The Fly Stop

[wildtrout2]

I'm curious who gets their flies from The Fly Stop, and what you think of the quality? I find they're a good bit cheaper than most other places, like TCO, ect., but I notice some of them come apart after not too much use.
Over all though, I think it's worth loosing a few prematurely, and just replacing them later, because of the cheaper cost. Thoughts?

 

[krayfish2]

Exactly. I've even taken an order and put look hard head on them. They did last a little longer but not as good as a quality self-tied one.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Big Y Fly Co has much better quality from what I've seen.

 

[Canoetripper]

I don't tie my own flies. I wish that I did, but I don't.

I buy all of my flies from two fly shops in the Poconos where I do all of my fly fishing now. It is important for me to support their businesses so that I know that they are there and will be there. I also spend more $ there than buying everything else online.

I have had some flies fall apart after a fish or two, but I am glad that they are right down the road when I need something right now.

 

[Swattie87]

My experience is the same. I use them for bulk purchases of the common essentials I use a lot of. Quality is respectable, when you are considering the price. Clearly, not as good as a local quality tied fly, but for roughly 3x the price of Fly Stop, I’m not sure you’ll get 3x the life (or catch 3x the fish) out of a local shop fly. Customer service is consistently excellent with accurate orders and fast (same day often) processing. Flies come in the little plastic containers with lids and I’ve never had any arrive damaged.

Their patterns are accurate, look good, and catch fish. I will say some of their patterns hold up better than others though. I use Wulff style flies a lot for Brookie fishing and those seem to do pretty well. Same with Wooly Buggers. Have had 50 fish WW days on the same Bugger before without it coming apart. On the other hand, the parachute style patterns seem to have the hackles unravel and come off pretty easy though. I seem to go through quite a few of those, even when I’m not catching a ton of fish.

One thing...their hooks are cheap. Plenty sharp, but cheap. Be gentle when crushing barbs, especially on smaller sizes.

 

[wildtrout2]

Matt, your assessment is spot on. Their delivery time is amazing.

 

[jifigz]

Canoetripper wrote:
I don't tie my own flies. I wish that I did, but I don't.

Start. Instead of buying flies just buy materials from your Poconos fly shops. You'll still be supporting them and you'll have greater control over your fly fishing and the overall aspect of this hobby. I am certainly not amazing at tying but I'm good enough and each time I open my box I am likely to grab something that I've tied.

 

[afishinado]

jifigz wrote:

Canoetripper wrote:
I don't tie my own flies. I wish that I did, but I don't.

Start. Instead of buying flies just buy materials from your Poconos fly shops. You'll still be supporting them and you'll have greater control over your fly fishing and the overall aspect of this hobby. I am certainly not amazing at tying but I'm good enough and each time I open my box I am likely to grab something that I've tied.

Agreed. Anyone that fishes a lot should consider tying your own flies, especially the simpler patterns.

For example, one can learn to tie a wooly bugger in a very short time.

You will need a few rudimentary tools, an inexpensive vise, and a small number of materials that are cheap.

Tying would provide something to do when the monsoons keep you off the stream......just sayin'...

 

[jifigz]

All of my tying materials are stored in one tote. I don't have a ton of materials but I have enough to tie a ton of different flies and it saves me a lot of money. I would say that 95% of all of my fly fishing is predominantly done with about 10 different patterns. I keep it simple. The only two dry fly hackles I have are grizzly and brown. I tie EVERY dry fly with one of those colors and catch fish.

 

[sgrim]

wildtrout2 wrote:
I'm curious who gets their flies from The Fly Stop, and what you think of the quality? I find they're a good bit cheaper than most other places, like TCO, ect., but I notice some of them come apart after not too much use.
Over all though, I think it's worth loosing a few prematurely, and just replacing them later, because of the cheaper cost. Thoughts?

Mixed results for all of the reasons noted here (mostly durability) but I still prefer them over BigY.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

I tie 95% of my own flies. There are times when I am pressed for time and taking a vacation trip somewhere, hence the need to get stuff fast. I've never had a problem with orders from Big Y. The one outfit that I wouldn't buy from is the Half Buck Fly Shop. I have received crap from them in the past.

 

[guidedbywire]

I pick up the bulk of my flies from The Fly Stop. Most of the patterns hold up okay for me. The worst by far though are their tootsie roll ants.

 

[pcray1231]

Depends. For some things I'm good with it.

For example, say, a parachute adams on a brookie stream. The fly stop, fly shack, etc. cheaper flies last 1 or 2 fish. One tied by a reputable shop sometimes 20+, and stays floating better from the get go to boot. On a day you expect to catch 30 or 80 fish, is it worth it? No.

But, if I'm, say, fishing deep where floatability doesn't matter, and expecting to lose more flies to snags than I am getting them torn apart by fish. Worth it then? Yep.

 

[afishinado]

I've been tying flies since I was a kid, like since I was 10 years old, so it seems so simple to tie your own.

Further, I used to teach fly tying classes and have taught hundreds of FFers of all ages, genders as well as skill levels to tie flies.

The vast majority were able to tie a fishable wooly bugger on their first try. And with a little practice were able to tie a decent fly proficiently enough to make doing it practical.

I encourage anyone that fly-fishes to give it a try, it's really not hard at all. The rewards are great and it's fun in itself.

 

[guidedbywire]

Everyone enjoys a good meal, but not everyone likes to cook.

Some people hate it because they're bad at it; or maybe they're bad at it because they hate it. Others simply don't get any satisfaction out of it regardless.

Just sayin'...

 

[afishinado]

guidedbywire wrote:
Everyone enjoys a good meal, but not everyone likes to cook.

Some people hate it because they're bad at it; or maybe they're bad at it because they hate it. Others simply don't get any satisfaction out of it regardless.

Just sayin'...

My point is, a lot of people don't tie because they think it's hard to do.....it aint!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Old adage: if you can tie your shoes you can tie flies.
I found that when I tied a fly that caught a fish my fun/enjoyment went way up..GG

 

[Steeltrap]

I began tying in my teens. Work, kids, and stuff prevented me from fishing\hunting I enjoyed so much. Fast forward to now in my 60's and I'm having a blast tying again. I can't sit and crank out a dozen flys like I use to......but a little here and a little there add up to a bunch!!

 

[FarmerDave]

gulfgreyhound wrote:
Old adage: if you can tie your shoes you can tie flies.
I found that when I tied a fly that caught a fish my fun/enjoyment went way up..GG

And this is coming from a guy who's wading shoes do hot have laces.;-)

But seriously, I agree.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Older= wiser?
Laces vs boa, boa. The Ritis Bros. will get you and Arthur is the worst.
I used to tie dry flies with hackle and a tail, no wings. They were deadly on some of the cricks I fished in NY. If they looked fish they usually were. GG