Fly Tying starter Kit

[Black-Don]

Thinking about the why tie thread and associated costs I thought I'd do a shopping list for what I would consider to be a comprehensive list of first purchases/basic essentials for a variety of flies and have come up with a cost of ?276 approx.

A couple of things I missed out were peacock herl (?3) and a selection of 10 - 16 kamasan hooks b175 and b100's @ ?4 ea.

I never included traditional winging materials which would be open to recommendation and optional.

Tools :- Vice (?15), ceramic bobbin holder (?5), standard hackle pliers(?3), hair stacker(?3), dubbing needle(?2), fine point scissors(?4)

Materials:-

Feathers/Hackles

Metz ? cock necks:    1 x black , 1 x grizzle, 1 x ginger, 1 x furnace, 1 x olive (?20ea)
Metz hen necks:1 x black, 1 x olive, 1 x furnace (?20ea) ? Indian game instead (?4ea)

Tails/Tippets

1 x golden pheasant head (? , fluoro floss 1 x red, 1 x yellow, 1 x lime green (?1ea)
1 x cock pheasant tail (?4)

Ribs

Fine wire(sm)     1 x gold, 1 x silver (?2ea)    oval tinsel(sm) 1 x gold 1 x silver (?2ea)
Flat mylar tinsel silver    1 x small, 1 x med (?1ea)

Thread

Uni thread 8/0     1 x black, 1 x olive, 1 x light cahill, 1 x rust brown (?2ea)

Dubbing

1 x hares mask(?3) 1 x seals fur mix assorted (?20)

Misc

1 x adhesive lead foil(?3)
1 x black marabou 1 x olive(?3ea)
1 x olive ultra chenille, 1 x black (?2ea)
1 x fine deer hair(?3)
1 x bulk pack cdc(?5)
1 x clear varnish (?2)
1 x beeswax (?2)
1 x sm, 1 x med gold beads (?2ea)
1 x crystal flash sm (?3)

Total cost approx  ?276

The above costs can be reduced greatly by finding someone who will sell you packs of hackle feathers or even ? capes.

The alternative is to buy a starter kit from ?50 upwards which you will probably regret and end up purchasing all of the above as individual items anyway.

What do you think and is there anything you would add or remove from what I would consider to be a pretty comprehensive list of essentials for a variety of Scottish river and loch flies ?

I was going to go fishing tonight but the weather is pretty crap  :roll:

[Clan Chief]

That price would certainly put me off if I was starting out. It surely costs a lot less to get started.

[Fishtales]

I could get it down to approx. ?126 Donald by leaving out a few items and going for Indian cock capes, which I use.

Scissors and dubbing needle you can get in the house. I use an ordinary bobbin holder and the one I have is 20+ years old cheaper than the ceramic one. For threads i would get either black, brown or olive and red. For the seals fur I would only get black, ginger and olive and get a moleskin.
From your Misc I would take out

1 x adhesive lead foil(?3)
1 x black marabou 1 x olive(?3ea)
1 x olive ultra chenille, 1 x black (?2ea)
1 x sm, 1 x med gold beads (?2ea)
1 x crystal flash sm (?3)

These can come later.

[Black-Don]

That price would certainly put me off if I was starting out. It surely costs a lot less to get started.

It easily mounts up but I was thinking of getting where you'd eventually want to be. I'd agree there's definately too much for a beginner.

I could get it down to approx. ?126 Donald by leaving out a few items and going for Indian cock capes, which I use.

Scissors and dubbing needle you can get in the house. I use an ordinary bobbin holder and the one I have is 20+ years old cheaper than the ceramic one. For threads i would get either black, brown or olive and red. For the seals fur I would only get black, ginger and olive and get a moleskin.
From your Misc I would take out

1 x adhesive lead foil(?3)
1 x black marabou 1 x olive(?3ea)
1 x olive ultra chenille, 1 x black (?2ea)
1 x sm, 1 x med gold beads (?2ea)
1 x crystal flash sm (?3)

These can come later.

Fair points Sandy, Indian cock's at ?6.50 a pop sound good. I'd also go with taking out the misc but would like to keep in the beads for bead head Hares ear nymphs and crystal flash for that bit of sparkle.

