Why You Should Be Tying Flies For Yourself

I am sure you will agree with me when I say that fly fishing is a lot of fun and fighting a big trout, salmon, bass or even a pike is a much greater experience than any other method of fishing. It certainly has been more exciting for me but I didn't stop with just fly fishing, The joy of fly fishing grew when I started tying my own flies.

The Key To Successfully Tying That First Fly

I think the key to be successful at tying your own flies is to start with easy flies. If you try to tie a fly that requires too much skill you are setting yourself up for failure. That's when people give up and consider fly tying out of their range of abilities. How wrong that is.

I personally started tying dry flies, small easy to tie dry flies. I was out on the water just an hour after tying my first flies because I just couldn't wait to give them a try. My first cast landed me small brook trout almost before it even hit the water. I was a success.

Note: My brother-in-law showed me how to fly fish and helped me pick out what I needed to tie flies for myself. I would advice you to purchase a beginner's guide to fly tying as it will come in handy.

With brother Joe by my side I headed to the fly tying section of my local fly shop. Well it was really just a sporting goods store that happened to carry fly tying supplies.

• You will need to be able to hold a hook steady enough to tie materials to so you will need a vice. I purchased an inexpensive vise at $19.95. That was about 30 years ago and I still have and use that same vise, great investment on my part. You will likely pay more than that now of course but it's still going to be a great investment.
• Next I bought some hooks of various sizes, for dry flies. I also bought some other hooks but for starters it was the dry fly hooks I was after.
• Then I bought a spool holder and some black thread. The black is the thread colour I use 80% or more so that was a good purchase as well.
• I picked out some feathers and hackle, mostly in brown, as that was the dominant colour others used for dry flies, according to Joe. 
• The last things I picked up were tiny scissors to cut hair and feathers to shape the flies.
• And finally Joe told me I would need some head cement to finish the head of the flies so they didn't come loose.

Honestly I forget how much those supplies cost me but I tied a ton of dry flies with it. Looking at the cost of buying flies I know I saved myself a bundle and continue to save money year after year.