• Murray’s Beach Snook Streamer: White
  • Murray’s Backcountry Baitfish: Chartreuse
  • Mangrove Bunny: Chartreuse & Olive
  • Root Beer Gurgler
  • Murray’s Backcountry Baitfish: Chartreuse & Blue
  • Murray’s Backcountry Baitfish: Grey

Joe ties most saltwater patterns and would be willing to sell a few by request. If interested in purchasing any of the referenced flies, pricing is included below.

Pricing

Gurglers are $1.50
Back Country Bait Fish are $2.00
Mangrove Bunnies are $2.00

Other Details

Joe ties all of his saltwater flies with Mustad hooks. If looking for something special, please make sure to inquire first. He will ship any assortment needed.

Shipping

All quantities of 20 flies or less, ship for $3.00 (USPS First Class)
All quantities of 21 flies or more, ship for $5.00 (USPS Flat-Rate 3 day)

Orders typically ship inside of one week. For specific questions, feel free to connect with Joe via Twitter or e-mail.

Joe’s Bio

  • Nail Biter
  • Black Puff
  • Olive Drab Crab
  • Southern Toad
  • Bugger Buddy in Olive

Pete will tie just about any saltwater pattern possible. Popular sellers are crabs, Clousers, toads, Tarpon patterns, Shad, Crappie jigs, Teasers, etc.

Pricing

All Clousers are $1.50
Deceivers, Whistlers, Sea Ducers, Bunnies, and toads are $2.00
All crabs and Half’n Halfs are $2.50
EP fiber flies are $3.00

Other Details

Pete ties all of his saltwater flies with Mustad Stainless Steel hooks. He will ship any assortment needed. All orders over $20.00 are shipped in a foam box. All orders over $50.00 will be shipped Flat-Rate Priority mail FREE (typically 2-day delivery). Orders typically ship inside of one week. For specific questions, feel free to connect with Pete via Facebook or e-mail.

Pete’s Bio

Before jumping into what materials to purchase, it is important to focus on a fishery and/ or targeted fish. In this case, we are going to focus on salt water flies used for Bonefish, Permit, Tarpon, Snook, and Redfish – all in South Florida.

Let’s talk materials…basic materials. If you only purchased a few materials/ colors, the following suggestions will give you a running head start.

HOOKS: In the beginning, start with a standard length and standard strength fly tying hook. Anything equivalent to Mustad 34007 will be fine. Don’t worry about the finish or coating of the hook at this time. Later, if you wish to only fish with stainless or tin coated hooks, many are available to choose from. For our targeted fish above, sizes 2, 4, 6, and 8 will be of interest. For those just starting to tie salt water flies, start tying with larger hooks first. In this case, use some #2 hooks initially.

THREAD: Many types of thread are available and are made from several different materials. To get started, larger gauge thread will be easier to use, but not necessarily produce intricate flies/ designs. Picking a gauge in the middle will work well for several reasons. I suggest using anything equivalent to UTC 210. For our targeted fish, your first five colors of thread should include white, tan, fluorescent chartreuse, fluorescent shell pink, and fluorescent red. If you reached for a second set of colors, grab burnt orange, rusty brown, black, fluorescent pink, and fluorescent fire orange. Having this color set gives you endless combinations of fly designs applicable for patterns used on the above fish. If you wish to take things one step further in creativity, pick up some UTC fluorescent pink vinyl-rib (medium), UTC silver/ gold holographic tinsel (medium), and UTC clear mono-filament (.006).

EYES (weight): Having the ability to add different amounts of weight to flies gives your flies the ability to sink at different rates. Light weight flies are used in shallow water (skinny water) and heavier flies in deeper water. To initially build your stack of materials, pick up some silver and gold Bead-Chain eyes (large) and some nickel and gold Brass Eyes (medium). Initially, this will offer some options for your larger sized hooks. Eventually, if you begin tying smaller flies, step down a size in both Bead-Chain and Brass Eyes. The smaller size will work nicely for the smaller sized hooks.

BODY MATERIAL (sparkle braid): Flat Diamond Braid or sparkle braid is a great option for quickly wrapping the shank of a hook to build up a reflective body, similar to those found on many Gotcha flies. A good suggestion would be to pick up sparkle braid in cream, pearl, and peach/ pearl.

