My relationship with fly tying is a love/hate. Most of the time I feel very much like a klutz. All thumbs. I’m an amateur, even though I have been tying for over 10 years, but it is largely because I don’t dedicate enough time to it. It is like anything, you have to put in your 10,000 hours in order to achieve proficiency.
Having a roll top tying desk is something I really appreciate, stopping whenever I want, with a messy desk and being able to close the roll top and hide it all. Otherwise, I’m kind of a neat freak.
The primary allure for tying your own flies is the bonus thrill you get when a fish eats a fly that you tied. A secondary reason is that the cost of materials in a fly are typically 50 cents or less, but never more than a buck. Nowadays a basic fly in a fly shop is $2.50, with specialty flies and streamers going over $5!! However, if anyone anyone decides to take up fly tying to save $$ , I got news for them. Materials cost a lot of money and to cover the gamut of everything you need, particularly if you tie for both fresh and salt. But, even if you jus focus on trout, you can easily spend over a $1,000 on materials alone. A good vice ( My choice is a Renzetti Traveler) and all of the accessories can run another $500 (not including a tying desk) At $2.50 a fly, this same investment could buy 600 flies! Another way to look at it is how much does a single pattern cost? I like the patterns and the tying tutorials on the Fly Fish Food website. So if I’m excited to tie are particular streamer pattern for instance, I look at the materials list and buy them. Taking into account, thread, feathers, hooks, beads and chenille into account a single pattern can cost $50 or more. The beads are 20 to a pack and the hooks are 25, so you can tie 20 flies at a cost of $50, that’s guess what! $2.50 a fly! Now, if you take the long view, the economics really aren’t that bad. The batch of feathers is likely to make a hundred flies or more.
Here are a few recommendations for new fly tyers, or aspiring fly tyers:
- Make sure that you enjoy tying before you invest big money
- Plan time to tie – a few hours a week is a good starting point
- Start with easier patterns, where you can tie different sizes and colors and perfect that pattern
- Take a long term view – over time, like 20 years the economics work out
- Learning about the entomology can also increase your enjoyment when you are tying
