MORE Fly Tying Materials from Craft Stores 

Thanks, Matt. My wife is rolling her eyes while listening to this video...she knows where I am going to stop when we go to town. She knows I feed my addiction wherever I can. Lol

A slightly off topic, but related suggestion aimed at storing materials: I've become a big fan of small plastic containers. My favorites are the shoe-box-size conatiners The Home Depot sells for $1 and the food-storage containers Dollar Tree sells. The later are translucent plastic with blue lids and come in a variety of sizes. I print out labels on paper with a laser printer (Flashabou, Nymph Hooks, Dubbing-Synthetic, Dubbing-Natural etc. etc.) and attach them to the boxes with clear tape. For half the price of a decent dry fly hackle cape you can buy dozens of these and organize your collection down to narrow categories, which pays off as your stash of materials grows. Organization is the key to storing materials, and segregation is really the key to organization.

LOL! How fun was that, Joyce watched this with me and said I should shop in her craft room. You know where I will be this evening. Thanks for a fun and informative video🤪🤣🤣👍

Good evening Matt.The rabbit pelts are great.Another thing I find useful is anti static bags,like what computer parts come in.Makes great tensel and wing cases,great stuff.Embordering thread makes great woven body flies.Great video Matt,have a great Sun. afternoon. Ken and Linda.

Great job Matt. Thanks for sharing. Another thing is nail polish for head cement .Thanks again Matt.

I just found your channel. I’m pretty new at tying flies and flyfishing as a whole. I started learning from my local VA and the local chapter of project healing waters. Ever since then I’ve been looking at my local craft and dollar stores for materials and then I found your videos and was excited that I wasn’t the only one looking for massive bargains on fly materials. Also, I love the fact that you have videos on how to build these flys. Thank you so much!! Fast flies and tight lines!!

Plan on doing some tying this winter, thanks for sharing 😊

awesome especially for some people that do not have local fly shops near by!

Thanks for the help Matt

For a dubbing brush an old gun bore brush works excellent. Or a piece of velcro.

Great video, the yarn you was showing at the beginning of the video is very similar to polar chenille which works great for streamer bodies and if some of the fibers are too long you can just give it a trim. Pom Poms I trim them up and super glue them to a hook for mulberry imitations which I use to fish for carp. Jo-Ann fabrics usually as pheasant tails.

Great information! I have not had much luck with ribbon materials. Never seen the guilt eyelash yarn material. Going to get some of that material! Ocassionally, some craft stores have a Swiss straw substitute called Wraphia. It's great for nymph wing cases or fry streamer patterns. It comes in many colors like white , copper, Apple green , pearl and metallic pearl. Some colors are on line only at the craft store of your choice or at Amozon . Lastly , great advise to support and or patronize your fly shops locally and or abroad thanks to the www! My top fly shops for materials are Cabelas, JS Stockard, Schultz's Outfitters and Jann's Netcraft.

This really is perfect for the newer guys!!! No reason to buy a 60 dollar hackle saddle only to end up being too embarrassed to show your buddies the monstrosity you made… Any fish that would be dumb enough to have eaten some of my early flies deserved to be eaten and taken out of the gene pool!!! Plus there’s the added benefit that it’s a cheap way to experiment in making the next ‘one cast fish getter’!

I got Christmas tree Mylar tinsel strands about a foot long and 1000 strands per package in silver, embossed style silver and embossed style gold also semi clear sorta pearl one. At a dollar per pack you could make about 5000+ streamers per pack. I bought a couple of each for a lifetime supply!

I love this! I’m saving this video for later. Have you considered creating a sort of PDF shopping list or checklist for essentials? I’m thinking about putting something together in Excel or Numbers as I create a fly-tying station in my garage. I’m happy to purchase something like that from you if you’ve gone to the trouble of creating it. I doctor up soft plastics and spinning lures, and often use scrap materials from around the house. I like the salavation army, church thrift stores, and the goodwill for exactly these things. Crocheted blankets and sweaters are often available for next to nothing, and are great sources for yarn. The Army or Navy surplus sometimes has USA made high quality black, white, green, blue, and orange nylon and Dacron threads.

Hobby lobby ivr found some decent priced wire and alcohol markers ,sometimes ostrich hearl

I can’t remember which craft store it was but it was one of the big names I found UV resin. It was half the cost of fly tying resin for twice as much and I use it all the time very good quality.

