I got my first fish today on one of my home tied nymphs.  I fished the upper Pohatcong above Washington NJ.  The creek there was very small, smaller that Lopatcong but it had a nice flow and it held some very small wild browns.  There were tons of creek chubs as well.  Anyway I got the brown on a size 14 BHPT that I learned to tie last night.  It was a standard PH except for the wingcase which I fastened out of a piece of dark brownish purple mylar ribbon that came on the weight holding down my stepdaughter's graduation ballons.  I'll post a pic of it when I tie some more as I hung that one in a tree.  You guys are right, its a great feeling to catch a fish on something that you made yourself.

LopatNympher:

Nice ... congrats on that.  Can't wait to see the photo of it.  Nice "recycling" too ...

JI

Now for a question.  What colors of dubbing and threads should I get as a must have for my supplies?  I don't want to buy anything that I'm not going to use.  I plan on tying mostly nymphs for now, both weighted and unweighted.

Nice flies!

From another beginner, I bought various hook sizes/shapes (14-18), various bead sizes and colors (gun-metal and gold) as well as .20 and .30 lead wire (you can just flatten it with some pliers if you need flat lead.) I also bought smaller and larger gold and copper wires. Then for body materials I bought some pheasant tail, hares mask, and just a few "natural" colored dubbing and threads (natural/tan, brown/chocolate, black) in smaller and larger sizes. I also went with a few different types of dubbing, such as regular and plus, as well as squirrel and rabbit. This has been a pretty good setup so far for me and I can tie quite a bit of the most common nymphs. I invested in a good ceramic bobbin, sharp scissors, and whip finishing tool (I'm actually pretty good with it and prefer it over hand whip-finishing.)

Best of luck!

he who asks shall receive.
For basic dubbings I would definitely have:
-Hare's ear
-Gray of some sort
-Mahogany (isonychia)
-chocolate brown
-tan
-pale yellow of some sort
-caddis green
-olive

thats 8 colors [8*2 or 3$ per package=$20 well spent]

and when tying especially nymphs don't ever cheap out on hooks. I would sell my vise and tie in my hands before I would use cheap hooks (sometimes I try this Lee Wulff tactic anyways). I like Tiemco and Gamakatsu, but you can go wrong with TMC 100 in sizes 8-24....for those low on cash sizes 12-18... for those on the poverty line size 16.

That Pheasant tail you're tying, try it in a small size like a 16 and enjoy the results. That size 10 will imitate an isonychia but there are a lot more size 16 nymphs floating around the water. if you want to use up those Mustad 3906's gets some Mahogany or reddish brown dubbing, dub a slender body and a thicker thorax, call it an Iso and catch some fish. Just remember fly tying isn't complicated, don't make it out to be.

Enjoy fishing you're own creations

tight lines and tapered bodies.

I ordered this from wflies.com, seemed like a pretty good deal at $12.95.
http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-76962295289556_2057_2020039

that is precisely what you need. That March Brown looks like it could also be used for Hendricksons... good luck and enjoy

tight lines and tapered bodies