Welcome to NEFF

Sign up for a new account today, or log on with your old account!

Give us a try!

Welcome back to the new NEFF. Take a break from Twitter and Facebook. You don't go to Dicks for your fly fishing gear, you go to your local fly fishing store. Enjoy!

Need help new to tying

weirdnjfly

New member
Im getting ready to start tying i have all the tools, but i have no clue what materials i should start w what size hooks or anything. guys please help me i cant wait to start.
 
You're making it really tough to advise you. What do you want to fish for? Where do you want to fish? How do you like to fish? Also what is your tying level? If this is you first time I suggest classes. If, like me, there was no place close I would send you to the same place I learned Fly Anglers On-line Fly Anglers OnLine, Your Complete Internet Flyfishing Resource. they have first class lessons that you can do at your own pace and always refer back to if needed.
 
trout fishing is what im doing and im just looking for the materials and sizes that are fished the most here in nj i just wanna get started and go from there i dont wanna buy all the wrong stuff and have it shit somewhere in the closet for yrs before i ever use it.
 
For starters I would get a book like "Essential Trout Flies" Dave Hughes... It has step by step tying instructions with complete recipes for many variations of flies that you will want to spend time tying up..

So with this book all you need to do is look at the recipes of the flies your interested in and buy only the materials thats needed for that type... It's makes it very simple, so you don't go to the store picking up a bunch of stuff that's not needed..

Good Luck!!!

PS. Make a material list of what you need and brig it with you to the store.. This way it keeps you from buying things you don't need at the present time... Or buying double of things that you purchased already... I learned this the hard way and wound up with doubles and triples of the same color dubbing, thread, hooks, beads, and the list goes on.. But the good thing is it's nice having surplus of stuff you use on hand..
 
Last edited:
hey weird first of all welcome to a great past time of tying and you might want to look at a hand full to flies for the rivers you fist start with caddis and get your proportions right that is the most important thing and the nice thing about tying your own flies you dont have to have exactly what the pattern calls for. this website is great A Fly Tying Workshop and Instruction Tie1On.Net check out this website it will lead you in the right direction. hatch charts will give you the sizes youll need for the time of year on the river that you wish to fish most flies come out on all rivers close to the same time i think... lol that might not be true but i believe thats how it works
 
I would consult with goldenbeetle, looking at a few of his classic ties he appears to be the NEFF fly tying bellwether.
 
thanks this is what i was looking for great site.

hey weird first of all welcome to a great past time of tying and you might want to look at a hand full to flies for the rivers you fist start with caddis and get your proportions right that is the most important thing and the nice thing about tying your own flies you dont have to have exactly what the pattern calls for. this website is great A Fly Tying Workshop and Instruction Tie1On.Net check out this website it will lead you in the right direction. hatch charts will give you the sizes youll need for the time of year on the river that you wish to fish most flies come out on all rivers close to the same time i think... lol that might not be true but i believe thats how it works
 
I just started tying a few months ago and found many fly tying videos on YouTube. So far I only know how to tie Hare's Ear and Pheasant Tail nymphs. Most tell you what's needed to tie the fly. Just keep google & youtube searching and you'll find plenty of info. That's all I did. I'll also check out that site....;)
 
Getting started in tying can seem very confusing with the hundreds of patterns you will find in books and websites as well as all of the materials you be trying to sort through in a fly shop or materials website.

The best way to go about your first attempts is to pick ONE or TWO patterns you would like to learn to tie. Choose something standard that you know will catch fish, such as a Pheasant Tail, Gold Ribbed Hares Ear or a Woolly Bugger. Go out and just purchase those materials. Take your time and spend the next week or two just working on those patterns. With repetition on the same pattern, you will have a much better reference to judge proportion and mastery of the techniques you are using to tie that fly.

Once you have built some confidence and can honestly say that your fly is coming out as you really want it to, repeat the whole process with two new patterns.

IMHO, fly tying "starter kits" are a great assortment of materials, but for a beginner, in can really just be a big box of confusion.

Good luck. Post some pics of your first attempts and folks here will gladly help steer you in the right direction.

Good Luck!

