peak trail head kit

[maffetaj]

Any thoughts or experience on the peak trailhead kit.... Vise and tools?
What is my best bet for getting started with tools and a vise around 300$ ???

 

[MKern]

You best bet for getting started with the amount of coin is to buy a vise from $15 to $200 and hand pick (possibly with the guidance of a friend or trusted shop employee) materials with the left over cash.

You can get some decent vices for under $50 which will allot you more money for hooks, beads, hackle, and then other materials.

Dry fly hackle is pretty expensive, and rather than buying entire capes or saddles, buying smaller amounts, such as 100's packs or 1/4 capes can lead to more variety at less cost.

Hooks and beads are pretty pricy too.

And of course filling a basket with $2 packs or dubbing, thread, this and that adds up too.

Add in tools and an expensive vise really cuts into your starting budget.

A loved one can always get you a higher quality vise as a gift down huge road, but it's hard to say, " Hey Hun, for my birthday I would really like a pack of chartreuse chenille and some flahaboo. It's much easier to say I really like this vise.

 

[gfen]

First, goto cabela's and buy one of their fancy vises and tool kits that come in the wooden cases. it'll set you back $40.

Then, you look at your fly box and say, "well, i use these alot, and these, and that one too." next, you take a piece of paper (I suggest yellow college ruled, but YMMV) and you write down various pieces of animal you use to make those flies. I would also suggest a ballpoint pen, as it won't lose its markings when you fold it up and shove it in your wallet for a week, whereas felt tip will run and pencil will fade.

Finally, you go back to Cabela's or whatever your local fry shop of choice is and you buy the list of things you wrote down on your paper.

When you're done, you'll come far under $300 and can take the $200+ you saved and stuff it down a young woman's g string at your local gentlemen's club. You could also "make it rain" as the kids say, but you'll find that outside of the moment its not efficient use of your money for the value you'll receive back.

In this way, everyone wins. Except whatever slob was going to sell you a $100 kit worth of garbage with a 200% mark-up.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Gfen hit the nail on the head.

 

[lv2nymph]

Yes, as eloquently as always... :-D

 

[MKern]

See I think one could blow through $300 quickly if starting from scratch.

A pack of mustad is average $13. A new tyre should have at least 10 different styles of hooks (3 dry, 3 standard nymph, 3 long nymph for bead heads, and at least 1 streamer). That's bare minimum with no frills or specialty hooks.

Dry fly hackle is approaching $20 for a 100 pack. I don't know about you but I have quite the selection of hackle.

Beads are $10 for 100.

And then the meat of the order comes in with dubbing , chenille, feathers, fur, synthetics, etc.

Hell, I could blow through $300 today and I have a vise and tools and a ton on materials.

 

[gaeronf]

MKern wrote:
See I think one could blow through $300 quickly if starting from scratch.

A pack of mustad is average $13. A new tyre should have at least 10 different styles of hooks (3 dry, 3 standard nymph, 3 long nymph for bead heads, and at least 1 streamer). That's bare minimum with no frills or specialty hooks.

Dry fly hackle is approaching $20 for a 100 pack. I don't know about you but I have quite the selection of hackle.

Beads are $10 for 100.

And then the meat of the order comes in with dubbing , chenille, feathers, fur, synthetics, etc.

Hell, I could blow through $300 today and I have a vise and tools and a ton on materials.

I agree. One could easily blow through $300.
However, you are describing the haphazard catch-all approach that the "kits" try to sell.
What gfen is describing is pick a couple patterns (hell, I'd say even just one) and determine the sizes (your favorite 2 maybe?). Then purchase exactly what you need for that particular pattern. Nothing more nothing less.
Someone who really looks for bargains can get 100 packs of hooks for under 12$. That should last a beginner plenty long enough.

So while yes, you are correct...it's only because you're adding your costs as if you were using the "cover your bases" approach as opposed to the "pattern-specific" approach.

 

[gfen]

MKern wrote:
See I think one could blow through $300 quickly if starting from scratch.

Sure, and when they decide that its a stupid waste of time when pre-tied fries are only 35c each from Sri Lanka then they'd have a $300 collection of dead animals and a really bitchin' paperweight.

A pack of mustad is average $13. A new tyre should have at least 10 different styles of hooks (3 dry, 3 standard nymph, 3 long nymph for bead heads, and at least 1 streamer). That's bare minimum with no frills or specialty hooks.

