One Fly Tying KitThe One Fly Tying Kit is for new and experienced fly tiers who would like to try a new tenkara pattern without having to buy a lot of new materials. The one question asked by most people who are thinking of taking up fly tying is "can you save money tying your own flies?" The answer to that, as for many other questions, is "yes, but..." You can save money tying your own flies, but only, ONLY if you can avoid the slippery slope that catches most fly tiers. You can save money only if you remain, first and foremost, a "fly tier" and resist the urge to become a "collector of fly tying materials." Tie flies and you'll save few bucks and have a very pleasant and rewarding pastime for when the snow flies, the wind blows or you can't get out on the water. Collect fly tying materials and you'll spend thousands of dollars on esoteric feathers and fibers, hair and hides. You won't (can't) save money if you buy materials that you will never use. The One Fly Tying Kits come with a package of 25 Daiichi hooks, the materials required to tie 25 flies and a pattern sheet that provides easy to follow step-by-step instructions. There will be very little waste and you won't have to buy a whole rooster neck or partridge skin, or enough yarn for a whole sweater, just to try out few flies. If the fly works and you want to tie it on a regular basis, then you can buy the normal quantity of the required materials. At this point, the following kits are available: The Ishigaki Kebari Tying Kit is a bit simpler, with just thread, hooks and hackle, but buying good quality saddle hackle is getting more difficult now that it is a fashion trend to weave saddle hackles in to hairstyles. (There's even a dog grooming shop in the East Village that offers them for your cocker spaniel). This way you can try out the pattern without having to wonder whether it was your wife, girlfriend, teenage daughter or cocker spaniel that "borrowed" your expensive saddle. The CDC & Elk Tying Kit includes everything you need to tie the only dry fly I need. It is a simple fly, with just two materials other than the thread and hooks, and it's relatively simple to tie. You'll want to tie more than just 25 of these flies, and the materials packages are modest, so I've including the regular sized Hareline packages. That pushes the price up another buck, but I think you'll decide it's definitely worth it. The Killer Kebari Tying Kit contains more materials - everything in the Killer Bug kit plus a spool of thread and a package of hen pheasant feathers. And like dry fly hackle, hen pheasant is getting harder to find. My wholesale supplier stopped carrying it, and the only two other wholesalers I know of who do carry it won't sell to internet-only retailers. So I buy 'em when I find 'em and pluck 'em for the kits. It might even be worth it - this really is a great fly and definitely one to try out. I can't export pheasant feathers, so India Hen Back is substituted for international customers. The Sakasa Kebari Tying Kit comes with your choice of hen pheasant or Hungarian Partridge hackle for US customers or India Hen Back for international customers. Pearsall's Gossamer silk tying thread is included, as is either a peacock eyed stick for the peacock herl collar or a pheasant tail feather (US customers only) for the pheasant tail body. This is a versatile fly and is very similar to the reverse hackle flies developed in Italy for pesca alla Valsesiana or the sparse North Country spiders that have been catching fish for hundreds of years in the UK. Other kits will follow in time.
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