Help me start tying? Pretty please?

Nick Clayton said:
It's a great time to be learning to tie. YouTube us such an amazing resource.

My advice would be to watch some "intro to fly tying vids" that cover the basics like starting the thread, tying in materials, whip finishing etc then find a video for a single pattern that you could utilize in your fishing (a simple pattern of course). Then go and pick up the materials listed for that video, and tie just that fly. Over and over again.

Eventually you will feel like branching out, and you can add other individual flies and the materials needed. Eventually you'll learn and be comfortable with a wide variety of techniques and flies.

If you go buy a kit, or a bunch of materials you think you'll need, you'll generally end up spending a lot of money on things you just won't use. Ask me how I know.

I've seen you post about fishing the sound, so a standard clouser minnow would be a great place to start. Super simple, will teach you many basics, and will produce a fly that you can confidently fish and expect to produce.

Lessons thru a shop or club are definitely a valid option, but really there is so much good stuff on YT that just about anyone can follow along and learn at their convenience.
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Nick has taught me a lot about fishing the Sound on a fly. If he’s says it’s so it more then likely it is so.
 
lots of great advise already presented, your smart to start out with wooley buggers . They are easy to tie & will catch fish in varying conditions on rivers & in lakes. any reputable Fly shop should be able to get you started. Catching fish on your own tied flies brings a whole new dimension to the sport
 
Do not tie on carpeted floors. One lost hook your wife or kid finds embedded in their bare foot a couple of days later is a lotta nights on the couch outside on the porch in winter
 
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I've just recently started tying my own flies...it is highly addictive. I basically did some research on Youtube, then looked up easy fly patterns that I like to fish...first fly was a Simi Seal leech (these are relatively easy)...jig streamers, simple nymphs...and have my laptop on the table next to the vise. I bought all my tools, hooks, beads, dubbing etc piecemeal that were essential to tying the flies I wanted to tie...but I warn you, it is more addictive than opium...
 
Zak said:
Pink Nighty,

If you get a vise and a bobbin or two and can make it to Mill Creek, I'll give you a bespoke starter kit of threads and materials in exchange for you showing me a new fishing spot this summer.

Zak
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Might just take you up on this!
 
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Keep some of your first flies! I have some of my first buggers and clousers........ They're awful! But they're an awesome bechmark to keep around to see how much you've progressed.
 
Zak said:
Don't get a kit! Buy a decent vise (I use a Peak Rotary and like it, about $150 new), a bobbin (I like Rite standard bobbins), thread (Danville 6/0 flat waxed in black and olive). Then pick 2 or three patterns to tie (I suggest starting with wooly buggers) and buy the hooks and materials needed to tie those patterns. Tie them. You'll have materials left over. Pick a new pattern and buy materials for that. Repeat. You'll end up with a good kit of useful materials, whereas if you buy materials in a kit you'll get crappy stuff and much of it you will never use.
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This is exactly how I started. Avoid fly tying kits.
 
Pink Nighty said:
I am brand new to fly tying. As a young kid (like 8-10) I had a vice and a couple tools and threw some feathers on hooks, but that's it.

About 10 years ago I wanted to start again and bought a tool kit and found the parts inoperably shitty. This left me a little discouraged and skittish to try again, but I was also not nearly as committed to fly fishing then as now.

With the wife and daughter showing interest I'm looking to get into it. I have zero tools or materials and am looking for advice on where to start.

Initially I'd like to tie buggers, small streamers/bait patterns and other common, simple patterns.

I've yet to find a prepackaged kit online with consistent positive reviews. Lots of complaints about quality spanning a pretty wide price range.

Anybody purchased a tool kit that they would suggest to a beginner? Would I be better served piecing together the tools bit by bit?

I don't want to waste money but I am ok to spend a little bit on things that matter or are worth it. Really just need direction on what those those things might be.

Due to space constraints of the current abode, everything is going to have to be able to break down and box up relatively easily. Wont have room to dedicate to a desk for the time being.

Good resources for instruction and materials would also be really appreciated.

Any and all suggestions welcome!!
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it is important to start with a quality vice. my HMH is about 50 years old at this point and still going strong. some bobbins are next and a whip finisher. you will have a good start with these simple tools. oh yeah, a good pair of scissors, i prefer what are call 'iris' scissors, check Amazon. the beginning tier also has the bad habit of using way too much material. i have saved the first flies i ever made and they look terrible. spare is a trick you have to learn over time but worth the effort. the very best class i ever attended was from P. Jorgenson, an expert Atlantic salmon fly tier. i don't think i will ever be able to replicate the ease he demonstrated making flies with 15 to 20 components.
 
Once you get a vise, I highly recommend Smitty’s Flybox monthly subscription I started one when the pandemic hit and I was teaching myself to tie flies.
 
Some seriously solid advice here. The only problem with YouTube if you're like me you can seriously go down the rabbit hole all night watching videos and there goes your tying session, lol. When I started I took a class at a local shop and I picked up Charlie Craven's "Basic Fly Tying" and just started methodically working my way through the different flies in the book.
 
Not sure if other (or more "local") shops have these, but my homies at Alaska Fly Fishing Goods sell "tie a dozen" kits for salmon and trout flies...
www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

Product categories Tie A Dozen Kits

www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

They also have a good selection of tying and technique videos -
www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

How To's - Fly Tying Alaska Patterns

Watch our custom tying videos and learn how to tie some of Alaska's top fly patterns from our Alaska Fly Fishing Goods staff.
www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

Fly Tying - Techniques - Alaska Fly Fishing Goods

www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com

Some folks might recognize the fella in the Moldy Chum tshirt.
 
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