# Tying material



## RCFLY (Apr 1, 2013)

Hi I am looking for a little advise, I am new to fly tying and wonder where you get your most of your tying material and popular site for tying patterns? I would appreciate any info that you can pass along .


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## mountainbikingrn (Mar 24, 2010)

If you are close to Cleveland I would go to Chagrin River Outfitters, closer to Columbus then I would go to Mad River Outfitters, and if you prefer online shopping I would recommend Mad River Outfitters site or Feather Craft. As far as patterns go it depends on what you are fishing for/wanting to tie. If you have some patterns in mind YouTube has a plethora of step by step videos!


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## V Fisher (Nov 28, 2009)

where do you live


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## RCFLY (Apr 1, 2013)

I am just outside of Columbus


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## tandem (Apr 20, 2004)

Mad River has lots of stuff, also Joann fabric, hobby lobby, odd lots. Youtube has lots of info. Goggle what you want to fish for and your a list of fly for the fish. Lot of the same patterns can be used for different fish. Check Amazon used books, was able to pick some good tying books dirt cheap there. If you into skinning road kill, picked up two fox squirrels. Friends that hunt, just got turkey feathers. 
Know what you want to be tying, so you don't get stuff you won't use.


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## flyman01 (Jan 23, 2013)

Being a hunter, I have been able to obtain a good amount of tying materials such as Elk hair, Deer hair/tail, pheasant tail/capes, turkey feathers, rabbit fur, squirrel etc from past kills. As tandem said if you know others that hunt, most will gladly give you stuff if you ask them. I tend to stay away from picking up dead animals off the side of the road, but that could be another avenue….just get it before it starts to rot and stink 

I like the advice regarding knowing what it is you desire to tie before you purchase items so you are not buying unnecessary materials. I like targeting trout, the rivers that I fish virtually all have the same entomology so my boxes consist primarily of dry, emerger and nymph patterns of Winter and Early Brown Stones, Hendrickson, BWO’s, Caddis (brown, tan and green), Sulfur’s, Isonychia and Midges. I also tie Woolly Buggers, Squirmy Worms and some terrestrials such as Hoppers and Ants, but that list makes up about 95% of what I tie so the materials I purchase fall within these patterns. Do not get me wrong, it may not sound like a lot but there is much more than one would believe. That statement is evident by looking at the picture I took this past week of my tying station that I keep at my cabin, you can see it is jammed full of materials!

Youtube is a great resource for tutorials on tying different patterns, there are fly fishing shows, clubs and many of the fly fishing stores have weekend demonstrations and offer classes that you can attend to get started tying.

Tight Lines!


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## RCFLY (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks Flyman I will reach out to some of my hunting friends. I mainly fish for smallmouth and steelhead and look at broadening out to trout on Mad river.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Mad River Outfitters has an awesome tying selection in their shop, great choice for local shopping (depending on how close to them you are in Columbus). For online purchases, which is what I usually have to do, I order from these places regularly with great results:

Feather-Craft
Bears Den
RU Superfly (Pat Cohen's store, where I get almost all of my deer hair)
ebay

ebay I buy certain specific things in bulk. It's a good place to find brass beads and 3D molded eyes cheap. A 20-pack of 3D eyes in a fly shop might be $3 or so. I ordered bulk lots of 3D eyes through ebay from mainland China, literally getting nearly 14,000 eyes total in 3 colors/3 sizes...for a little over $60. I got several years supply for pennies compared to fly shop prices.


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## tandem (Apr 20, 2004)

http://www.wholesaleflycompany.com/ 
This a good place for beads


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## V Fisher (Nov 28, 2009)

mad river


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## Yakphisher (Jul 9, 2013)

What has been mentioned already plus Janns Netcrafts.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

YouTube has just about any pattern imaginable. Whatever you want to tie watch a couple videos then try it out! 
Also any local shop that has materials usually has guys that tie themselves, and are very good at it. Talk to those guys!! They are a wealth of knowledge and usually more than willing to help you & give you tips, pointers & techniques!

For steelhead some easy quick ones to learn that catch a lot of fish. Single egg patterns, sucker spawn, wooly buggers, egg sucking leaches, stone flies, zonkers, clousers. There are many others but those are great/easy patterns to start with that catch me a ton of fish each year. 

V fisher, local fly shops, & YouTube has taught me. Good luck to ya! Post some pics & I'm sure many on OGF will be glad to help you further.


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## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

RCFly. How've you made out far? Try anything yet I catch anything on your own tied flies?!


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## RCFLY (Apr 1, 2013)

SelfTaught said:


> RCFly. How've you made out far? Try anything yet I catch anything on your own tied flies?!


I did tie some Woolyburgers they started looking better as I went along. I even changed up things and used some trout beads for the beaded head and they look pretty good. I caught a couple suckers with them when I steelhead fishing last week.


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## trekker (Feb 18, 2013)

I will second Jann's Netcraft. They have a good selection of material. They also have a good selection of spinner wire that is perfect for making articulated shanks. For the cost of one 16 pack of Chocklett's Big Game shanks I can make a hundred or so.


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## V Fisher (Nov 28, 2009)

As we move into spring and summer try foam flies top water gills and bass are a blast. I know everyone wants 30 in steel head but some of the best days I'v had is killing the gills on Self's gran dads pond


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