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Any good go-to online stores for buying fly tying supplies cheap?

I bought some supplies today at a local fly shop. It seems to me that today's fly shops are interested mostly in catering to the more well-heeled crowd, which is great, unless you're not well-heeled. The "sale" rack of materials had about two dozen items on it, none of which interested me. All other materials in the entire store were being sold at full retail prices.

Years ago, local shops seemed to have more "character" than today's sterilized shops that use most of their floor space to peddle Simms and Patagonia clothes. No more boxes of miscellaneous crap like scraps of fur coats, open package specials, the smell of moth balls, pots of not-so-fresh coffee, regular old-timers hanging out and telling stories, etc. It now has the feel of shopping in a jewelry store.

I like to support local businesses when possible, but finding some online bargains has merit, too.

Yes, a great frustration there, especially for today's newbies. I agree folks have to make a living, but 3 and 400% markups seem over the top to me. I'm old and have a cedar chest full of materials that will see a couple of subsequent generations through their needs. ALWAYS keep that well stocked with a couple boxes of moth balls.

The areas that are tough to circumvent are really fine hackles and exotic stuff like jungle cock etc. Just decide to allow ones self a bit of luxury once in a while and spend the bucks for a fine neck or something.

Probably 90% of my materials, however, have come from simply being aware of opportunity. Lots of good feathers on a $2.00 feather duster. Friends sharing stuff, taxidermist's trimmings, flea markets & yard sales (yep, grandma's fur coat), road kills, a friend that raises meat chickens, and hunting friends/relatives out of area that might have game not available to me (wood ducks, teal, and such not locally available but they frequent western Oregon).

A buddy hung around one of the bird facilities at the San Diego Zoo one AM and asked a keeper if he might have a couple handfulls of feathers scattered around in the aviary. A minute later the tender handed him two bags full of feathers with probably half of them being technically illegal to import.

I scored Macaw tail feathers from our local vet. Seems a bird dropped a few while in his care. Another is to be on the watch for white sources of materials that can be dyed and/or colored with permanent markers. I.e, white ducks, rabbits, chickens, geese, swans, and turkey. White hair from a Hereford or Charolais is damned near identical to polar bear, but one never sees them in a pattern listing.

Last for tinsels, thread, etc hit the sewing/hobby/craft shops. A fifty yard spool will be 20% of what one pays for a 2 yrd card in the fly shop. Just be discrete, as real men don't go there.

Be patient and have a good one,

Well stick with a few patterns that are easy to tie and are effective! Most of the flies I tie now, I tie from common materials - Hare Ear, Ringneck Pheasant, Soft hackles and some dubbing in the colors Grey, Black Olive yellow, I use nothing but white thread, and I have some ink markers to color as needed! Hooks well good hooks are not cheap and of course beads wire and glue round it out! Pick a dozen patterns that are effective for your waters and you will be surprised how little money you can spend! Or you can go broke tying every variation of flies that we have now a days! I like to go to sewing and craft stores - the last time I found some Utah Killer bug yarn! And when I was paying for it the lady said you are a fly fisherman? I said yep, what is the deal with this- the only people that buy this color are fly fisherman! I said Is a fly called the Utah Killer bug all it is is this tied on a hook, we use a pink or red thread and that it! The fish think its fresh water shrimp or sowbug! All I know is that its a go to thing for me on the West Branch when nothing else would work! Then I said there is a toy at the drug store that makes and interesting fly for the fall we call it the Squirminator ! The lady just shook her head and said thank you!

Much like reloading, I've never really found tying much of a cost savings, especially with some of the discount places on the web but it is a lot of fun. Like you I tend to tie the same patterns in the winter and just occasionally deviate. Most are in size 16/18/20

Pheasant tails (have shot enough to have a long-time supply of tails)
Hares ears
Copper Johns
Small stoneflies
Elk Hair Caddis
Adams
Ants

That's good advice guys. As a beginner I poured through the books and carried boxes full of boxes, and I still have most of those somewhere. Now it's usually a box that fits in a shirt pocket with maybe 6 well proven local patterns.

Change regions, however, and a local shop can probably steer one to three or four new ones specific to their waters. For instance, I was ill prepared on my first trip to the San Juan in New Mexico. Those are lip-less seriously educated fish.

Have a good one,

We are very fortunate in having a great fly shop with oldtimers hanging out, very friendly folks, and a good selection.

They also have tie-ins on Thursday evenings during the winter... just show up and tie. There are lots of tiers to help with any problems you might have and plenty of good local patterns.

If I'm traveling I am ALWAYS willing to buy local patterns to support the local shop. Alas, it can go overboard a bit. On the stream anymore it's usually a box of dries and a box of nymphs.

Your hunting buddies are the ones to go to. Deer tails to duck feathers.

Feather-Craft out of St. Louis is a great online source for materials and so is Bear's Den in Taunton, Ma
Mike C

Feather-Craft out of St. Louis is a great online source for materials and so is Bear's Den in Taunton, Ma
Mike C