This is a question often seen on fly tying/fishing forums. The obvious items would be a vise, bobbin holder, scissors, whip finisher etc. but you should also find 5-10 flies you want to tie. Check out the recipes. Buy the materials listed in those recipes. These materials now become the building blocks for many future flies you may want to tie. If you are a new tyer, it's obvious you can't go out and buy every tying material a fly catalog has to offer. Use that GOOGLE function that's comes on every computer and sign up for every free fly-tying catalog you can find.
There is no one catalog to rule them all!
Something that is also of great value will be to take fly tying classes from your local fly shop. These guys have been teaching fly tying for more years than you have probably been alive, so they do know what they are doing. Teachers will sit down with each tyer and explain what each and every tool has to do with fly tying. Tyers on You Tube simply will not do that with you, they simply tie flies. Teachers have many more reasons to use this material over that material and will teach you about the different materials to use or not use. Some You tube tyers will have your head spinning faster than Linda Blair spitting up pea soup in the Exorcist movie!
Something that is also of great value will be to take fly tying classes from your local fly shop. These guys have been teaching fly tying for more years than you have probably been alive, so they do know what they are doing. Teachers will sit down with each tyer and explain what each and every tool has to do with fly tying. Tyers on You Tube simply will not do that with you, they simply tie flies. Teachers have many more reasons to use this material over that material and will teach you about the different materials to use or not use. Some You tube tyers will have your head spinning faster than Linda Blair spitting up pea soup in the Exorcist movie!
Tying lessons will reduce the learning curve drastically.
I've tied for 30+ years and I'm not ashamed to take a lesson every now and then or even attend a fly-tying seminar. I could spend hours in front of a famous tyer at fly tying/fishing shows just to learn a technique. I try to attend tying seminars somewhere in the local New England are at least 2-5 times a year. (Sometimes my job as a submarine designer just won't let that happen and I don't like tying while on the road at different assignments). So, I pay out the $75-100 bucks per lesson/seminar, but the wealth gained is much more valuable than the money.
Sorry for the rant. I was just trying to help.
Normand, you hit it right on the head with that response in short order. Especially, don't try to tie every pattern you see. Just a few different patterns and become proficient at tying those.
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