A Minimalist Approach to Fly Tying

I started tying my own flies about a year ago. I wanted to have the ability to customize my flies, but more importantly, I didn't want to go to a fly shop every time I needed a fly.

As I researched fly tying equipment and techniques, I repeatedly came across the same sentiment:

"You won't save money by tying your own flies"

At first, I was incredulous. How could a few tufts of hair and feathers tied to a hook cost me $2.00 or more? 

As I researched further, I started to realize why people find fly tying so expensive. It wasn't that any one material is all that expensive, it was a desire to tie an assortment of flies rivaling the Orvis catalog. If you want to tie a huge variety of flies, it will cost you an arm and a leg to get all the materials, but if you only tie a few, it won't. Luckily for me, I really don't fish too many patterns. 

The following 8 flies account for the majority of my catches:

Elk Hair Caddis

Yellow Humpy

Comparadun

Adams

AZ Mini Hopper

Hare's Ear Nymph

Pink Squirrel

Wooly Bugger Variants

By making a few easy substitutions, I can tie all of these patterns with relatively few materials:

• I use Elk Hair for the Comparaduns in place of Deer Hair, Hare's Ear in place of Squirrel Dubbing for the Pink Squirrels, and Hare's Ear in place of Chenille for the Wooly Buggers. 

• I use either a light tan or dark brown dubbing for all my dries, which leaves me able to match most light and dark naturals. 

• I use only white, black and pink thread.

• I use only grizzly hackle for any fly that calls for hackle. 

The fish haven't seemed to mind my substitutions, and I've started to focus more on stealth and presentation over fly selection.

A good assortment of dries tied with few materials

Over the past year I've spent about the same amount of money on fly tying materials as I did on flies in previous years, but now I have hundreds of flies, rather than the 20-30 I had at any given time before. So on a per fly basis I've definitely saved money, and found myself much better equipped. 

This is not meant to discount fly tying for the sake of art - I understand that's a major part of the appeal for a lot of people. This is just meant as proof that you can indeed tie flies on a budget and that you don't always need a huge variety of patterns. 

My style of fly tying may not be ideal for the most technical fishing, but I've found it very successful for most of the places I fish. It's not for everyone, but it's a great way to tie if you just want to keep yourself well-equipped so you can focus on fishing.