BODY MATERIAL (dubbing): Dubbing a fly really gives a fly some girth and fuzz, taking authenticity up a notch. See some pics in our posts titled Flaming Shrimp, Sandy Shrimp, and Dubbed Shrimp for examples of what dubbing can do for a fly. Some initial dubbing colors we suggest you purchase would include shrimp pink, pale pink, flame, and tan. Maybe find some dubbing which incorporates UV flash. It will offer that subtle flash of blue and purple.

WING MATERIAL (buck/calftail): If there was a staple material in fly tying, it would have to be bucktail or calftail. Keeping this simple, best thing to do is pick up a sample pack of multiple colors. The idea is to stay with bright colors initially – I suggest fluorescent bucktail. If you wish to pick up a second set of colors, get another sample pack with standard colored bucktail including white, cream, taupe, brown, olive, and black.

WING/ TAIL/ ANTENNAE MATERIAL (crystal flash): In fly tying, crystal flash may be considered the most magic ingredient or material of all. Back in the day when materials were all natural, it was so difficult to get that “fish scale” flash in flies. crystal flash brings multicolored fish scale flash to your flies. This material is a must-have for any salt water fly tying bench. Initially, I would suggest purchasing colors including olive/ pearl, fluorescent shrimp pink, UV pearl, rainbow/ pearl, and black pearl. If you reached for a second set of colors, grab silver, gold, copper, black/ red, and “mirror”.

BODY/ TAIL MATERIAL (Marabou): Marabou will be important for fluffy tails among other things. Suggested colors to purchase would include white, fluorescent orange, and anything resembling taupe. Here’s a look at “banded” Marabou – great for shrimp flies!

WING/ BODY MATERIAL (EP fibers): This synthetic EP fiber is the best material for making so many salt water flies. EP fiber can be used for wing, body, and tail material. Depending on how you tie EP fiber, a fly can take on unimaginable shapes. It doesn’t take too much of the EP fiber to complete a fly either. Your fist five colors should include white, pale olive minnow, pink, chartreuse, and orange. This will get you tying shrimp, crabs, deceivers, clousers, and many other salt water patterns out of the gate.

SILICONE LEGS: In an effort to keep things simple, having standard sized rubber legs in orange, pink, root beer, or clear offer you a great selection for beginning to incorporate legs into flies. Great thing about clear legs, you are able to color them with permanent markers to give you the color pattern of choice. Make sure the rubber legs you purchase have black specs (peppered) or some barring, as this offers a more realistic set of crab or shrimp legs.

WEED GUARD MATERIAL: Flies used in areas with turtle grass or other forms of sea grass will need a weed guard. Tying in a weed guard is simple. Purchase some 30 pound monofilament (clear). You shouldn’t need more than a 20 yard spool for now.

PERMANENT MARKERS: Don’t underestimate what a Sharpie can do to a fly. Sharpies in multiple colors give unlimited options for custom coloring rubber legs, body material, and touching up body thread exposed in awkward areas. Sharpie offers a mini variety pack which has worked very well for me. I use a few of their fluorescent colors too.

A few things to remember:

1) Take advantage of digital media for examples and tying tips (i.e. videos, step-by-step photos, specs/ recipes, etc.)
2) Less is more. Tie flies with less material than expected.
3) Keep it simple, especially in the beginning. Flies are created in layers, one layer at a time.

The information above should offer some insight prior to purchasing your initial set of fly tying materials. Questions or comments? Please feel free to reply to this post below – We will be glad to offer additional advice or information specific to your needs.

Let’s start with unanimous tips from almost every fly-tying professional…

1) The better the fly-tying tools, the easier it is to tie flies.
2) The better the fly-tying tools, the more potential you have to tie better flies.
3) Buy the best quality tools and material you can afford; this does not mean the most expensive.

The above tips are dead on. I would like to offer a few more:

4) Take advantage of digital media (i.e. videos, step-by-step photos, specs/ recipes, etc.)
5) Less is more. Tie flies with less material than expected.
6) Keep it simple, especially in the beginning. Flies are created in layers – one layer at a time.

