Re: First effort tying
From one beginner to another...
I definitely agree - don't buy a kit. I bought one two winters ago at about £45 and discovered that the quality of materials is absolutely awful after a couple of months struggling. The hook quality was terrible with many of the hooks malformed due to the softness of the wire. Most of the tying materials are completely surplus to requirements and I've never used them and doubt I ever will. The worst thing was the bobbin holder which kept cutting thread even when just winding down the hook shank - I bought a replacement with a ceramic inner to happily find that it wasn't my poor use of the tool, it was the damn thing itself - that was after months of trying, and thinking I was doing something wrong. The one thing that's still standing is the AA vice which came with it although this is now very worn but I can't complain - for something thats worth under a tenner I've soldiered on and got used to it, spending money on materials instead.
The great danger of tying is that it becomes very addictive and very costly! There's no two ways about it. I went to Dorset for a week in Summer and decided I'd have a go at the bass - I bought the hooks, dumbell eyes, bucktails and flash and before I knew it I'd spent £48. I tied about a dozen clousers! Of course I've got tonnes of materials left and won't need to buy anything for the next trip. So although the initial outlay might be high, you'll be gradually building a stock of materials for years to come.
Of course if you read the mags (especially FF and FT) they're always tying with some new-fangled material but once you get used to the materials you've already got, you'll be able to work out a substitute in no time at all. This is excepting certain things like CDC but remember that fish were taking dries well before that was discovered - the same goes for spanflex etc. etc. Improvising and getting results is all part of the fun. I would also say that the internet will show you a thousand different tyings for one fly. Dave Cammiss is excellent for beginners as is Davie McPhail and of course there are tonnes of SBS in these forums. But I like the old fashioned book format and find it sits better on the bench than the laptop - try Peter Gathercole's Fly Tying Bible. Or better still, find a club as suggested above!
I've only been tying for about a year and a half and I'm finally starting to be quite pleased with some of my efforts! I'd say buy Kamasan hooks - they're budget but they've yet to let me down, and start with some of the basics listed by other guys above. Time and again I find myself using from the same pool of materials which will cover most of the patterns you've listed above:
THREADS:
UTC thread or Sparton - 8/0 black, olive, red, primrose (yellow)
Cobbler's wax
RIBS:
Small or medium pearl lurex
Small gold wire
Small silver wire
Small tinsels
Small copper wire
TAILS:
Pheasant tail (natural, red, black)
Marabou bloods (olive, black)
BODIES:
Hare's mask
Peacock herl
Seal's Fur (or substitute) - red, black, olive, hot orange
Rabbit Fur (a selection of colours can be bought inexpensively)
WINGS:
Mallard
Hen Pheasant
Fine deer hair
WING POST:
White poly yarn (also does for suspenders)
HACKLES:
Black Cock and Hen
Olive Cock and Hen
Red Game Cock
Grizzle
HEADS:
Gold beads (small diameters)
Don't forget your clear varnish and some superglue for your buzzers (readily available in your Supermarket) or Devcon (about a fiver). You might also stick a bit of velcro to a lollipop stick to tease out dubbing.
I'm sure others will disagree with my list! But thats where I'm up to. You'll start to add more and fine tune when you know what works on your local water.
Finally, you'll do no better than Lathkill IMHO.
Tight lines
Last edited by ant77; 07-09-2011 at 11:17 AM.
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