my hobby : About Buying Fly Fishing Flies Online

For many fly-fisherman, fly-tying is a serious hobby. Given that tying your own flies provides so much satisfaction, why buy flies online?

For many fly-fisherman, fly-tying is a serious hobby. Not only is fly-tying economical, it is enjoyable. Nothing beats the thrill of mastering a new fly pattern, or creating specialized flies for ones' unique fishing situations. Also, one cannot underestimate the sense of adventure that accompanies the fly-fisher on the prowl for the perfect materials, whether browsing the local fly shop, ransacking a craft store, or even salvaging road kill.


Given that tying your own flies provides so much satisfaction, why buy flies online?


Obtain local fly patterns


The first reason is that as your fly fishing experience grows, your desire to test new and foreign waters increases. As a result, your need for localized patterns becomes more important. Sure, you want to do the research and tie your own variations of the Club Sandwich before you hit the Snake River for the first time, but there's something to be said about fishing the tried and true local patterns on your initial outings to foreign waters. With that idea established, you can either buy these flies from a local shop or purchase them online. I recommend doing both.


Say you live in New Jersey and you're planning your first trip to Colorado. You and your buddies plan to hit a few a rivers within 10 days. Before you go, do research on the internet - find out what's hatching on these rivers when you plan to visit them, and what patterns work best. Then, based on your research, purchase enough flies online to cover you while fishing these waters. Now you have a safety net - you won't have to worry about not having enough flies for the rivers you'll fish at the end of your trip.

by Steve Clark