Got time on my hands over xmas and going to have a play with tying some basic flys

What advice can the experienced guys give me regarding what to buy.
There are loads of deals on ebay and also guys selling whole kits.

Whats the best way to buy ? would it be new stuff ( if so what stuff as i dont want to buy ****)
or would i be better buying a second hand bit of kit?

Paul

Check the threads on this as there has been quite a lot of advice given already.

My twopenneth is to try and find a kit that has instructions for specific flies with the materials provided to get you started. You will probably replace everything in the end but it will give you a taster!

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[COLOR="Blue"]"A fish seen is a fish nearly caught"[/COLOR]

A good starting point for the dark art is the fly dressers guild
The FDG

see if there is a branch local to you.

They also do a basic tying set with materials and book tools etc along with a years membership for £38 seems a decent deal to me.

The Fly Dressers Guild

Dave

Hi,
I tried to get started with a kit and couldn't make moss nor sand of it.
I only got going when I got some lessons, in my case from Pat Stevens aka Flytek. After 20 2hour sessions with Pat I had the basics, I now never buy a fly. There are some many techinques that are obvious in retrospect which are not in the books that in my opinion you need face to face tuition.
Cheers
Bill

40 hours of instuction you dont need anywhere near that... i had an hour with an old hand, how to catch on, how to whip finish, how to hackle and how to touch dub... then the stabilisers came off .. i caught fish on my first river outing with flies i had tied myself the night before, i have never looked back, whilst i dont claim to be aa brilliant tyer, i dont buy flies and my offerings seem to please the fish on the chalkstreams so thats all that matters to me...

fly tying isnt rocket science (i do it so it cant be) youtube is a great place for tying videos, this forum is naturally fabulous and the UKflydressing forum is terrific, i joined the FDG forum but it is a ghost town...

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Hi,

I got this kit for Christmas last year.
Veniard Premier Fly Tying Kit - Sportfish
Its been great and for the majority of this year i have caught fish on home tied patterns.
A good tying book with colour pictures is a good idea as well.

Mossie,

First you need to decide what type of water you intend to fish. River or stillwater. Then species. Seek advice from the anglers on the water.

This will dictate the flies you will require and hence the materials you will need to tie them.

John H