Beginner Fly tying kit recommendations

I’d like to start learning how to tie flies and have been looking at some beginner kits at BPS and on Ebay. What would you recommend? I’d like to keep this price under $150. I have seen them as cheap as $19 but would like to get something that I can use for a long time and if I need to spend a little more that would be OK.

I will be mainly fishing for bass (Large mouth, hybrid and striper) on Lake Oconee and Lake Hartwell.

If the kit comes with a book on fly tying that would be great or any recommendations for fly tying books would be appreciated as well.

Thanks for your input and help.

I started with a kit from bass pro.
If I had to do it over again I would go to a fly shop and tell them I wanted to start tying and what flies I was wanting to tie and have them set me up with everything I needed. There are a lot of good sites that can teach you on the web. After you learn a few basic skills, you will be able to tie alot of different patterns. wooly bugger is a good one to start with.

Here a demo of the basics from youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3i9YpHhsh0

and here is a wooly bugger demo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSeelEfkFPk

Hope that help, If you go to unicoi outfitters they would help you find what you need, or i would be willing to meet you at basspro one day.

I really don't like kits too much. If your not careful, you will end up getting a few items you need, and a ton of materials that you may never use. If you look around and find a group, or if you know someone that ties in your area, hook em up and get the basics from them. You might even check out some of the patterns you want to use, and get the materials list for those. Some things are interchangable, and some are only used for a specific type fly. Either way, I would get with a experienced tyer before jumping into a kit. There are many variations on vises as well. You may find it useful to check them out in greater detail before you "settle" on a kit version.

There is a Fly Tying Clinic held at Panola Mountain State Park, every second Saturday in the month. That may be a little further than you might want to travel reqularly, but a one time trip may yield some good contacts for you locally. Also, the Shallow Water Expo this weekend will have tons of folks that may give you some very good advice on what to buy and probably some great deals too. It is going to be a the Gwinett Civic Center, and that is not a bad ride in for you. There is a thread in this forum on that as well. I and several others are going to be there checking things out. Drop and PM and we'll see about meeting down there too. Good luck!

If you end up getting into fly tying and staying with it, you will probably end up like all experienced tyers I know who have upgraded everything in their kit to something better That's usally what happens.

There are a good many fly shops that have an organized tying group, that usually meets on a weeknight. When first getting started I highly recommend going to one. Go to one without any kit or materials or anything just to see whats going on. You will cut your learning curve in half by getting this hands on teaching. Almost all tyers are happy to share what they know, with someone who is learning. This way you can get your feet wet for free, and pick and choose the tools and materials you need. Unless you can dump tons of $$$ into it off the bat it takes a long time to accumulate all the stuff you may need to tye a wide varity of patterns.

Send me a PM with any questions you may have, I'll help however I can.

Beginning fly tying

Check with Panola State Park in Stockbridge. They have beginning classes there occassionally. Also, they are trying to get a club started that meets the second Tues. of each month from 6-9PM. I couldn't make the Jan meeting but may try to get to the next one. It is a very friendly environment and you will learn a ton. Thanks.

Couldn't hurt to go to the Fish Hawk and ask for help; known then for most of my life and they're good folks.

Unicoi Outfitters has the best kit, bar none. Everything you need, nothing you don't.

Robust Redhorse said:

Unicoi Outfitters has the best kit, bar none. Everything you need, nothing you don't.

Click to expand...

And they will taylor make your kit to include the materials to tie flies for the fish you are after. This is top shelf materials too, not left overs.
Then get a good DVD and reference book.

Yup hit Unicoi! Great advice and will give you what you ask for and can recommend things to you without pushing their sales on you. I haven't been to FishHawk but they seem to be really nice too from all the guys I've talked to. I'm still tying flies on a $30 vice i got 5 years ago and still am fine with it. Only caution I have is once you start, you better find a room to tie in cause, you'll be collecting a lot of weird stuff...i mean weird stuff! Never knew I would be going through bargain stuff or grooming my dog, thinking, "I can use this."