Norm M Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Fly with dumbbell weight on head, living rubber, marabou and chamois strip on the hook. Asking price is $ 7.99 each, which I thought was a bit steep. What would be a fair price ? Looked like it could be used on light spin gear if I wanted to. It looked cool, most likely would use in cricks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Complex flies can be pricy like this one at $6.00. $7.99 sounds pricy, but we have to see what goes into it. Starting with premium hooks, materials' costs can mount up quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 Probably is fair when you see grapes at $1.99 a lb. I just broke the $10 barrier at a fast food restaurant.Didn't even get fries with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgoodmanii Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 I agree with the above. Rapala's go for $8 and lucky craft $15-$20. I have seen some flies for sale that are way over priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dodge Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 There is no fly worth more than $3.50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaaker Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 No commercially produced fly. Prices on some premium materials are outrageous. I know I could save a bit by tying with lesser materials but the tying is also for my enjoyment. Gamakatsu hook x 2, ep sparkle brush, clear cure dumbells, rabbit strip, and some senyo dubbing. I am pushing 3 dollars in materials, and if I sold them my time is not included yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 What is a good rule of thumb for pricing? Some crafters use 2 or 3 times their materials' cost. What is your time worth? Tying an elaborate segmented fly is like tying two single hook flies. If I get bulk rates on materials and find dirt cheap labor overseas, I can make money selling bass flies priced at $3.00. But like PH I am not in it for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgoodmanii Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 People tie flies and fly fish for various reasons. Elaborate flies seem to be more for enjoying the experience and satisfaction of creating something that may or may not catch fish. Simple patterns that catch fish are in a slightly different category. They often require few materials and are relatively easy and quick tie. I prefer the later though occasionally find myself tying the former. When I'm using spinning gear I usually have the same mindset. A hook with a peice of plastic or a simple topwater lure. I don't like all that clunky junk on the end of my line. In fact we just had a garage sale this past weekend and I had three boxes of fishing tackle that was a waste of time and money that I was glad to get rid of. Back to Norms original post. 7.99 each seems high. Someone in the ISA may be able to tie that pattern cheaper for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 The only fly I'd pay that much for if it were still available which it isn't is a properly tied gerbubble bug.Best bassbug ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted June 17, 2014 Report Share Posted June 17, 2014 The only fly I'd pay that much for if it were still available which it isn't is a properly tied gerbubble bug.Best bassbug ever. Ron, can you find me a photo of what you feel is a properly tied gerbubble bug? Would love to give it a shot. As to Norm's question, Is it a fair price?, guess it could be if an 8 foot piece of small magic graphite tubing is worth $800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted June 18, 2014 Report Share Posted June 18, 2014 Rob Here it is.The body is deer hair.Floatant keeps it buoyant. Not sure what the tail feathers are made of.The deer hair should not be clipped too close.The bug is the easiest to cast,lands on the water quietly and tied correctly dives under on the pull with an audible gerbubble sound.They were available yrs ago from LLBean until the tier either retired or whatever. At that time I found some elsewhere.But they didn't dive well perhaps because the deerhair was closely clipped. Here's another bug I got at a Blowout made of foam material & tinsel that fishes similarly to the gerbubble.The hook is a little smaller than I'd prefer. I'd like to know who tied it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted June 19, 2014 Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 thanks Ron, do you like that color scheme? I think I've got most of those materials and in those colors at hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted June 19, 2014 Report Share Posted June 19, 2014 Rob I don't think color matters much but Lefty K prefers black for topwater.After you tie a cupl test them out to make sure they perform properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Kral Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 Rob Here it is.The body is deer hair.Floatant keeps it buoyant. Not sure what the tail feathers are made of.The deer hair should not be clipped too close.The bug is the easiest to cast,lands on the water quietly and tied correctly dives under on the pull with an audible gerbubble sound.They were available yrs ago from LLBean until the tier either retired or whatever. At that time I found some elsewhere.But they didn't dive well perhaps because the deerhair was closely clipped. Here's another bug I got at a Blowout made of foam material & tinsel that fishes similarly to the gerbubble.The hook is a little smaller than I'd prefer. I'd like to know who tied it. Looks like a loosely stacked deer hair popper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 A diver not a popper.Poppers stay on the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim A Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 You guys are taking labor, and specifically unequal international labor valuation, out of the equation. Most commercially tied flies are tied by women in small factory-type settings overseas in nations where the overall wages are dirt cheap compared to US standards (which have been hard won by a history of labor activism and then defeated (real wages have decreased) in the last 40 years by dismantling of labor protections). And the women in these countries, like at home, have their labor devalued below men's (their wages are cheaper). They don't just have a passion for flytying. They get paid pennies per fly, flies that are marked up by the wholesalers and again by retailers. We have become used to these prices, and that informs our reaction to the different prices we see in the market. So, to say that no fly is worth more than $3.50 is to say that you don't value the flytyer's labor much...which would be ironic for anyone who takes pride in tying flies or knows how long the learning curve can take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Kral Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 A diver not a popper.Poppers stay on the surface.Right, the bottom yellow one. But the top one just looks like a popper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 Right, the bottom yellow one. But the top one just looks like a popper.If it doesn't dive it's not a good gerbubble bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rich mc Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 the last yellow fly on the right is a variation of a stealth bomber fly. rich mc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambennett Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 Hey Norm- I've been chunking these as well as fly fishing a bit with them since I got my hands on an 8 wt. (Mostly chunking!!!) It's called a bottoms up and I'd pay $7.50 for a well tied one. It's a lot of materials and time. If I already posted this video, apologies for the re-post. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeKyw1NUaU0 For you fly or die guys: if you're not fishing this for smallmouth... well, sorry. It's a killer. -SB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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