Another good one Matt. Gold & silver metallic thread make an excellent substitute for wire on streamers, nymphs or wetflies that are already weighted. Also good for the few dry flies that call for a wire wrap. It is cheaper & faster to use & a great help when you have to tie 6 dozen Wooly Buggers. Since I didn’t trust it when I bought it, a 2 week test in water proved it didn’t tarnish.

Enjoy these videos to see what you can find in your hobby stores. Our closest Michaels doesn’t carry much in the way of feathers or fur. I have picked up some wool and needle point yarn ( wool, thread or whatever they call it) and some beads. Up here it seems that each Michaels carries different stock so I’ve been checking out the stores we come across. I picked up some pink pipe cleaners thinking I could tie a version of a San Juan worm and I did but it was more of a rigor mortis version so they went on the scrap heap. I keep looking when we are near a hobby shop, just never know what you might find. Take care Matt.

He embroidery thread can be twisted then laid on top of itself for a really quick and easy twisted worm body.

You can use the small poms to make salmon egg patterns

Thanks Matt . Great video as usual. Have you ever tied a Speck Wet Fly ? I’ve done a few and watched Walter Babb tie them, but I would love to see a video sometime.

to me, using urban materials/craft supplies for fly tying is a sub art form of the art of fly tying

I am in the very same mind set as yourself.👍

I need to get to the craft store more.

thanks matt

Matt, another good place to go to is a place that sells hair products. You can get long grizzly feathers in a wide variety of colors. They’re with the hair extensions. Great video and thanks as always.

Matt could u tell me exactly what materials u used to make the craft fur fly it is a very beautiful fly well done

I've been using pipe cleaners both tinsel and normal ones for salt water large flies for beefing out the bodys

I found this in a craft store in the UK. The longer one is EXACTLY the same as the Semperfly extreme string ( aka their version of polar chenille).

What about the crazy coloured Wigs and Feather Boas from the FANCY DRESS SHOPS!

:::::::Public challenge::::: The best white/black foam "snowman" fly. Post the recipe.

I have found lots of stuff at craft stores also thrift store too!!

I enjoyed your last video on craft materials and this didn't disappoint. Showing the flies you made from the certain materials was a great bonus 👌🏼I look forward to your next video

I found a package of small corks just the right size for bluegill poppers.

Another suggestion. I use generic UV resin that I purchased from Amazon. I got 200 grams for $20. It works great! Sometimes a little tacky but I blame my UV light. If I place it in the sunlight it dries hard.

I would tie the pipe cleaner in green, blue or black from tale to eye to resemble a dark back of a bait fish pattern

Have any recommendations for scud back/ nymph skin materials?

I'm just getting started and looking on line for materials kits. Prices are high for the amount of material in a kit. Plus it would take several different kits to get enough kinds of material to tie a good selection of dry and wet flies. Often reviews discourage me because of their statements about the material quality. I'll be taking a look at your suggested sources. At a glance it looks like its wiser to buy flies already tied. lol BUT it's a relaxing hobby sa I remember from when I was a kid. And there's satisfaction gained from catching a fish with feathers you tied onto a hook yourself. Thanks for the material source videos.

The puff balls in small I use for steelhead egg patterns and egg sucking leeches

I am brand new to tying flies and fly fishing altogether, and maybe this is a dumb question, but can you use regular craft thread when making flies? I don't have any fly shops near by and am looking for some more colors. Also, can you use regular superglue instead of head cement? Any advice is much appreciated.

I had no idea that hobby stores might carry rabbit pelts! I have gotten all mine at the Maryland Renaissance Fair. I'll have to see if there is a Hobby Lobby around me somewhere. Thanks Matt!

Good advise in cheaper materials,Matt.You never know what may be useful.I have been using loop rug yarn for my crab patterns for a long time,already cut,bundled,and lots of colors to choose from.

Like #1K 👍🏻

I went to Garage sales or Is goodwill store I found a Coat made out of rabbit And you can find hats with feathers And most of the stuff is cheap

Another great video on DIY craft store stuff. If you think about it DIY is why we tie our own flies. Thanks for all the helpful tips.

Put salt in the water with the material and let it set and the color will not leach out.

Organza. A whole bunch of possibilities...winging, gills, etc.

Thanks Matt, lot of good info 👍 I will have to check it out Have a great weekend and see you next time

Thanks for the great tips, so hopefully, keep up with the great video, love watching them.

Use vinegar to set colors.

Love the yarn bee scrub ology. Also spools of floss anchor brand for .75 cents for 10 yard spool.

