". In the back of your mind, "what the hell happened"?

Well your off to Henry's Lake, Idaho, pulling the boat, packed car, wife reading map and kids fighting in back seat. Now, my friends, that is the American Dream.

Maxima12

 

[CRB]

maxima12 wrote:
Time is Money. Right On. If you are good at tying fly's and spend the time, you can make enough money to pay for your inventory, put some in pocket and replace and even double inventory used.

Most fly shops, sports stores will gladly accept your offerings as long as quality, pricing and reliability exists. The biggest money maker in a fly shop are flies.

Tying flies can be a family activity too! Guess what? "were all going to learn to tie flies, as a family, together". "No way, your crazy, i am not doing it". Month later, wife says, "I was browsing a fly fisherman magazine at the store and saw a neat fly we should tie".

Right, what world do i live in. It could happen. Think about it.

Year later, wife says, "Honey, let's get a boat and kids say, come on, Dad, please". In the back of your mind, "what the hell happened"?

Well your off to Henry's Lake, Idaho, pulling the boat, packed car, wife reading map and kids fighting in back seat. Now, my friends, that is the American Dream.

Maxima12

:-D

This put a simle on my face! Thank you Max

 

[JeffK]

Here's another cheap hook place with great service that I think is in PA
http://www.wholesaleflycompany.com/

I don't follow my rules all the time, but for cheap flies

1. Buy inexpensive hooks in lots of at least 100 - packs of 25 are much more expensive. 500 hook prices can be even cheaper.
2. Use a handful of common materials. This is the hard one! For example, I ended up with dozens of yarn skeins to match insects and to play around with sucker spawn, If I just stuck to one yellow for sucker spawn I would be OK, but have to try all sorts of colors.
3. Be careful of the craft store trap. Yes, you can get bargains - but you may also buy more than you need and some materials don't pan out.
4. Buy with friends. Back to the yarn example, there may be a specific yarn that works for a certain fly, but a whole skein is 10 lifetimes worth. Get some friends together and share. Don't need 500 or 1000 hooks of pattern? - buy in bulk and share.

My biggest problem is I get bored with one style of flies and change every few years. Take sulphurs. Started in the dark ages so needed yellow dubbing and light dun and cream colored rooster necks (necks are a big ticket item) for traditional ties. Then an orange thorax was the rage, so some orange dubbing was needed. Of course sulphurs are in a number of shades so I needed all of them in synthetic, beaver, and silk. Then I fell in love with sparkle duns, so tried all sorts of deer hair patches for the wings and synthetic yarns for shucks to find what I needed. At least I had the dubbing. Go to snowshoe hair wings, CDC flies and parachutes and the material box kept growing.

One late spring and early summer I fished only tan sparkle duns and light Cahill parachutes in misc sizes for all hatches of mayflies and caddis and my catch rate didn't suffer. But I can't seem to just stick with a few reliable flies - always need to try the latest thing.