Cost of materials

Holy cow! I just checked prices on some fly-tying materials yesterday. Tungsten coneheads might as well be made of gold!

ain't that the truth

That's why I love rockfish, they're a cheap date!

Yeah, fly tying is fun but unfortunately it's no cheaper.

Z

Yeah, fly tying is fun but unfortunately it's no cheaper.

Z

You guys shop in the wrong places!

Black women's hair supply shops will provide you HUGE packages of Fishhair in a wide range of colors for like $3/packages. Although its not as stiff as bucktail, one package could tie a few hundred flies. What's even better is the name of the stuff. "Yaky Braid"
go figure.

http://www.besthairworld.com/category_s/52.htm

Micheal's craft supply has feather's, long marabou boa's, beads, and chenille in any color or size you could think of, just to name a few.

Then you gotta get creative and find it where it lies. The bag that newspapers came in when it rained used to be made of the thinnest brown or blue translucent plastic film that made great carapaces and wings. (Have not seen that much lately though).

 In other words, you just gotta look for it everywhere except the fly shop. (But you still gotta go buy a reel and some overpriced threads and bobbins from them because you want them to stay in business) You just gotta get out and look for it.

Seems there was a book call something like "Synthetic Fly Tying Materials" that I read a bunch of years ago that started me on my quest.

Around here, I just have to look along side the road.

Anyone close to Everett that needs pheasant skins, I'll be sporadically getting a few from a buddy that hunts them every week till the end of the western WA pheasant season.  Can't say when I'll have hens or roosters but let me know if your interested and I'll try to save them for you. I have all I need for now. They will be uncured and not all the roosters will have their tails.

Anyone hunt and willing to give up some feathers or fur?  No road kills please.   

One of my favorite patterns is the "All Washington Emerger:"

Tail: Moose mane from moose shot by my brother-in-law in NE Washington (he got a permit several years ago.
Body: Muskrat trapped in the winter by I guy from Wenatchee I met up at Lake Chopaka.
Rib: Copper wire from McLendon Hardware in Renton.
Hackle: Hungarian Partridge from back in the days I hunted (I really miss my English Pointer this time of the year).

Tom