Like Sandy I find Indian or Chinese capes fine.  Hares mask -  packet of mixed hares mask dubbing.  Oval Tinsel - to use on what?  Varnish - does your wife or whatever use nail varnish?  I presume the stuff at the end including beads are for chasing rainbows (I do it too).  CDC - see a shooter and get him to pluck the feathers off duck's arses (not kidding).   Pheasant tails - look for dead birds at the roadside but remember to microwave the feathers to kill any beasties.

Definitely cultivate any shooters that you know for feathers.

Fair point the oval tinsel is out and if you know any shooters the cost comes down further. I suppose you could take the med beads and varnish out too but I'd want to keep the small gold beads in.

Any other suggestions for inclusions or ways to reduce costs ?

[Malcolm]

I certainly wouldn't go down that route Donald.

Best to have a very basic selection of materials targeted for the type of fishing that you do in my opinion. For me what you have is too limited - and much of the stuff I simply wouldn't use.

That's probably true for most of us.

For example I don't ever use cock capes - I use top grade hen and saddles instead (Whiting, Keough, Metz) nor do I use chenille. On the other hand I'd miss partridge and snipe hackles and pink peach and orange marabou and orange and purple pearsalls silk.

One thing I wouldn't skimp on is scissors - two pairs - one cheap and heavy and the other with very fine points and probably expensive although my CKK scissors cost me a fiver from a hardware shop and are the best I've ever used or seen. 

[Ythanjoe]

My early tying days were of the 'living in a cardboard box in the middle of the road' variety. Black thread, a friendly keeper and road kill are all you need once you have a vice and some sharp scissors. How the fek I 've ended up with so much stuff scince is all part of the disease that follows
Joe

[Darwin]

I was cleaning up the office/tying room today to do my taxes    I found a few receipts for tying supplies that I had ordered from Scotland, England, Ireland and the states of course.  It made me kinda sad to think of what I have spent on just the few invoices I had.  I tore them all up and refused to look at any others I may find. I tend to be mildly OCD when it comes to new hobbies, needless to say I have way more than I need.  A good bit of it is for tying the traditionals that I learn from the UK forums and those may never be used where I fish. :worried   I even decided to learn to dye my own items, so that added to the madness. (still trying to get the Irish colours right if anyone has advise)  :
I guess at some point I will donate much of it to the club or to new guys starting out.  If I win the Lottery and get a place in your neck of the woods you will be welcome to help yourselves to that an a cuppa 

[Robbie]

I would aim to start as cheap as possible, go for Indian capes instead of the Metz, you can always invest in genetic cape or saddles latter.
Pretty much agree with Fachan, however I would include some deer hair but you could probably get away without the stacker at first.

When I first started tying I used a largest sewing needle in the sewing box as a dubbing needle, whipped a thread "Handle" on the end but did keep loosing it on my tying desk.

Robbie

[Fishtales]

Wooden spring clip clothes peg instead of a bobbin holder, just clamp it to the thread below the hook and it acts as a weight holding the thread tight.

Darning needle with a plasticine handle as a dubbing needle, or get a pin vice and put it in that.

Flat ice lolly stick with a piece of velcro, the hook part facing the right way, stuck on the end as a dubbing brush.

Small piece of nylon tube, 10mm or so, from the end of the ink tube in a biro with a cut through on one side so that it splays open and a small 'v' at one end of the split. Push it over the eye of the hook before tying in the wing of a wet fly to push the hackle back and out of the way. The tying thread goes into the notch and passes along the cut and out of the other end ready for tying in the wing.

Razor blade for cutting wing stubs, hackle stalks or thread. Watch the fingers though

Clear nail varnish for finishing the head.

Fuse wire for silver ribbing or weighting bodies.

Try tying without the vice holding the hook in the free hand. Not easy with complicated patterns but is possible with practice There is a company in Ireland who tie salmon flies this way.

Whip finish using your fingers or just finish with a few half hitches, no need for a whip finish tool.

[Inchlaggan]

I go with Sandy on this one, a wee wander about the house and you can find most of what you need.
However, this is about starting out, not tying award-winning monster catchers, enough to learn to dub, palmer, rib, wing and finish should do for starters.
I'd add a few items,
a sharp knife/scalpel/ razor to destroy the failures- and the wisdom to use it.
a good book on fly-tying, or join with friends.
a wise friend to comment constructively.
a large amount of patience.
I know I started with a ?15 kit (and I took a look at what I own now before typing this post- may the Good Lord help me if SWMBO finds out what I have spent since).
The joy was (finally) ending up with something that looked like the photo in the book, and catching a fish on it.