This is an email subject I received today from one of our vendors. 
Tungsten
- Thread starter SpawnFlyFish
- Start date
Pricing seems funny when you follow the gear side of things. The price of a good tungsten bead and hook is still cheaper on the fly side. Rubber legs are way cheaper on the gear side however.
Seems to me overall to just be following the curve of inflation.
I won't be priced out because its essential to how I fish and the flies I like to tie.
Seems to me overall to just be following the curve of inflation.
I won't be priced out because its essential to how I fish and the flies I like to tie.
The Fly Fishing Industry Isn’t Ready for What’s Coming: Tungsten Price
The fly fishing industry isn’t ready for what’s coming, and I don’t think it’s going to fully set in until people see the pricing with their own eyes. You’ve probably heard the rumors—quiet conversations and supplier whispers—but this is already turning into an oh shit moment. We just received...
spawnflyfish.com
Wrote this blog, I dont think people are ready for the sticker shock that is coming...
Version 2 of our Stainless Steel Football Beads landed today with many of the tweaks looking perfect! Depending on how sales go we hope to bring these to market by year end they are not nearly as heavy but still will serve as a great option for tying!
My tolerance for increasing costs on tying materials is apparently infinite. Once I find something I like that doesn't have a lot of great alternatives, I'll apparently pay anything. I suppose I'll go broke at some point, and that should slow me down.
It's even worse for gear fishing these days. Lead is priced like gold, and a 5-pack of the Mini-Sardine Yamashita hoochies goes for $11-12. Yes, that's over $2 per squid. I jump on chances to buy cheaper alternatives, but for some reason, most don't seem to work as well in my lures.
For the tungsten jig thing... I have become addicted to slotted tungsten beads for dropper nymphs and mini leeches, but wow, they are pricey! I also like tungsten putty for leader applications, but it can get messy and would probably cause more problems than it solves in a hook shank application, but if you could find a way to apply and remove tungsten putty from the head of a hook shank without gumming up your fly or your tippet, you could get a lot of fishing time out of one of those pucks of putty. It could also be nice being able to adjust the amount of weight, which you can't do with beads.
It's even worse for gear fishing these days. Lead is priced like gold, and a 5-pack of the Mini-Sardine Yamashita hoochies goes for $11-12. Yes, that's over $2 per squid. I jump on chances to buy cheaper alternatives, but for some reason, most don't seem to work as well in my lures.
For the tungsten jig thing... I have become addicted to slotted tungsten beads for dropper nymphs and mini leeches, but wow, they are pricey! I also like tungsten putty for leader applications, but it can get messy and would probably cause more problems than it solves in a hook shank application, but if you could find a way to apply and remove tungsten putty from the head of a hook shank without gumming up your fly or your tippet, you could get a lot of fishing time out of one of those pucks of putty. It could also be nice being able to adjust the amount of weight, which you can't do with beads.