Needing A Little Advice

[jdmidwest]

The net has so many pattern sites now that most books are obsolete. Most have great step by step tying instructions or videos.

You should have a good source of saddle hackles in Korea, I think they used to import alot of them many years ago along with China. Decent stuff for streamers, larger dry flies.

Thread, hooks, lead wire, dumbell eyes, a few hackle colors, dubbing selection or 2, bead head beads, copper and gold wire, chenille, buck tail, deer and elk hair patch, and gold chain for eyes would all be on my list to make a travel kit.

Be careful over there.

[ness]

The net has so many pattern sites now that most books are obsolete. Most have great step by step tying instructions or videos.

Obsolete?

Kinda depends on your perspective, jd. I'm still a book reader, and always will be I suspect. You can spend (waste?) a lot of time surfing the web for fly patterns or techniques -- I think it's a case of too much information most of the time. I'd bet you can find 50-100 videos on tying a pheasant tail nymph. Add to that a little ADD, and your search can fork out into a billion topics that have nothing to do with tying.

[Flysmallie]

While the patterns are limited, Barr Flies is a beautiful book.

For those patterns it's better than anything you will find on the internet.

[fishinwrench]

Good point there, Ness.

For once I'm glad to be older than the internet.

It HAS to be insanely overwhelming for beginning tyers. Good Lord!

Lechier (sp?) book is good, deals with good techniques of tying that are used in ALL patterns.

[ness]

Good point there, Ness.

For once I'm glad to be older than the internet.

It HAS to be insanely overwhelming for beginning tyers. Good Lord!

Lechier (sp?) book is good, deals with good techniques of tying that are used in ALL patterns.

Exactly! He teaches the techniques, and they apply to just about all patterns old and new. Dubbing, palmering, hair wings, quill wings, deer hair. I just grabbed it off the shelf and thumbed through it. I think it's still a good book. I know I've pulled it off the shelf many times over the years.

[Flatbottom Boy]

Thanks all of you for the advise.

I can see an advantage to both books and the online videos. Wrench is right for a beginner the internet is a freakin nightmare, but if you know the look you are going for with a specific fly then that can help narrow the search down some. I remember fishing the current when I first came to Missouri a few years back. A guy was fishing a elk hair cadis and doing rather well. I got the materials and headed home to tie a few. I'm glad he gave me one to reference because the different versions were endless. I personally learned better from videos when I was first learning how to start and finish a fly. Now that I have the basics down I think I could really learn from a good book as well.