Material Supplier !!

[Smuggler]

One supplier I've used in the past has been Mike Hogue at http://www.eflytyer.com/ . REE

Thanks REE I will check him out !!

MD

Mike is a great guy, very nice. I frequent his online store a lot. He's got lots of material, and some odd things :p
His site is one of the oldest online material sites. +1 for this.

[willowhead]

M.D., don't forget to try Blue Ribbon Flies at either of it's two locations.....(totally seperate and different ownership and management), in West Yellowstone, Montana and or Mt. Home, Arkansas. Both shops have pretty darn good materials slections.

[Kelly L.]

I thought there was only one Blue Ribbon shop. Wow.

[willowhead]

Graig Matthews "had" a partner in "West" Kelly...........at one point in time, that partner moved here and opend the Blue Ribbon here...........later he sold it to the guy who now has it.

[Kelly L.]

Oh, that explains it then... so do they both have comparable materials?

[willowhead]

Actually no Kelly.........well, in some instances yes...........but generally speakin'..........the shop here is Wapsi dominated..........as lots of shops around the country are. Wapsi being the largest fly tying materials company in the world..........it happens. And Wapsi puts out good product.........i love their stuff, but out west...............you'll always be able to find certain things that do not come through a big company like Wapsi.............skins, hairs, hides, furs, stuff that a fly shop gets by way of hunters, etc., etc. So i spose it all depends on what your lookin' for.
The guy who owns Blue Ribbon here, can drive from his shop over to Wapsi in under 15 minutes. A fly shop is a VERY hard business to make a go of........specially nowdays...........(unfortunately for us)......they have to be extremely careful not to over stock and get stuck with inventory they can't sell......hence they have to know exactly what to order and what not to. That does not make life easy for us when we need something........specially those of us who are always on the lookout for "Rare & Unsual" stuff. Travelling all around the country helps...........helps a LOT! But the internet is also one of the best ways to go, IF, you can trust your source(s)..............you know how it sucks to get something by mail which turns out to be crap, or a rip, or both.
Best source (in every way), on the planet for Samon Fly materials is here. http://www.flytying.dk but the shipping will kill you unless your order is over........well, say $250. Then it's worth it.........course that's only an opinion..........others who got it, prolly don't even worry bout shipping.....but i gotta watch that kinna thing. Fortunately i'll get to see Jens again in Somerset in Jan. No shipping.....
One thing YOU should do Kelly, is be sure to get to Conclave ASAP! National i mean........Spokane in 2012.......i'll introduce you to the guy who brings "The Boxes" every year, and you can shop til you put yourself in the poor house for the next century............... .....start savin' now..........it's not until July. Get yourself a "gang" all lined up.....share a ride, share hotel(s), and get off your collective ***** 11th commandment and get there.

[JohnP]

Kelly, you can sometimes find materials on eBay. For instance, I have bought a very nice Hungarian partridge skin for $15, delivered, on eBay, compared to the $30 to $45 fly shops charge. You can also find hooks and other materials on there, and there are also nontraditional sources of materials such as craft shops or fur dealers. Friends who hunt can also be a good source; I have put out the word with a couple of local bird hunters that I am always on the lookout for good partridge or pheasant feathers. You may already be aware of this, but from your posts it sounds like you are budget conscious, as most of us are, so I thought maybe you could check some of these sources for useful stuff at a good price.

[Kelly L.]

I agree with you about Ebay. I have bought a lot of stuff from there, at great prices too. Sorry I am just seeing this post you made.