I am looking to get a good quality fly tying vice and kit so that I can start tying my own flies. I have seen prices range from ?10 to over ?300 for a vice but I am sure there must be some available for a reasonable price which is still good quality.
Can anyone make any suggestions on what I should be looking for and suggest a product I should buy? I will be starting from scratch which means I will need all the tying materials too. A good website to buy online would be useful.
Cheers
Lochan
Thanks for the advice. I will get on and look up the Regent vice now and look to find some materials seperately. I am also keen to make some brownie flies but also try some salmon flies. Is the Glasgow Angling Center a good place to buy materials too?
Thanks a lot.
Lochan
Thanks for that wee bri, I will check those websites out.
Cheers
I agree with wee bri, stay clear of GAC for mail order. If you can visit the store then I've always found them very helpful. When buying material it is good to be able to see it rather than order blind over the net.
I have used three of the links given by wee bri and can vouch for them. I'm sure others will add to the list.
The thing with fly tying suppliers is that you can never get all that you want from one place. Even GAC with its massive stock doesn't seem to keep a bit of every thing. I suppose half the fun is pulling all the pieces you need together but it can be frustrating. One thing is for sure it will be expensive but worthwhile.
I use most of the sites wee bri has suggesterd but I'll add a couple more sites for you to look at:-
http://www.taimen.com
http://www.celticflycraft.co.uk/acatalog/Vision_.html
http://www.flytek.co.uk/
http://bogdangawlik.pl/
http://shop.siman.cz/
Have fun..
Norm
Bri and Norm have given most of the ones I have used but would also advise having a look at
http://www.flytyingboutique.com/Store/StoreIntro.asp
Phil is always very helpful and 1st class service is guaranteed.
Ian
Quote from: shanksi on April 25, 2009, 09:04:43 PM
Bri and Norm have given most of the ones I have used but would also advise having a look at
http://www.flytyingboutique.com/Store/StoreIntro.asp
Phil is always very helpful and 1st class service is guaranteed.
Ian
Good one Ian,
I've never heard of them before and a new flyting material I've never heard of either :roll:
http://www.flytyingboutique.com/store/Details.asp?ProdID=78&category=4
Pay day next week so a wee order may be on the cards :?
norm
No problem Norm. Phil always has some unusual material but will always advise how best to use it. Also has his own site for flies
http://www.spidersplus.co.uk/
Ian
What kind of flies are you looking to tie Lochan ?
I've found Neil at Anderson Angling to be good with his mail order stuff and he can even be trusted to select materials for you. I bought a Jungle Cock cape blind from Neil and it was better than any I had seen at GAC.
I once bumped into Neil when he was fishing the Earn, thoroughly nice bloke. Never bought anything from him though :roll:
Norm
Thanks for the advice Black Don. I am going to start with traditional brown trout flies and keep it simple to start with! I hope to try and tie some salmon flies when I get the hang of it. I am planning some wild camping trips up north this summer but I have not got beyond the planning stage yet. I hope to have some of my own flies to test out by then.
It's a wise man that bookmarks all of these fly tying sites for future reference. :8)
Quote from: Ian_M on April 26, 2009, 11:40:21 AM
It's a wise man that bookmarks all of these fly tying sites for future reference. :8)
Only problem is you can end up with pages of them. :D
You'll get Neil at http://www.wellbanklochans.co.uk/
Ian
I got a vice and tools from ebay - very happy with the purchase all the tools you need and reasonably priced. the vice is a regent style vice with heavy vice plate instead of a clamp.
Heres a link
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VICE-AND-TOOLS-FOR-FLY-TYING-DELUX-EDITION_W0QQitemZ170325781149QQihZ007QQcategoryZ23816QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I used the snowbee flymate for about 6 years and found it a great vice wich did everything I needed, price is competative too. If you get one though watch the wee rubber band at the back of the jaws, they get lost with great ease.
One supplier I forgot ...
http://www.anglingclassics.co.uk/copy_of_Fly_Tying_Hooks.html
Kamasan hooks at ?4 per 100.
Lochan,
I had a few bits of fly tying gear for years but but never really got into it until this year. I got hold of the regent vice after reading good comments on here about it and found it a huge improvement on the unknown make I had before.
One of the things that used to frustrate me was not having all the the materials for the patterns I wanted to tie. What I found helped me was to decide first on half a dozen flies I wanted to tie , get hold of their patterns, see what materials I was missing and then order them up. Then see what yo need for the next few and so on and after a wee while you build up enough materials to cope with most things - you'll always find you need just one other essential material for the next killer fly though :)
Thanks for that Part-time, it is good advice. I think I will need to find a good fly tying book to give me ideas of where to get started. Maybe find some videos on youtube? My vice should arrive soon but still have some shopping for materials to do. I will definately focus on a few flies to tie first.
Cheers
Nae bother Lochan,
I've a few fly pattern books but I mostly get patterns online now - the step by step guide and the 'what have you tied today' thread on this site in particular. If you do a google search on just about any fly you usually find someone somewhere has done a step by step of it.
