Cost of tying vs. buying flies

[CRB]

those Mustad 3399 are all i use for my steelhead Lake Erie Trib flies I don't feel at all mad if i lose them on the shale. Eggs, nymphs, etc;
I save alot of money tying these as I can easily lose dozen in a few hours steelhead fishing.

 

[poopdeck]

I'm not a hoarder, I don't tie presentation flies or exotic flies and I don't tie to fill fly boxes. I tie what I need when I need it. I save lots of money tying my own. It's not even a serious question with me. Just depends on your personality since you can spend an exceptional amount of money if you want to.

I see bigger saving in my saltwater tying.

 

[Wallyfish]

I started tying because I went through many flies steelhead fishing.
I began tying egg patterns, wooly buggers and spring wigglers.

I immediately enjoyed fly tying and I do get a big thrill catching fish in my flies. So for the flies I use the most, there is no doubt that tying your own is cost effective.

Where I get into cost trouble is tying specific patterns that requires me to buy new materials. I buy the materials and I tie a dozen or so then the materials just sit. There was a micro Walts worm that was on here that required Shetland oyster yarn. I found the yarn in a craft store. I tied maybe 2 dozen but I have enough yarn for hundreds of dozens. It was a full skein for like $7. Which brings me to craft stores. You can buy many items much cheaper at craft stores and get more material than a fly fishing shop.

I don't tie many dry flies as some of that material gets very pricey.

 

[shakey]

and there is also the good old free materials like cat hair and dryer lint

 

[wbranch]

As many prior posters have mentioned initially it is quite expensive to tie your own flies versus buying them from an on-line, off shore, source. BTW there are two off shore makers that I am aware of that tie great looking flies in all sorts of sizes and styles. I rarely buy a fly but I have noticed most of those flies have no head cement an they often unravel quickly. So if you buy on-line you might want to put a tiny drop of head cement on the fly.

Because it costs quite a bit of money to buy a good vises, half a dozen thread bobbins (at least) two pairs of scissors, other tools, hooks, hackles, fur and hair on the skin, premixed dubbings, thread, wire, tinsel, chenille, various strung feathers, wood duck, etc. it will be quite costly but once you have a good assortment of materials to tie nymphs, dries, and streamers for the waters that you fish it is less costly especially as your speed increases.

Obviously as others have also said if you don't really like to tie and are doing it because you think you can save some money you should just buy the flies and either go fishing, or take your wife out, for the time you aren't tying.

On the other hand if you enjoy tying and realize that there are all sorts of trout flies that you just can hardly ever find in a fly shop like figure 8 hackle wing spinners, really good thorax flies, hackle stackers, hatch specific nymphs, the list goes on and on. I love to tie and have been tying for sixty years. I probably tie over a 100 days a year. I just finished two dozen #14 Hendrickson nymphs for next year and two dozen #18 PMD nymphs for my annual Montana trip.

Fly tying is a great hobby to enjoy anytime but especially after the normal season is over if you don't steelhead fish. I have over forty fly boxes and the last time I counted over 10,000 flies.

All the boxes wouldn't fit in the viewfinder!

 

[shakey]

i want to reverse my position.i said it is not likely to save money,BUT,at the jam i stopped in a fly shop and was charged $20.50 for eight flies.

these were not even the type of fly i wanted,but as close as they had.

i think you can def save money by tying

 

[jeremymcon]

I enjoy tying flies and catching fish on my own flies. If you're buying bargain brand flies online, you probably won't save much money by tying your own. At least, not in the short term.

If you try not to buy every sparkly material that catches our eye you will probably end up saving money in the long run. I mean, I can but dry fly hooks for around $0.20 a piece, or cheaper, a hackle cape for $30 (Collins hackle), and a pack of dubbing and thread for next to nothing. If a cape ties, I dunno, 150 flies (conservative estimate I'd think), th works put to about 40 cents per fly. I think you get a lot more than 150 flies from a cape, and if you look around you can get hooks in bulk for much less than 20 cents each, so you could maybe save money.

I also really enjoy the fact that when I lose a fly, I don't just think of how I just left $0.89 on the bottom of the creek.

Also, if you like to fish streamers, especially large streamers, you'll probably save money tying your own. Some of those articulated things can go for as much or more than a lure of similar size! At field and stream they wanted as much as $10 for some of the large articulated flies they were selling when I was last there!

 

[reelinron]

duckfoot wrote:
My mother gave me a great piece of advice a long time ago: everyone needs a mindless hobby that doesn't have a deadline.

For some old men, it's whittling and pipe smoking. For some old women, it's knitting and crocheting.

Fly tying lets me think, relax, and do something well without a clock looming over me. It's a wonderful hobby that lets me enjoy another hobby even more!

Your Mother's quote made my day! Funny, but packed with a lot of wisdom! Thanks for sharing.

 

[JohnPowers]

It's not about money. I tied up a few elk hair CDC caddis using my petit Jean CDC tools. I'm skunked but my talented friend knocks them dead at Stockport last week with my flies. We're heading up when the river come down and I have two dozen of those flies. Parachute ISO's from a tightlines video you can't buy. It's about being able to tweak and tie what you need. It's my about money at all. You can modify and tie flies they don't tie in Kenya.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

You can save money but anyone that enjoys tying flies and has been at it awhile probably has hundreds (if not more) in inventory; I know I do. That said, I tied 18 black ants today using way less than 1 feather from my Whiting 100 pk. Since I used Mustad hooks and a small amount of dubbing they cost very little. More importantly it was a pleasant break form tree pruning, lawn mowing, food shopping and other mundane domestic chores. Also I got exactly the patterns I wanted.