Fly tying kit

I'm thinking of rolling my own flies and looking for some starter kits. I found one called the White River Fly Shop saltwater kit on BPS for $50. It has some good patterns that I think I might use so it seems like the best bet so far. Anyone have any experience w/ their stuff?
Z

I don't tie personally, but the advice I've always gotten is to avoid the pre-packaged kits.  The tools are apparently generally not of very high quality, and the tying materials you get with them may not be what you need for the area/species you are fishing (you want lots of elk hair for elk hair caddis in the NW, but the kits may come with lots of maribou and no elk hair, etc...) 

I've been told the better way to go is to visit a reputable fly shop, tell them you are on a budget, tell em you want to start tying, and tell them you want to start by learning to tie 2-3 popular flies for a particular species (steelhead, coho salmon, rainbows in lakes, sea runs, etc...)  Should be able to get out the door with quality tools, basic materials to tie a few dozen flies, and an instructional book/video for less than $100.

Good background on getting started:

http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/hyper_guide.html

Another good one here:

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/

Nice 3W and thanks for the links!
Not buying from the local shop was in the back of my mind bothering me.

Z

I agree with 3wt, especially regarding the tools you'll get in one of those kits.

I agree with 3wt on patronizing the local shops. They understand local fishing conditions and fly patterns, and carry materials that work on our local waters. Puget Sound is a unique fishery, one that the customer service reps at Cabela's in Nebraska will never understand.

For example, this summer I found some russian silver goat hair, dyed dark olive, at Puget Sound Fly Shop in Kent. Clark, one of the owners, gave me a tip on tying a bit of white arctic fox in front of the wing, to give the fly some additional action and keep the wing straight. This turned out to be a hot fly for me all summer, imitating small sand lance off Puget Sound beaches.

Support your local shops!

Tom

Ditto on buying your equipment a la carte. Find a shop with some old duffers that actually tie and they can point you in the right direction.

I started tying flies in high school some 25 years ago and slowly picked up pieces as I could afford. I started with a Thompson model "A" vice (which I still use). Seems that they have changed the model "A" a bit and their Pro Series looks more like the model "A" used to. Anyways the equipment items I would put high priority on are the following:

1) A good vice (like the Thompson model A or Pro Series)
2) A quality thread bobbin (Get a couple, they work great for floss too!)
3) very sharp/pointed scissors with big finger holes.
    Note: Poor scissors will cause you to chase feather barbs all over the place while trying to cut them...
4) Hackle pliers with smooth but firm jaws. Cheap pliers will only cut your hackle just when you were about to finish the last wrap!
5) A Whip finisher. This is better than sliced bread as an invention. I use a very simple one and I don't recall the make but can post a pic if you would like...
6) a hair stacker (Use an empty .357 casing, works great!)
7) Head cement bottle with a pin type applicator.

As for the consumables, forget the kits, most of them don't contain anything you can use. Buy what you need for the flies you will be tying. Remember to keep your bird capes sealed away from bugs because they can turn a $40 cape into a pile of bug feces in short order!

There are some excellent books out on fly tying that will guide you step by step through both wet and dry flies. I'm still casting flies I tied over 10 years ago, I guess I better think about re-stocking sometime soon!

-Bill-

Edit: I looked up the whip finisher model and it is a Matarelli. Very simple and durable...