Yeah? A new tier should have two types of hook, a heavy one and a light one. Why? Because having at least 10 different styles of hooks means looking through a mess of crap trying to figure out if they need to use a C52s, a R50, or a 27B stroke 6.

Or they could think, "this fly sinks, I use this hook." Or, because they didn't foolishly drop a month's worth of disposable income on an unknown hobby, they'd think, "I'm tying another hare's ear, and these are the hooks I bought for this, one of my 3 pre-chosen patterns I'll learn how to effectively create before I go out and **** away three stacks on some feathers and an overpriced hobby vise."

Again, everyone's free to spend their money how they want, but I'd wished I had some restraint when I was throwing money at people for a patch of silver monkey fur when a piece of a rabbit would've sufficed just fine.

(full disclosure, I do not own, nor do I covet, any silver monkey fur)

And before someone tells me about the cost of dry fly hackle, how many different colour varieties do you own? How many do you need? I bet that number got a lot smaller. Now, be honest, you could get by with one in grizzly and be just fine, anyways. Someone who's buying based on the flies that they use will be just fine not walking into a shop waving their credit card around, but would be well served by simply buying what they need, when they need it, to tie patterns especially when they have no idea what they're getting into and are ust as likely to think its a waste of time.

(full disclosure: i find fly tying to be tedious and a massive waste of time, and wish I could unspend much of the money on junk that I own, but i do tie most of my own flies)

 

[poopdeck]

My start up consisted of exactly what gfen said. Cheap vice and material for a few patterns. Every time I go into a tackle store for something I will always throw down a couple bucks for a fly tying extra. Your collection of material will grow in short order along with your skills with little noticeable cash outlay.

Hooks are a needed without a doubt but the need for hundred pack hooks is not. But that depends on why you are tying and your basic make up. If your tying to sell then yes you need plenty of hooks. If you want to carry boxes and boxes and more boxes filled with everything you can think of then you will need lots of hooks.

I tie a handful of flys on an as needed basis. When I need a few more I tie a few more. When the fly gets beat up I burn the stuff off it and use the hook over again. If when learning a new fly the fly looks like poop I burn it clean and reuse the hook.

Half of your budget is plenty to get started. I fear if you spend the whole amount up front you will end up with more stuff that you didn't really need. Either way, have at it and enjoy.

 

[IdratherbePhishing]

I agree with g, I hate tying but do it out of necessity. As far as all these hooks, I disagree as I use dry hooks for nymphs and vise versa. If I can get the bead on it I'll use it. I used the 30 dollar kit vise for years.

 

[SteveG]

Is this your first vise, or are you upgrading to a rotary? If its your first, I wouldn't spend the money in a rotary until you acquire enough skill to use. Now, if you're moving up to a rotary, Peak is s fine choice. I have one, and love it. Although I think the trail kit or whatever its called is a bit overpriced. I would recommend getting whichever mount option you prefer. Fwiw, I learned to tie using a clamp, but now greatly prefer the base style. I did add a few extras onto mine such as the brass riser and handle addition.

 

[MKern]

I'm not the guy to spend peoples' money but $300 is probably an adequate starting budget for tying.


As far as personally, I substitute materials all of the time and don't believe a recipe has to be followed exactly with far fetched materials.

As far as dry fly hackle, I own dun, grizzly, and ginger as my primary. I do also own a few outlying colors, but I worked at a fly shop and often took payment in merchandise, so I'm not the best case to refer to when it comes to frivolous materials.

However, I still stand by if you want to tie 3 or 4 patterns in a couple sizes you could approach $300 if starting from scratch.

 

[CLSports]

I agree with Gfen. Start with a cheap vise because for the 1st two years your flies will suck anyway. You will think they look great but after tying for two years you will look back at them and see how crappy they really were and then just tie new ones anyway.

When you become more proficient and understand the features that a more expensive vice can offer and how to properly use these features you will be happy you waited to decide on a higher quality model. The cheap vise in the box from Cabela's can also be kept as a travel vice.

Materials: buy just what you need for the most common flies for now. I have hundreds of patterns that I carry with me and I use about 6 different ones 90% of the time I fish.

 

[CLSports]

And I have a Peak vise and I like it for the price and quality. It does the job.