Wholesale sports/Tying material suppliers

[jaymack]

I was down at the Wholesale Sports in Calgary today, looking for some ice fishing stuff, and had a look through the fly fishing section while I was there. Being fairly new to fly tying, I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tying materials they had there. I have done all of my material shopping at the smaller fly shops in the city, and I didn't realize how much nicer it is to shop when everything is more contained, instead of aisle after aisle. Also nice to be able to have a knowledgeable fly shop employee there to help, as opposed to some teenagers at Wholesale standing there complaining about their Christmas hours.

I did end up picking up some 22ga worm wire, to make a few worms for ice fishing this weekend, and some fly propellers, which I assume no self-respecting fly shop would carry.

My question is, I have noticed that there is a fair number of material suppliers- Wapsi, Hareline, Super Fly, Umpqua, etc. Do you have any preferences between these companies when choosing material? I know most shops only carry materials from a couple of these suppliers, so I guess convenience would be part of it, but does anyone have any specific recommendations, or suppliers I should stay away from?

[pikergolf]

They are all reputable co. I like Waspi but I do my shopping online on a shop out of the States, one stop and all that. Here is a link for Waspi's catalog, bear in mind that they only sell to fly shops, but it gives you an idea of how much they have.

http://www.wapsifly.net/?page_id=2

[Flieguy]

I like fish tales, they have tons of material, they're pretty well organized since they expanded, and the staff is always very knowledgeable.

[jaymack]

Originally Posted by Flieguy

I like fish tales, they have tons of material, they're pretty well organized since they expanded, and the staff is always very knowledgeable.

Fish tales is definitely a nice place to shop, for all of those reasons. Living in the NW, I also like shopping at Iron Bow and Troutfitters. Both a little bit smaller, but awesome for helping out and giving advice, and their prices are very reasonable. Much rather support places like that than Wholesale or Bass Pro.

[WillyOneStyle]

Originally Posted by jaymack

I was down at the Wholesale Sports in Calgary today, looking for some ice fishing stuff, and had a look through the fly fishing section while I was there. Being fairly new to fly tying, I was a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tying materials they had there. I have done all of my material shopping at the smaller fly shops in the city, and I didn't realize how much nicer it is to shop when everything is more contained, instead of aisle after aisle. Also nice to be able to have a knowledgeable fly shop employee there to help, as opposed to some teenagers at Wholesale standing there complaining about their Christmas hours.

I did end up picking up some 22ga worm wire, to make a few worms for ice fishing this weekend, and some fly propellers, which I assume no self-respecting fly shop would carry.

My question is, I have noticed that there is a fair number of material suppliers- Wapsi, Hareline, Super Fly, Umpqua, etc. Do you have any preferences between these companies when choosing material? I know most shops only carry materials from a couple of these suppliers, so I guess convenience would be part of it, but does anyone have any specific recommendations, or suppliers I should stay away from?

As far as I'm concerned, those old guys (and gals) are your greatest asset. They know what works for them.
It doesn't hurt to try craft stores/ dollar stores. They have all sorts of things you can tie to hooks and usually really inexpensive.

[trooper]

Michaels has a great selection of marabou feathers as well as peacock and others.. they tend to sell cheaper than wholesale, cabelas and fishin hole.

[Bjay]

Hairline is very good, but not the only good one for sure, and it lists a lot of UV reflective materials. If you want your catch rates to go up then learn about UV Reflective materials.
You want to read this book if you are interested in Trout and UV
Reflectance. It is a good read.

The New Scientific Angling ,
Trout and Ultraviolet Vision,
by Reed F. Curry

[jaymack]

Originally Posted by trooper

Michaels has a great selection of marabou feathers as well as peacock and others.. they tend to sell cheaper than wholesale, cabelas and fishin hole.

Checked out Michaels in Calgary today, and I was a little bit disappointed. I couldn't really find any decent looking materials for any cheaper than the regular fly shops. Maybe they are different store to store, I seem to remember Michaels always being better than the one I went to.

[Lornce]

Originally Posted by jaymack

Checked out Michaels in Calgary today, and I was a little bit disappointed. I couldn't really find any decent looking materials for any cheaper than the regular fly shops. Maybe they are different store to store, I seem to remember Michaels always being better than the one I went to.

I hunted Micheals for a while for fly thing materials, but found feathers including marabou to be far below the standards that I need for tying, and often priced as much or more than in the fly shops. Quality materials make tying much easier.