Well, I thought I posted a comment and it appears to have disappeared into the ether. Let me try again. I love the big packs of foam in the scrap book sections of Hobby Lobby. A high pack in all colors for a few bucks. Great for foam flies or linings for DIY fly boxes. I usually make little box pouches out of leather and line them with that foam. Great for sticking a few flies in when you want to attach it to your belt when out fishing by don't want to get your box out.

I've made wooly buggers with shiny pipe cleaners for the body instead of dubbing/chenille.

I have 4 dogs and 2 cats and a lifetime supply of material. My Olly fur copper bead leach made by my Bernese mountain dog Oliver AKA Bubba is absolutely deadly.......

My wife works at Joann, so I get a sweet discount and put it to use regularly.

Great ideas! Thank you.

Hobby lobby has Christmas tree tinsel before Christmas and It's virtually the same as flashabou

Thanks Matt - been doing it for years. Started that way. You da man

When I got my fly tying kit for Christmas 2020, I find myself looking everywhere for tying materials. I got my first batch of feathers, thread, yarn, and foam from Michael's. I basically tried to stay with natural colors (olive, tans, browns, Grey's, etc). I made my own dubbing with yarn and a pet hair brush. I use a pool noodle and a metal tube to punch out my own foam popper bodies. I have recycled automotive wiring looms for copper wire. My next door neighbor is a big time hunter, and I've been asking for fur and feathers from any game he gets. One of my coworkers has an African Grey parrot, and if he drops any feathers, he's supposed to bring them in. Would that be considered an "exotic" material?

A good source of synthetic hair is Barbie's and girl's unicorn toys... (don't ask how I know this) 🤣 When my daughter's either out-grew or broken a toy with hair on it, or the toy was being thrown out, I would "extract" what I need for the fly tying bench first... This also included any "toy" that was left out where it could step on during the night... Just for an "un-official" statistic, a Little Mermaid Barbie could yield over 30 streamer wings... 😂

Buy from your local shops . When you buy from craft stores you hurting your local shops sales .

I like supporting my local fly shop 1st still ,some cool stuff in craft stores though .

When I think about the money I spend on materials from numerous fly shops this year, I don’t feel the slightest guilt for buying from craft stores. Yarns, embroidery floss, small Pom poms, and craft fur cam make many flies. I usually buy lots of materials throughout the year. I have even went to sewing shops and found a lightweight material to cut mayfly wings. I found small Pom poms in the cream and yellow and orange color that made excellent egg patterns. I have been buying some feathers from feather merchants when I benefit for duck quills, peacock, ostrich and occasionally jungle cock. So along with all the fly shops, craft stores, sewing shops, and dollar stores, fly tying materials abound. I couldn’t do any justice to this consuming activity without also mentioning fresh road kill animals and birds. You need to cut costs somewhere!

I'm a fairly new tier and can't rationalize spending top dollar on flies I'm trying for practice. Craft stores have been my friend also. Here's a few things I've found. Fabric glues like tear mender can be handy. There are very shear translucent glittery ribbons that work well as body wrap on streamers. Coat them with clear nail polish and they give a deep pearl look. There a spools of semi transparent gummy string for stringing the big kids' beads on that I've used as body wrap to give a segmented look to crazy Charlies. The thinner stuff can be used as legs. I haven't tested them for durability but there are spools of pearl beads like the Mardi gras beads in a couple sizes. They don't add weight like metal dumbbell eyes but they look pretty good with a dot of nail polish as a pupil.

DMC embroidery floss can be separated, I think there are 6 strands. Individual strands are for fine detail work in embroidery/cross stitching.

Hi Matt , I have and we don't have many left

That first yarn looks exactly like palmer chenille which I use as a support on feather game changers. Neat!

I have that fur from the dollar store , great looking on a fly.

I've been experimenting with using the brown & orange striped pipe cleaners for crayfish legs. They're too difficult to be used as a chennille replacement. Michaels has some thin elastic bead cord that's great for bug legs on ants, beatles & poppers. Comes in black and pink spools. The transparent thread from sewing stores in good to use in a bobbin. Black & clear cover most needs but it's a little more fragile than good tying thread so you have to be careful to not pull too hard. I also use spooled embroidery thread to tie if I can get it thin enough. It comes in some great neon & metallic colors.

Many of they places have bags of wiggle eyes quite cheap.

Matt , great tutorial! Another sub for getting into using UV resin in the clear UV top coat our wife/girlfriend uses for their nails. Usually readily available and works in a pinch.

How about glue with glitter in it?

Thanks Matt for another informative video.

