This is my opinion, and I think most others here will agree, the best route for you may be to avoid the kits. You can assemble a discount-minded set of tools and materials for a decent price and get only what you need to tie what you want to tie. Most kits will contain a lot of materials you may not need and the tool quality can be pretty low. If you know what you want to make, what patterns or even what species you would be tying flies for, I'm sure most of us here that are experienced can point you in the direction of what tools and materials you will need/want.

As for books, I tend to do better watching videos, and if you have a good internet connection you can find a ton of tying videos on YouTube and Vimeo. I do have a few books on tying but they are not "beginner" style books. I have one really good book on bass flies (Hot Bass Flies by Deke Myers) and a couple of saltwater fly pattern books. If you're interested in steelhead around Lake Erie, the Steelhead Guide by John Nagy is an awesome book with techniques, locations, and fly patterns.

Tying is an excellent winter pastime, I usually have my stock of bass bugs, streamers, and small stream trout flies pretty high by spring.

 

I agree with TheCream. I do better watching videos to learn how to tie. Youtube.com and Flyfishohio.com have a lot of videos. All I needed to start were a vice, a bobbin, and some materials.
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I headed into my local fly shop - Mad River Outfitters - and spoke with Lou. I told him I wanted to start tying flies, and asked what a simple fly would be for me to start on. He said Elk Hair Caddis. We picked out the materials - dubbin, thread, elk hair, hooks - and I began tying that night as I watched the videos on my laptop. By going that route, I didn't buy a lot of materials that I DIDN'T need. That is how I do it now - when I want to learn a new fly, I head back there, tell them what I want to tie, and I get the materials for that fly. No wasted unwanted materials, and I get to BS with the guys in the shop. Win-win. Now, that doesn't go to say that I DON'T have books to read on the topic - I do. I enjoy reading them and reading magazines and such, but for me, watching, then doing once or twice, really sets it in stone.

I hope that helps...

 

It does help, thanks. If it helps, I will most likely be fly fishing for stream smallmouth bass. Any good simple smallmouth flies to start with?


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Clousers are easy to tie. Chartruese and white and yellow and white have been good for me this past week. Way cheaper to tie them then to go and buy at the store for 3.00 a pop. I wish we had a shop like mad river in cincinnati. We have delmere and hopkins they have a nice selection of flies but no where near as helpful info wise like the guys at mad river.

 

Wooly Buggers are pretty dang easy and multi-species. And I haven't found a fish yet that won't eat a San Juan worm... I've also made a new fly, on a whim, and I don't know WHAT the heck it is or if it's ever been made before, but it was taking smallmouth, largemouth, trout, and 'gills most of the summer. CRAZY simple to tie, and is a dry fly...almost like a #4-#8 scud or larvae or something....I make them in red and yellow....

 

Is that the one in Hyde Park? I think there is one in Milford or Montgomery too. And of course there is Bass Pro. And there are some Orvis locations springing up, including one in Kenwood.


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I'll second the vote on learning the wooly bugger to start with. It's a great multi-species fly that imitates a wide variety of river life, depending on size, color, and how it's fished. They are rather easy to tie and down right effective almost everywhere on just about anything.

You tube videos are a great place to learn how to tie. If you have the time look up the "Sculpedo"(

). Not the easiest fly to tie, but it's not the hardest either. It's one of my favorites.

Good luck and have fun with it. Keep in mind that the "not so perfect" flies catch fish just as well.

 

Sweet, wooly buggers are my favorite fly to fish. So, if I were going to tie a wooly bugger, what is the basic equipment I will need? Vice, pliers, etc? I have no idea where to start


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I'll second the vote on learning the wooly bugger to start with. It's a great multi-species fly that imitates a wide variety of river life, depending on size, color, and how it's fished. They are rather easy to tie and down right effective almost everywhere on just about anything.

You tube videos are a great place to learn how to tie. If you have the time look up the "Sculpedo"( Fly Tying: Sculpins and Streamers: The Sculpedo - YouTube ). Not the easiest fly to tie, but it's not the hardest either. It's one of my favorites.

Good luck and have fun with it. Keep in mind that the "not so perfect" flies catch fish just as well.

That's a sweet looking sculpin!

You asked for an easy smallmouth fly, I make a few of those. I tie a lot of different flies for bass, but they (mostly) all have a few things in common: 1) they aren't overly complicated, 2) they're durable, and 3) they don't use a lot of exotic material. One of my better craw patterns I have no pics of handy, but here's the recipe, sort of a fly rod bass jig:

-Tail: rubber skirt material (color of your choice, bass jig skirts work well)
-Eyes/Weight: brass or lead dumbbell eyes
-Body: Ice Chenille to match rubber leg color
-Wing: (tied in by hook eye) more rubber skirt material

Speaking of fly recipes, the list of materials is in the order they are tied in for most people. So for the above pattern, that's the order I go in. Another easy one to tie is a streamer pattern made mostly of rabbit strip.

-Head: cone head your choice in color
-Tail: rabbit strip (tons of color options)
-Flash: Flashabou or Krystal Flash
-Body: rabbit strip (crosscut rabbit works well here) wrapped up to cone

Variations of that streamer pattern caught me a load of bass from a local stream this summer, a mix of largemouth, smallies, and spots.

 

Is that the one in Hyde Park? I think there is one in Milford or Montgomery too. And of course there is Bass Pro. And there are some Orvis locations springing up, including one in Kenwood.


