Fly Fishing

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

I get bombarded with emails of people trying to sell me flies from all over the world. I tend to buy more flies than I tie. I often just buy flies from "anywhere" .. by that I mean, I just find a fly shop and get flies. Now, here is what I have noticed. Some flies, for reasons that I don't know, must be better than others? Because, at any given time my fly box has flies from various sources. Some of those flies are rusted and fallen apat and other flies seem to hold up "forever". So, because I am not a great fly tier and I don't know about the differences of hooks and feathers and all that stuff and to be honest I ENJOY buying flies at this time in my life. So, I am curious as to what folks do when the buy flies. I know that most everyone I fly fish with ties flies .. but often, for one reason or another, they have to buy flies. With that said. Are there any manufacturers or sellers that are known for having "better" flies than others? And, does anyone out there order all their flies online? If so, where? And, is there anything I can look for to signify a "better" fly? I see all these deals online and stuff that say something like "a gazillliion flies for 12 bucks" or ".20 per fly" .. now my question is .. do i really want a fly that is valued at 20 cents? At what point does low price start to indicate intallerably poor quality? Thanks everyone, this would help me greatly in my efforts to perfect the "art" of "fly buying" Very Happy

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ChrisR · Location: Southeast Massachusetts

I've personally only bought either LL Bean or Orvis flies. I'd like to try some Umpaqua flies though. They have some cool looking patterns. But between the 2, LL Bean has always had the best quality.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

interesting chris ----- correct me if i am wrong (and i very well could be) but doesn't llbean outsource all of their flies to umpqua?? i only say this cuz whenever i go to llbean .. i see the "umqua" brand on all the fly boxes.??? boz would know

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

on another note .. i will say this .... my friend pete d told me long ago "i only by orvis flies, they are the best" .... and, to this day ... i will say, that i have found that to be true .. in the sense that they seem to withstand rusting and hooks breaking and falling apart more than other flies i have bought from other sources ... with that said, however ... i have not bought flies from too many places other than llbean, orvis shops and random shops throughout my travels ...... .. but from the small "test tube" of which i have to make observations from .... orvis flies have been of a quality nature for me, ... take it for what its worth ... i wonder if others have similar observations from the multitude of places to buy flies including the gazillion online options ... on one hand it appeals to me to buy flies for 20 cents or whatever ... on the other hand, what if they show up and they are total garbage ... i'm basically stuck with them ... but, with that said .. some flies are not all that "complicated" .. i mean seriously, it seems as though it would be pretty tough to "mess up" a pheasenttail nymph? so, in the case of a fly like that .. maybe a 30 cent investment makes sense .. maybe not???? that's where i am looking for others opinions and advice .. thanks.

ChrisR · Location: Southeast Massachusetts

Not sure. They might be. They do have a pretty big Barr's selection. Which I think Umpaqua specializes in. Or Barr designs patterns for them or something. From what I've heard Orvis out sources also. Through web orders it had to come in from China or something on back orders when I ordered a bunch of salt flies. I haven't really ordered from Beans over the net. But all the ones I've bought at the Freeport store have been top notch. I certainly wouldn't call the orvis flies bad. They just seemed to be busted out a bit quicker. And those were ones mainly from the Manchester shop. Does Mike get Orvis flies for his shop or are they all tied locally? The two times I got flies at Mike's they also were top quality.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

ya, again .. i am not sure about the umpqua/llbeans relationship ... i also am not sure what percentage of flies from mike holts shop are bought or "locally tied" ...

Boz · Location: Portland

I thought Umpqua supplied Beans as well as Orvis? Maybe not... Regardless they are all made in Asia...

ChrisR · Location: Southeast Massachusetts

Seems par for the coarse now a days with stuff being farmed out overseas. Both have some cool flies. Mike did have one salt fly that really caught my eye that was tied locally. It was kind of like a surf candy. But the tyer used a silicone on it that made it feel soft to the touch. Pretty cool fly. I would think a fish might hold onto it longer than a harder feeling epoxy fly. Then again it never takes long for them to figure out it isn't the real deal. At any rate I don't really sweat what flies I buy. If I had to grade them the Bean ones are more appealing to the human eye. As a tyer that is. But fish don't care. And if you've gone to the trouble of catching a few bugs to see what is down in the water your fishing, they are never quite perfect either. Nature has taken their toll on their bodies. Sometimes I honestly feel fish might turn flies down because they look too perfect. If something is unique I've generally had better luck.

greg · Posted: Sun 12/30/07 8:43 am Post subject: flies

I have tried tying with all the equipment and material I could need for the rest of my life. The flies I found I could tie were about three. You need to many things , like the abillity to concentrate, know where you put things, like your vice or a rabbits face. I have to take a pill to remember to take the pill to keep my heart beating. When it takes me an hour to tie a fly but seconds to buy one, well you can see my problem. I have found it easier and much more efficient to purchase my flies. I know guys that can turn out great flies like a small factory, my hat is off to you guys. It is truly an art and I am not blessed with the abillity nor the eyesight. Besides if I buy the flie, I can blame someone else when it falls apart.

chuckgear · Location: Brozeman, MT

most store bought flies i feel are tied rapidly and for sheer numbers. most flies i buy usually fall apart. it seems as though flies bought from fly shops stand up better than say sportsmans warehouse or gander mtn. all this aside tying is far more rewarding nothing like sticking a fish on your fly or pattern. ever time i stick a fish on a fly i tied. i think back at the time on the vice. what song i was listening to. what beer i was drinking. etc. nothing like putting it in the air and cranking out a bunch of flies.

the past two days i fished the SR and a few other tribs and only hooked (KEY WORD nothing is more humbling than not landing a single fish after being up there a week ago and sticking and landing more than a dozen) fish on my patterns. whether it was the confidence in my drifts or whatever it was a great feeling to feel a head shake on a fly pattern you modified or created.

i on my broke college budget now that i am heading back to school to finsish up to spend 1.39 or 99 cents on glo bugs that i can tye in 15 seconds and for 5 cents. just cant do it.

so get out your vice after work...and put the tv on for the kids and crank out those flies.

PeteD · Posted: Thu 01/03/08 10:33 am Post subject:

As Jeremy mentioned I have always found Orvis flies to be well tied and closely resemble the hatches that I most often encounter on my local waters. However, I found the large majority of their patterns utterly useless on other river systems. All Hendrickson, March Brown, Sulfur, Isonychia and BWO patterns are not created equally. Sometimes there is no better pattern for a particular river system than the ones sold in a local shop. They may melt after hooking a couple fish but it's a hell of a lot better than hooking no fish at all. Tying them would be fulfilling and is definately in my future but for the time being it's all about store bought flies. Orvis, Beans, Umpqua and Joe's tackle shop. They almost always appeal to me even if the fish think otherwise.

chuckgear · Location: Brozeman, MT

it seems that most patterns available are appealing to the fly fisherman. not the fish. i mean flys that sell are the ultimate purpose. most flys seem way too complicated. with my experience less is more.

alex · Posted: Thu 01/17/08 12:14 am Post subject:

Flies, most important part is the best hook available for the target specie. It has to be sharp and be able to be sharpened and strong, and than I will put some feathers or fur to it.

NiC · Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

I really don't trust flies that I buy in unless I know the guy who tied 'em.

Normally I tie all my flies myself, I see it as a very important part of flyfishing, and I can make sure that all the flies I use works the way I want them to.