Fly Fishing

DSFlyman

I recently found a fabric store going out of business and scored some metallic thread for dirt cheap. I trapped my neighbors golden retriever and combed out some hair... surprisingly like rabbit. tomorrow I'm getting a haircut and bringing a baggie.

Times are tough. Anyone got any great bargains and tips for saving money on your fly fishing, tying, or rod building?

AvidDavid · Location: Long Island, NY

Anybody use lint from the lint screen in your clothesdrier as dubbing material? It comes in a different color for every load.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Great Topic ... Here are a couple things I am doing that i can think of off the top of my head. Anyone who has been in my car would tell you that the inside ROOF of the car is literally wall-to-wall with "beat up flies" .. you know flies that weren't let's say "perfect" anymore .. maybe the epoxy was a little off, hook a little rusty, the dry flies a little squashed, wooly buggers with the marabou tail a little thin or the conehead a little too wiggly, clousers that caught to many stripers or hit too many rocks on my back cast and the eyes just spin round and round .. and so on and so forth .. well just the other day -- i was at a traffic light and i said to myself .. "Hmmm.. the season is approaching .. and though I have to buy some stuff, it would make sense to re-evaluate these flies and do whatever it takes to bring them back to life .. or .. even re-use the hooks .. feathers or whatnot .." .. So, that's what I plan on doing ... going through these flies and even old "junk" fly boxes and seeing what can be salvaged or re-inveted or re-purposed .... so at least when i buy new flies this year or whatever .. it might be a little less volume and money .. if i can salvage some of the older flies.

additionally .. i will be evaluating my fly lines -- to see which ones are TOTALLY shot and which ones i might be able to get some more time out of with a good cleaning and some TLC ..

PS. Jasco curry once told me of a way to bring dry flies back to life .. i wish i could remember that tip? i swear he said something like "put them in the washing machine" or something of that nature - but i can't remember ... wish i could?? if anyone knows -- let me know, cuz its driving me crazy ... it really made sense -- i just can't remember exactly what he said to do ..

PPS. curious to hear what others are doing -- great topic.

Boz · Location: Portland

Good topic...

I'm get some funny looks strolling the aisle of local craft stores etc looking for interesting and affordable fly tying materials...

Things like v-rib you can buy at these stores and for the same price you'd pay for a few feet you can get 1/2 mile of it for nearly the same price equaling a lifetime supply of caddis nymph body material...

I'm also not "above" plucking materials from roadkill/the neighbors cat, or old rugs made of antron...

Jeremy- a good way to breath new life into dryfly hackles is to hold them over the steam from a tea pot... Brings "matted hackle" back to life...

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

YES! Boz - that was it!!! Steam! That was the tip that jason-c once gave .. Dishwasher, steam -- i was close -- i knew it had something to do with the kitchen. Thanks brotha -- that was driving me nuts.

PopnesetBay · Posted: Mon 02/16/09 9:53 pm Post subject: Cost cutting

Too late for this year but file away for next! Day after Christmas hit the big box stores that have all the Christmas stuff on deep discount. Amazing how much tinsel and flash you can get for next to nothin'. Same with some of the fabric or craft shops.

AKGrayling · Location: Anchorage AK

For beads the local store here is Black Elk Beads and Leather. Glass beads for bead bodied flies or bead heads in every size for the same price as the fly shops, only you get 4 times the material. They also sell trout beads in huge bags for a cut of the price. Another thing I pick up there is bunny fur. I buy a white skin for cheep then using RIT dye to make any color I can imagine, except for black, it always ends up purple.

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

You would be absolutely blown away by the materials you can find in New York City. Everything from beads, to yarn to thread to foam to glitters to paints to adhesives to mylars and so on. You have to be willing to search it out though and some of the best stuff is in the Canal street shopping circus in the middle of Chinatown. You won't really get any weird looks as there are a lot weirder things than some guy buying beads....Some of the more unique things are craft fur, adhesive foam and mylar adhesive strips and these are just a few examples. Talk about bargains as well, the stuff is absolutely dirt cheap.

TroutBone · Location: Bavaria, Germany

Yes indeed times are tough, and I`ve started out as a garage fly tier, anything that I could find around the house or even in my neighbors trash, old carpets and the likes were useful. here are some of the materials that I have used and found to be free at times by just doing some searching around certain areas and even household items.

After christmas, once people start to throw out their trees, the silver tinsel thats still hung on the pine needles are plenty for those folks that do decorate their trees with them.

Dye from easter egg making kit, use to change the colors of the threads if you only have white threads.

Old carpets thats thrown out, clip off some few of the carpet materials.

Feathers found in parks or nearby lakes, I use to come home with Ziploc bags full of them.

and like mention earlier dog or cat furs, just make sure the wife doesn`t know, why the pets are balding, ask your fishing buddy to clip his hair for your project as well, it won`t hurt to ask " I`ll scratch your back you scratch mine"

these are some of the few things I did as a Garage fly tier also when you`re out their on the shores of lakes and rivers thats frequent by fishermen, do some hook hunting, heck some hooks are still in top conditions, I`ll even go as far as clipping off some fur of a fresh dead roadkill, fresh meaning you`re not gagging when you approach it due to rotting flesh. Great Topic

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

Kyrin01 · Location: OBX, NC

LOL.. youd be surprised how long a smashed squirrel tail will stay good on the road.

Im not above using roadkill... i have even been questioned by a state trooper about why im kneeling over a dead turkey with a pocket knife and a shovel in my hands!!

I live in the swamps of Coastal North Carolina, and i make my own Possum Dubbing with the stupid amounts of them that are hit on the side of the road... i can see 3 or 4 new kills a day sometimes. If anyone ever wants to trade a possum skin for some other materials let me know, i have stacks of them.

Also if you like using Bucktail, try this! Call your local Sherriff's office and tell them that you are a fly fisherman and tie your own Flies... Then once you have their attention ask them for a Letter from the sherriff to remove the tails from the roadkill deer on the side of the roads, ( get permission Because it might not be legel in your state/county to touch certain types of roadkill) I live in a very small town so the sherriff doesnt care, but bigger county sheriffs may not have time to deal with things like this. Always worth a try, its FREE!

Tight Lines,
Rhyno