Let’s talk tools…basic tools.

VISE: Almost any vise will work in the beginning. As long as it is secured (doesn’t move too much) and will hold a hook without slipping, you are good to go. Eventually, you may really enjoy a “true rotary” vise – a vise which allows you to rotate your flies exactly along their hook shank. Vises range from $30 to $100 for something reasonable and up to $500 for something engineered with greater precision and materials. I ended up with a “traveler” pedestal vise from Renzetti in matte black – see Renzetti 2300 Traveler (black). It’s small, compact, and very easy to use. It cost approximately $200.

BOBBIN: There are so many different bobbins out there – steel bobbins, ceramic bobbins, ruby bobbins, and more. Again, be careful with inexpensive bobbins (tools). In my case, I bought two inexpensive ($8) bobbins which appeared to have ceramic ends. Didn’t know until after I purchased them, one of the ceramic “donuts” dislodged from the tip. Who would have thought the ceramic portion was actually two ceramic donuts, on at each end. Live and learn. My suggestion you ask? Well, after using a Rite Bobbin, I can’t imagine using anything else, at least at this time. I use the “standard” ceramic Rite Bobbin – very smooth and put together nicely. Here is a reference to the Rite Bobbin (standard). If you find it for less than $30, you’re in good shape. The ceramic tube is smooth enough to thread this bobbin without a threader.

SCISSORS: Having a reasonable pair of scissors makes it so easy to trim materials. Many experts suggest having two sets of scissors, one for the “rough” work and one for the “fine” or precise work. You can find reasonable scissors or nippers (sewing scissors) almost everywhere. Sewing shops will have them too. I use razor scissors by Dr Slick ($25). Dr Slick offers a Lifetime Warranty. Keep in mind, Dr Slick and many other manufacturers make many models for less than $15. I use one pair of scissors, however use a mini set of dikes (jewelry wire cutters) for spooled wire, bead-chain eyes, and other tough materials.

WHIP FINISHER: Not necessary really – your fingers should do perfectly fine. Worst case, pick one up later down the road if you are challenged with the procedure. Here’s a video demonstrating how easy whip finishing can be. I’m sharing this procedure using larger gauge material. Clearly seeing the how the wraps are secured really helps understand what is happening.

BODKIN: I find a bodkin very useful. From coming out hair, fur, and dubbing to manipulating fast drying head cement, a bodkin is a bang-for-the-buck tool. You should not be paying more than $10 for a reasonable bodkin.

HAIR STACKER: This is an important tool – unfortunately, I learned the hard way. I still think they are too expensive for what they offer, so I improvised by finding something else. I use a super smooth 6″ long piece of aluminum tube having a diameter of 5/8″. I believe they are referred to as a tent pole splint. I found mine at REI in the tent section for $5. If you wish to pick up an actual stacking tool, here is a reasonable hair stacker.

DUBBING LOOP: Dubbing a fly seemed a little complicated at first, until I tried it. It is very simply to dub a fly. Learning how to dub a fly offers you an exponential amount of options for being creative. I used a bent paperclip as a dubbing loop the first month I started tying flies. I didn’t want to pay the $15 or $20 for a simple hook and decided to make my own – it worked perfectly. I have since made a nicer version from brass tubing. If you are looking to purchase a simple tool for dubbing, hear is a reasonable dubbing hook.

HEAD CEMENT: From Crazy Glue (Zap-A-Gap) to UV curing goo, there are so many glues/ cements on the market. Another good gel like cement is LocTite Ultra Gel Super Glue. It seems to stay where it’s applied and is easy to work with. I use Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails. You can pick it up for $3 at your local drugstore. You may have to wait a few minutes for it to dry, so stick the fly in a wine cork on the back of the bench for a bit. The next time your vise is empty, throw it back in the vise and apply a good second coat.

The information above should offer some insight prior to purchasing fly tying tools. Remember, reasonable fly tying kits (including starter materials) for less than $100 give you enough to start tying, however chances are a majority of the kit will be replaced in due time. Questions or comments? Please feel free to reply to this post below – We will be glad to offer additional advice or information specific to your needs.