~James
 
James,
Yeah, that's exactly what I did. HE and PT's are used alot, and I found them pretty easy to tie after a few dozen...lol I started off tying on #10 hooks until I got the hang of it. Now, tying on smaller 14 and 16's aren't as hard. I was lucky enough to have everything I needed to tie from my Dad. I have enough thread and hooks to last a lifetime. Since I haven't caught a trout yet, I'm enjoying tying more than fishing....:D

troutfever,
That's a good link. Thanks for posting..:)
 
Im getting ready to start tying i have all the tools, but i have no clue what materials i should start w what size hooks or anything. guys please help me i cant wait to start.

For me, these are the basics:

A vise you can clamp anywhere
A desk lamp of some sort
2 bobbins
Small scissors and/or razor blade
Hemostats
Hooks in the sizes you need
.......
5-10 colors of thread (primaries are Black, Olive, Tan)
Deer and/or Elk hair
Peacock herl
Variety pack of regular dubbing (get some of the dubbing with sparkle stuff too)
Pheasant tail
Squirrel tail
Lead wire spool (for weighting some flies)
Dry fly hackle from Whiting
(Get a pack of the smaller hackle. You'll never use a whole hackle because most of the feathers are two big for most uses)

For a small kit a large Walmart fishing tackle box with drawers and sections will hold everything.

With these basics you can make whatever you need. Always keep your eyes open for every day items that can do the job. I include a latex glove, for example, where I cut thin strips and use them for casings on nymphs (ala Oliver Edwards). I also steal little beads from my daughter's bead kits for beadhead nymphs. I don't know how crafty you are, but I'm not! I choose to believe that 95% of the flies that are made to be so fancy are mostly for us. Most of my flies focus on form and function. Do they float? Are they the right size and color? Will they survive multriple takes from fishies?
 
I would also pick up Charlie Cravens book, Basic Fly Tying. Its probably one of the best instruction books out there, great pictures, detailed instruction, and he goes over material selection (i.e. hackle, hair, etc.). Teaches you how to tie every major pattern. Once you can tie whats in the book, you can tie just about anytning.
 
Im getting ready to start tying i have all the tools, but i have no clue what materials i should start w what size hooks or anything. guys please help me i cant wait to start.

pick out 5 patterns you want to tie, read the recipe and buy those materials.

fly tying season is here and if you need instructions, seek out a local fly that has tying lessons for beginners. lessons will shorten the learning curve tremendously.
 
If you have the time visit the Fly Tying Symposium this coming weekend in Somerset. It's a show dedicated to just fly tying and they have some awsome tyers there that would be eager to show you a few tips to get you started. Also you would have access to tons of materials right at the show. The International Fly Tying Symposium - World's Largest Show for Fly Tying here's the link to check it out. I'm sure there will be guys from this site there.
 
The International Fly Tying Exposition (I think that's what it is called) is in Somerset this coming weekend. Watching the techniques of some of the better fly tiers can teach quite a bit. Even if the patterns are more complex than you need to tie, watching how the thread is tied to the hook, wings are made, hackle wrapped, etc. will be an education. Plus you can ask questions or request a particular fly to be tied - it would be interesting to watch how a pro ties the GR Hare's ear compared to yours. I thought I knew how to tie split wooduck wings until I watched Elsie Darbee in the Catskills years ago.

I would definitely recommend a series of tying classes given by organizations like TU or FFF.
 
First of a few good inexpensive books Like Fly tying made clear and simple by Skip Morris or Fy Tying Beginners by Peter Gathercole will be great start and provide you with more than enough patterns to get you started. Now the Symposium this coming weekend is great for you to attend. You will be able to buy materials there, see tyers from dry, Wets Salmon, BassBugs Streamers, nymphs and so on. Yes you will see some very good techniques, but you will forgt half of them by the time you get home and start tying on the vise. My TU Chapter Ray Neirle in South Jersey will be providing fly tying lesson in March. Now honestly I would not wait until then to start tying. I would get one of the basic books and dive right in. You will be amazed how much you will pick up if you try.

I plan on being at the show early Saturday morning. If any one wants to meet let me know. I will be planting trees with TU on Sunday on the BFB
 
Yeah, My wife and I will be going in the afternoon on Saturday. To bad I have to work until 12:30 on Saturday, so can't go earlier than 1:00ish....:(

Will there be materials for sale there..? I need some supplies.
 
Werloc:

There will be materials and books there for sale. I just don't know how many vendors he has coming to the show this year. Some years there more than enough vendors and other years not enough.
 
Back
Top