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delmere and hopkins is in hyde park. I didn't know about one in milford or montgomery so if anyone has a name and address on that I would like to check it out. I have been to the orvis in centerville it is okay. Has alright prices on flies but high on everything else. Not a fan of bass pro at all.

 

You don't like bass pro? Man, it's like a toy store for me, I can spend so much time there haha


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Being somewhat familiar with the little Miami river, I agree with the wooly bugger. Black or olive. I also second the clouser minnow in chartreuse and white or gray and white. Have caught pretty of fish on both. As someone mentioned, the flies on fly fish Ohio website is a great resource as Joe Cornwall, I believe has extensively fly fished around the lower little Miami. Some of those flies on that site appear to fish well, with great instructions.

 

Vice
Bobbin
scissors
hackle pliers
Whip finishing tool

These are the essentials (in my opinion)

 

Being somewhat familiar with the little Miami river, I agree with the wooly bugger. Black or olive. I also second the clouser minnow in chartreuse and white or gray and white. Have caught pretty of fish on both. As someone mentioned, the flies on fly fish Ohio website is a great resource as Joe Cornwall, I believe has extensively fly fished around the lower little Miami. Some of those flies on that site appear to fish well, with great instructions.

The shannon streamer that they have on the fly fish ohio site I bet would be killer right now. I am going to tie a couple of those before this weekend

 

Well with the imminent arrival of my vise, I'm going to awaken this thread with a couple more questions:
-Do I need to get special fly hooks, or can I use the normal hooks that I already have?
-Would I be able to do a whip finish without the tool for it? I'm trying to keep it cheap haha

 

Well with the imminent arrival of my vise, I'm going to awaken this thread with a couple more questions:
-Do I need to get special fly hooks, or can I use the normal hooks that I already have?
-Would I be able to do a whip finish without the tool for it? I'm trying to keep it cheap haha

special hooks work best...but you can get away with using crappie hooks for the now. Special hooks - the best prices besides buying bulk - that I've found - are the umpqua brand 50 packs for like 6 bux.
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I don't use a whip finisher. Loop around finger...twist twist twist....over eye...pull tight. Repeat twice. Drop of superglue. Done!

Did you get a bobbin? Almost critical for tying - to hold the thread.

 

Check into purchasing a video on beginner fly tying. You can get them at "some librarys" or at Fly Shops or off the internet. The videos are great for learning the basics plus simple patterns.

 

I'm planning on getting a bobbin when I get my first round of thread and materials, maybe at Delmere and Hopkins tomorrow morning. Or maybe BPS since I'm sure it will be cheaper
Just curious, whats the difference between the nice fly hooks and normal hooks?
Good to know about the whip finish, thanks!

 

Good hooks don't bend, because they are made of better steel. They stay sharp too.

 

I'm planning on getting a bobbin when I get my first round of thread and materials, maybe at Delmere and Hopkins tomorrow morning. Or maybe BPS since I'm sure it will be cheaper
Just curious, whats the difference between the nice fly hooks and normal hooks?
Good to know about the whip finish, thanks!

The biggest difference I see in hook quality is sharpness. Hooks like the Gamakatsu's, Daiichi's, and even the Mustad Signature Series are lethally sharp. You'll notice once you get into this that the hook eye orientation can make a difference in your flies, too. Upturned eye, downturned eye, and straight eye hooks can make a pattern ride differently in the water. For example, if you tie a streamer pattern with the "top" of the streamer being tied on the side of the hook shank opposite the hook point, on a downturned eye streamer hook, once the fly gets in the water it may want to ride upside down due to the hook eye.

As for a bobbin, I know you're trying to keep it cheap, but I urge you to make sure you get a bobbin with some sort of lined tube or ceramic tube. Nothing will frustrate you more than a metal tube bobbin with a sharp end that keeps fraying and breaking your thread!

 

The biggest difference I see in hook quality is sharpness. Hooks like the Gamakatsu's, Daiichi's, and even the Mustad Signature Series are lethally sharp. You'll notice once you get into this that the hook eye orientation can make a difference in your flies, too. Upturned eye, downturned eye, and straight eye hooks can make a pattern ride differently in the water. For example, if you tie a streamer pattern with the "top" of the streamer being tied on the side of the hook shank opposite the hook point, on a downturned eye streamer hook, once the fly gets in the water it may want to ride upside down due to the hook eye.

As for a bobbin, I know you're trying to keep it cheap, but I urge you to make sure you get a bobbin with some sort of lined tube or ceramic tube. Nothing will frustrate you more than a metal tube bobbin with a sharp end that keeps fraying and breaking your thread!

Gotcha, thanks for the insight!
I am planning on spending the extra 5 bucks to get a bobbin that works. I may get plastic hackle pliers though haha.

 

Stopped by Delamere and Hopkins today, got a ceramic insert bobbin, some good scissors, and all the necessary materials to make some olive wooly buggers! I'm pumped! Just waiting on my vise's arrival now...
On the subject of super glue/finishing glue/head cement, can I just use any super glue? What do you guys use?
By the way, thank you all so much, you guys have been a huge help in getting me started with fly fishing and tying.

 

El Cheapo super glue. Liquid, not gel. I usually buy the bottle instead of the squeeze tubes, so I can seal it up. I also don't "drop" it on...I straightened out a paper clip, dip it in the bottle, and touch the fly head with the paperclip...delivers a more precise drop of super glue (CA).

 

Excellent, thank you. I will be sure to pick some up today.