Great ideas!!!

thanks matt

The use of the needle working thread can be used from nymphs. Midge Magic is a great book that gives great patterns that catch lots of fish! Plus they are easy to tie!

Unbelievable ... How much fly tying stuff do you own ?? ... Boxes and Boxes and boxes ?

Thank you Matt another great video.

I tried some biots and they were hard like plastic

First thing off this video I will get! The yarn looks exactly like polar chenille, and I could use that in some of my streamers! Thanks Matt

What is the best artificial fly for mullet fishing

Ha! I must have every item you held up. Awesome!

Dollar stores have been good for me, especially in colored Mylars, tapes, ribbons. And Feather Boa's. My best find was an atrificial flower lei. Snip one circle of petals, a minutes worth of work with a bodkin and you can seperate the cloth back from a clear/blue thin plastic layer. This can make awesome bodies for any pattern imitating Minnows. Or they can be used as wings.

Hi Matt, in your first version of this I believe I mentioned 'jewler's wire" or something for articulated streamers. That was a bad description. What I was referring to is actually called 'bead stringing wire.' The brand Beadalon makes a stainless multistrand wire in various gauges. If you haven't tried it, this product is great for articulated streamers. Thanks.

Something I pickup from my wife when she was done with it is some pearlescent mylar of some type. I don't really know what it's called but it's white when you look at it but when the sun hits it it has purple highlights. Pretty cool looking, I'm glad I've got a lifetime supply. I guess my point look if at stuff through a fly tyers glasses, but not mama's cat. Keep the good cheap stuff coming Matt.

For wire, I have several pieces cut from old lamp cords. Cut into 3 to 4 inch pieces, leave the insulation on, strip a quarter inch of the insulation on one end, then pull one piece out with needle nose pliers when I need a piece. The best smallest wire I found is in the cheap RJ-11 cable included with PC communication equipment. I finally find copper colored wire, which is OK because I fish a lot of copper johns. Sometimes you can find silver, red, or gold. At the bulk wire section of a hardware store, you can clip off a couple inches of electrical cord or speaker wire that looks good, and it is so short that they can’t figure out what to charge you. Red wire can be found on the armatures of old electric motors.

You need to do a video on using these materials, thanks, great videos!

The small pom poms he shows in this video… I make glow bugs / imitation eggs with them. Simply use super sharp barbless hooks, pierce the pom pom right near the center, build a thread dam in front of & in back of the pom pom on the hook shank, - then hit the thread dams with Zap -a - gap…Ive been doing this for over 10 years.

History

Thank you Matt. I found bead chains in black and silver at Ace Hardware. They sell them as pull chains for lamps. Inexpensive and easy to use as fly eyes.

I use a mop from a dollar store, try search for : fly tying mop fly

Thanks Matt…I have a number of yarns like you have shown…saved a fortune…Pauly at Wilderness Coast on Fly in Australia 🤓👍🇦🇺

I'm a new tyer. One thing I have thought to use is medication organizers. The weekly storage container. They are even free at many pharmacies. You can keep beads, smaller items and such.

Thank you for posting. I do the same at craft stores and dollar tree stores. I would add the craft store Czech beads for midges. Dollar tree girls colored hairs for clousers. Baby hair braids for mop flies. Awesome video and comments from everyone.

Thanks for sharing. May I suggest that you stop waving the products around long enough so that we can see the label (You need to hold it still for positive identification).

Love this channel that black and chartreuse striped yarn would make a great snake fly.. I'm sure lots of bass would love to hit on that...

How to catch mullet fish

Embroidery thread makes great floss, single or all strands depending on hook size.

I buy feather boas from the dollar tree. They sometimes have them in white which is great to use for various patterns, especially streamers and all sorts of wet flies. They're already half stripped so they're super easy to wrap around a hook. You can dye the white to all sorts of colors as well. They also have black, pink, and greens during specific holidays like st Patrick's, Halloween, or vday. The other thing that they have is the mylar tubing substitute. They have white, orange, yellow, and black which I use along with the feather boa to make minnow patterns. Very effective and will catch a lot of bass. The other thing is beads. They have a 4 pack of glass beads that will last months for a buck. I found one that had a pearl sheen with dark black which works great, along with pink and clear. It's much more manageable than the huge pack at hobby lobby or craft stores. The last thing that I also buy are these jewel stickers in red. I put a little black dot in the middle and I use them for eyes. Also have them in yellow as well. Haven't seen clear ones yet. Thanks for these videos, I will have to checkout the pelt as I love rabbit zonker strips for lots of patterns.