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3. Fly purchasing , Page 2

Yes...You are right Matt. Sorry we headed off into another direction...Just been depressed here in Detroit with the current, post boom-town, situation.

We use to have fly shops here in Detroit area. Some of the older hunting/fishing shops that were a nostalgic visit for me are gone. Those old places I entered with my grandfather with wooden floors and stuffed to the rafters with hunting and fishing gear, and off in the corner was the fly tying materials...

I miss those places compared to the homogeneous feel of places like Gander Mountain and others...

Back in the day I can remember Rusty Gates railing on about mail order houses...He'd be screaming now with the online click of the mouse...I buy a good portion of my materials from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. Also use to buy from Chris Helm in Toledo before he passed. Side Note: Just received a card from the folks that bought Chris out. Still called Whitetail Fly Tieing Supplies but in Illinois now. www.whitetailflytieing.com

I read a statistic that just 64 individuals have a net worth in this country larger that the poorer half of the USA. I live in an upper crusty neighborhood with only 32 homes. We call it the United Nations Boulevard. All most everyone here is from overseas. I had kids down at the end of the street playing cricket in the road. :)

In terms of this economic disparity I just don't want to end up living in a gated community of us and them. When I was growing up with all the other baby-boomers someone built good schools for me, and I grew up in a working-class neighborhood. Someone also built baseball fields for me and my friends to play ball in.

Just don't also want to live in a wasteland while other places are prospering and we seem to be losing it.

Nuff said...

Spence

I haven't bought a fly since 1989, as I took my fly-tying class in January of 1990. And I haven't fished with a fly tied by anyone else since then either. But when I did buy flies, a lot if not most of them came from the Alphorn Sport Shop in Gaylord, MI, which was the nearest fly shop to the U of MI Biological Station, and the Maple River where I learned to throw flies almost 31 years ago. They tied at least some of their flies, though someone else also said that they ordered at least some from Dan Bailey. As a side note, I recently found 4 boxes of flies I bought prior to learning tying in my folks' basement, some pretty nice stuff too, all kinds of flies from dries to poppers to nymphs...thinking about giving them to my buddy Joe if he ever gets serious about fly fishing (another visit up here should do it).

I do have a local fly shop, Nordic Sports in Tawas City, about 25 minutes away, and I do buy fly-tying materials from them if they have what I want. Perhaps more importantly, I was able to instantly replace my worn-out 5-weight during some hot fishing last fall - and although I got a 9-foot 2-piece instead of an 8 1/2-foot 4-piece because they didn't have one, the longer rod will be excellent for kayak fishing. I also bought my kayak there in 2000, the only boat I own and an essential piece of fly-fishing gear! Not to mention the wheels to drag the kayak though the woods to the lakes...I've spent a lot at this store over the years, on all kinds of stuff including a tent, other camping gear, mountain biking stuff, hiking boots, etc.

I do buy fly-tying materials online however, just because I can find exactly what I need and not worry about a local shop having it or not. The wonder of the internet is that you find whatever you are looking for SOMEWHERE. And I've been a big Cabelas shopper for many years, used to live a half hour from the Dundee store when I lived in Ann Arbor...hey, local store, local employees.

Jonathon

Spence, if I'm not in Grayling in mid-June, I'm probably dead. 6/12 - 6/21 this year. I should have my FlyCraft (inflatable two man boat) this year, so that will make things interesting.

As far as I can tell, all of the fly shops out here order their flies from Umpqua or some other similar company. They're good quality, but they don't quite do it for me.

When I'm buying flies, I'm supporting a local artist and getting a piece of local culture. I much prefer fishing patterns that were concocted on the stream I'm fishing them (or trying flies designed for one river on a completely different river to see how they work). That's why the flies at Gates and Catskill Flies do it for me. At $2.25 a pop or whatever it is these days, it's a steal. The fact that I'm supporting local businesses that work to protect their fisheries is just the cherry on top.

I've bought flies online before. They were really cheap, and they sucked. I'm sure if you buy from the right company, you can get great flies for a low price. I won't buy from one of those discount outfits again, but I would consider buying "online" if it was directly from the person who tied it.

Willy, cool photos on instagram. That blue spotted cornetfish is bizarrely beautiful.

I've caught a bunch of them now. They're pretty dumb, so it's not unlikely that I've caught the same one a few times. They're beautiful, but also a recipe for a nightmare. Their eyes are slits of red and there's that weird tail. If I ever get abducted by an alien, I expect it to look like one of those cornetfish.

Spence, Read your post twice....
I can feel your pain...
Things are a changing,& some things just don't get any better then what it is.
Milt....

Are you at number 65?

Willy, did those cornetfish put up a fight? As a kid on vacation in Key West, I caught some Atlantic needlefish inshore that were about 1 foot long, almost like a little gar. Their juveniles, just a few inches long, were everywhere. I also hooked and landed a 15 1/2" barracuda that fought like a little muskie - at least on ultralight spinning tackle! Oh, to catch some of those fish - little mangrove snappers, white grunts, and pinfish - on a 5-weight...someday, maybe on Woolly Buggers or KBFs tied with stainless hooks! And some wire leaders for the 'cudas and sharks...

Something to dream about as the snow comes falling down, at a pretty good clip right now! With a howling cold wind behind it too.

Jonathon

Not really. The first run is ok, but as soon as you start pulling on them, they have to come in. They don't really have a tail, so they're not able to generate much force. Once they get close, they really thrash.

I thought that was a global statistic... worth more than half the planet.

Could be, I guess...Ouch!

I know I am a little late in responding to this, but here goes any way. I tie all of my own flies, but when go up to the White river I will stop at the local fly shop in order to find out what the fish are hit on, and I will buy a dozen of what is hot at that time.

I do buy all of my tying supplies on line, and I do not buy form Bass Pro Skop or Cabelas.

So Spence did you enjoy your trip to he western CatskillS?

I would look into making your own flies because it is a part of the fly fishing experience that I really enjoy. There is nothing like catching a fish on a fly that you made. You could also make your flies for just about any type of fishing you like. I use to just think that I could only make flies that would only work for trout but years later started making them for crappie, bluegill, walleye and bass. Fly tying has also opened my eyes to a lot of things that come into play with fishing as well. If you don't have a local fly shop then here is a good site to purchase equipment and material http://amzn.to/1UdoHEE. A good vise makes all the difference as well http://amzn.to/1WiFaLn. If you insist on purchasing flies then here is another link http://amzn.to/1TWyIDF. I would recommend a prime membership since it includes discounts and free shipping, plus a 30 day free trial http://amzn.to/1WiGOwu.

Thank,
Dirk