Cheap Startup Kit

[jay mcdaniel]

Guys,

Well yesterday was my birthday and I got some birthday cash and a new pair of waders. Anyone know a cheap fly tying startup kit that comes with a vise, materials, tools, and maybe an instructional video/booklet??  I know llbean and orvis make them, but I wasn’t sure of their quality.

I really want to be catching fish on self-tied flies–It makes it that much more of a sport.

Cya around,
Jay

[Ben Cochran]

Jay, the advice that you are going to get will vary a good bit and mine is but just another piece of advice that is formed from my own opinion and experience. Before you go the kit route, remember that you do get what you pay for and will have to pay again for those things that do not have a long life or are up to the quality of your future needs. The equipment (Vice, Bobbins, Hackle plier and so forth) are very important tolls that you will want to be good enough to last you for 10’s of years. The materials are the window dressings and the rest is up to your skills, as they evolve. I would strongly recommend that you not cut the corner on the vice and tools as they allow you to apply the window dressings better and alow you to maximize your evolving skills.

There are many Vices on the market and my suggestion will be based on my own experiences with other companies, be that quality of their product and the relationships in the customer service dept. I really like the design, quality of build and materials used in the build as well as the outstanding customer service and/or support of Griffin Enterprises. They have some new models out now that are simply outstanding and the prices are perhaps the best deals on the market place, when compared to similar products. I posted a pic of the newer Griffin Mongose Vice in the Photography forum here under Zachs thread “White Stage Flies”. The Vice is outstanding and a great deal fro what you get,it also comes with a carrying case and some extra tools. You can view these vices at griffinenterprisesinc.com under the Vices tab. They also have other tying tools that are listed there and it is of very good quality.

As far as material, you would be better off purchasing what you need for the type of flies that you plan to ty. This way you will be able to ty more of the patterns that you want to ty and not have a bunch of material that you may rarely use.

[Neal Osborn]

Jay, welcome to tying.

[jay mcdaniel]

Thanks for the tips guys! Knowing myself, I think I’m going to have to go with a beginners kit. I could spend $100 – $150 on a Griffin vice, but I am not sure how into this I am going to get. I would rather buy a start up kit knowing that if I get hooked, (pardon the pun) I will upgrade. I will check out that book by Skip Morris. It sounds clear and simple.

Thanks again for the help.

[patrick mccormick]

Grab a kit from wal mart, its about as cheap as they come, then when you decide you’ll be tying for a while get good tools and they will seem so so much better.

[Rich Kovars]

Hello Jay,

The Griffin 1A and 2A vises are nice for a starter and are only in the $50-$60 range.

[Mark Schafer]

Skips book is also a DVD of the same name and is very good.
I’ve used some of the material kits from http://www.glennriver.com/links.htm

[Neal Osborn]

Jay, it sounds like you know what kind of setup you are after.

[Mark Landerman]

Waspi makes a good starter kit.

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