One of the best sites for fly tying imo is Davie McPhail's - here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/user/PeatyMann?blend=2&ob=1
If you don't want to buy hooks in 100s you can buy Kamasan hooks from fishtec in 50s at ?2.50. You do have to buy quite a lot though as they are real rip-off merchants when it comes to postage: about ?4 for small items.
Quote from: Malcolm on April 29, 2009, 11:57:02 AM
If you don't want to buy hooks in 100s you can buy Kamasan hooks from fishtec in 50s at £2.50. You do have to buy quite a lot though as they are real rip-off merchants when it comes to postage: about £4 for small items.
Malcolm, the link I gave for Angling Classics works out at £4.00 per 100 (Kamasan) and they add £1.00 postage for every 100. Probably work out cheaper. Good service too.
Quote from: Ardbeg on April 30, 2009, 01:38:04 AM
My suggestion is, if you have a local fishing shop try and get as much from them as possible
That very much depends on the tackle shop Steve. Those in Aberdeen could vanish without trace tomorrow for all I care. I am not sure the knowledge goes far beyond stockie bashing and salmon fishing, or at least that?s the impression I get.
Yesterday my son Gordon who is keen to get back into fishing visited a local shop and they tried to sell him a 7 weight Diawa. Thank goodness he phoned me first. Why he thought he would have to buy gear at all when I have a garage full of it is another matter, but as I said, thank goodness he phoned me. I can set him up with a more suitable outfit free of charge.
That kind of tackle shop has very little value in my book. I?d rather seek advice on a forum like this and buy on line.
Smurf,
Ask a mutual friend who used to live in Aberdeen about a certain tackle shop there. Even after many years of spending a pretty penny in that establishment if the total came to 30.01 that?s what it always was, never 30.00 :roll:
Quote from: Bandy Catcher on April 30, 2009, 05:08:16 PM
That'll be me then!
Indeed it is but I thought it better you did the identifying. :lol:
Quote from: breac uaig on April 30, 2009, 05:41:49 PM
it creases me that there are some dealers who are that unscrupulous,
Derek,
Some are for sure, others are just totally clueless. As I said thank goodness Gordon phoned me.
Smurf, John,
Seems like you have a bit of a gem there in Blair, well worth looking after. I just bought a new magic wand, a Sage TCX. I bought it on line from Sportfish because their service has always been superb. I ordered it in the afternoon, had it next morning with no delivery charges. I don?t know any tackle shop anywhere near me where I could get service like that.
I can?t think of a single reason I would want to give any tackle shop in Aberdeen my business, far less pay the thieving council the exorbitant city centre parking charges.
Quote from: admin on April 30, 2009, 06:15:56 PM
I just bought a new magic wand, a Sage TCX.
Fred, I've only one word...
Tart :D
Norm
Quote from: Clan Ford on April 30, 2009, 06:55:19 PM
Tart :D
Aye, but at least no Aberdeen tackle shop got the jam. :D
Quote from: admin on April 30, 2009, 06:15:56 PM
.........Seems like you have a bit of a gem there in Blair, well worth looking after. I just bought a new magic wand, a Sage TCX. I bought it on line from Sportfish because their service has always been superb. I ordered it in the afternoon, had it next morning with no delivery charges. I don?t know any tackle shop anywhere near me where I could get service like that.
...............
I've just been on the Sportfish site and they don't seem to let you buy anything. You click on a product and just get asked to write a review, or Email a friend ( :?).
Is anyone else having this problem or am I just being incredibly stupid and missing something obvious? I just don't remember having this problem before.
.D.
No problem adding things to the basket, but they don't half know how to price things during a bloody recession. :shock:
So the basket is as far as the sage rod (from ?619.00) got. :D
Seems to be an Internet Explorer thing? Works fine in Firefox.
.D.
It's ebay for me these days. I recently bought two Z-axis Sage rods, one 9ft #5 and the other 10ft #5 in seperate transactions. Both were described as used and as new factory rods, so I took a risk... twice. The upshot is that I got them both in seemingly in good order for less than the price of one. After sales service is of course non-existant, but for the moment I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself. Does that make me a cheap tart?
QuoteDoes that make me a cheap tart?
Only time will tell :8)
I have finally got up and running with my fly tying and I seem to have done real well so far. I am glad I am patient!! So far I have been tying patterns similar to a bibio and black pennell on size 14- 16 hooks and the fishing has been great!
I am also starting to have a go at tying some salmon flies which is also a great challenge.
Thanks so much for all the advice on what vice to buy, it has been spot on and buying materials as I go has also been really useful. The websites for the materials have all been good and I have been making good use of shopping round. I hope to get some pictures of flies I have tied up soon along with the fish I have caught.
Cheers
Lochan
Good to hear that you're getting on well with tying your own Lochan; and even better having some good fishing with them :D