Fly tying

[carter]

We spent a week at roaring river, mo. I hired a guide to teach me to fly fish. He charged $25 per hour. We spent three hours together. I caught over 20 fish.

Now I am considering tying flies.... I am starting to look … just on line to date …. For a vise and the tools …. I have zero used ….. Any suggestions on what to buy and where to find used tools? For only 3-4 trips per year, I do not wish to invest much.

Thanks
Carter

In Tulsa area

 

[JeffT]

We spent a week at roaring river, mo. I hired a guide to teach me to fly fish. He charged $25 per hour. We spent three hours together. I caught over 20 fish.

Now I am considering tying flies.... I am starting to look … just on line to date …. For a vise and the tools …. I have zero used ….. Any suggestions on what to buy and where to find used tools? For only 3-4 trips per year, I do not wish to invest much.

Thanks
Carter

In Tulsa area

I grew up going to Roaring River Mo.
That place is great!
I used to try to tie some flies... mine never quite looked like they were supposed to.
I sold my tools a while back, you might try going to bass pro and asking if they know of anyone that has a used vice or if they may take trade-ins. They used to in OKC.


Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply, Speak Kindly, Shoot Well, Leave the rest to God.

 

[Pstmstr]

Go to Backwoods on N May and 122nd and talk to the manager. He is an avid fly fisherman and fly tying expert. He also hosts a free meet up once a month at the store after hours. I went last month and it was very informative.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Deer Slayer]

Tom Adams, the manager, is a prince of a fella at Backwoods. He will love to help you.

 

[swampratt]

I started tying flies and making spinner baits and my own buzz baits when I was 12 I even made my own buzz bait blades from coke cans and Budweiser cans I called them Bud baits.
4 blade ones even.
I even made wooden crank baits that actually worked but I was about 14 or15 when I made them.
There was a question in wood shop on a test in the 9th grade. the question was : Is sandpaper for finishing or shaping.
I answered shaping and finishing and teacher counted me wrong.

I asked him about it and he said finishing is the answer..I told him that I shape wood with coarse sanding paper and make fishing bass plugs.
He said prove it and I did bring him a plug i made the next day and he gave me credit on the answer and changed what the answer could be.

Now I am a tight wad and through the years I lost my tying vise.
I recently made one so the grand kids can see how it is done.
Round steel rod 1/4" diameter..not critical.
Attached to a wooden base that I can clamp to a table and the rod at the tying end has a bolt welded to it and I just slipped a couple washers onto the bolt and thread a nut on there ..stick a hook between the washers and tighten the nut.

Washers pinch together and hold the hook. Simple and cheap.
You could use wing nuts.
Or you could attach an exacto knife to the rod.. the kind that has the threaded collar.

Use your imagination.
I was grounded a lot as a kid and spent countless days in my room..I had to do something with my time.
On the way home from school I would walk the fence line (Barbed wire) The animals that crossed it or rubbed on it would leave hair and fluffy fur and I would use this and feathers I found to make my lures.

I would take the fur and roll it in my fingers to make long skinny strand about the diameter of a Qtip stem and then roll that onto some thread with my fingers.. kind of looked like yarn but with that one thread down the middle.
That was the body of many of my flies and jigs.

Fun stuff and on the cheap.

 

[JeffT]

I started tying flies ...

I would take the fur and roll it in my fingers to make long skinny strand about the diameter of a Qtip stem and then roll that onto some thread with my fingers.. kind of looked like yarn but with that one thread down the middle.
That was the body of many of my flies and jigs.

Fun stuff and on the cheap.

That is the same method that someone taught me to use for the bodies of my flies.



Live Simply, Love Generously, Care Deeply, Speak Kindly, Shoot Well, Leave the rest to God.

 

[makeithappen]

I decided to get into tying flies as it was something I could do to relax and didn't require me leaving the house. My wife bought me this kit 2 years ago: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Angler-Deluxe-Flies-popular/dp/B077BK4PDX

It's a good starter kit that doesn't cost a ton. Gives you some material to work with and instructions via DVD / booklet. I learned some of the basics from it (which I've now forgotten) and started tying random flies to see what works. I don't really tie to mimick anything currently, as I have yet to fish for trout. It's a blast catching fish on flies you've tied. Hobby lobby and other hunters are your friend for cheap material. I bought pipe cleaners, craft fur balls and thread from Hobby Lobby. I save feathers from the waterfowl and turkeys as well as hair from squirrels and deer I kill. If you know someone that raises fowl, rooster feathers work well.

 

[Master Carper]

I got into fly tying some 30 years ago, and just started taking it more seriously during the past 5 or 6 years, and I really enjoy it!

I tied these flies earlier this week, and I always tie "5" flies per pattern. I keep 2, my wife gets 2 and I keep the last one for a pattern.

When they came out with the sculpin helmet, I almost lost my mind trying to see how many different patterns I could tie using them.

These crawfish patterns I use for small mouth bass and trout. The shrimp pattern is used for Louisiana red fish. The other patterns I use for carp and largemouth bass.

This is my wife with a solid 10 pound carp that she caught on one of our flies.

I tried to get her to hold this carp for a picture, but no such luck! I was lucky I got her to even hold one! This one was 6 pounds.

Here is a 4 pound carp that she caught.

Her last fish of the day was this 8 pound catfish. This was almost more fish than she or her 8 wt. rod could handle!

To us, it is so much more fun to catch a fish on a fly that you tied yourself, and if you ever get into fly fishing for carp, you will be totally ruined! It is so much fun!

 

[swampratt]

Very nice fish on flies for sure. If the water is 1/2 way clear those carp are actually good eating.
Yea the catfish is also
Wife did excellent from what I see
Congrats to the both of you.

 

[Master Carper]

Thank you swampratt!

I pressure cook carp and make patties out of them like salmon patties.

Here are 2 boxes of flies that I tied for my wife, for a Christmas present 2 years ago.

I tied these for bass.

These are a mixture of carp, drum and bass flies.