Fly Tyers Dungeon Review

Fly Tyers Dungeon "Fly Tyers Box"

When thinking of places and/or companies to buy fly tying materials, the following are ones that most of us tyers think of: Hareline, Wapsi, Flymen Fishing Company, Loon Outdoors, Whiting, Umpqua Feather Merchants, Montana Fly Company, and Orvis, to name a few. These are all well known companies who each sell quality materials. But, have any of you heard of the company Fly Tyers Dungeon? Chances are most of you have not. I certainly hadn't, that is, until Mike (FishEatFlies) told me about them.

Fly Tyers Dungeon is a small company based out of Montana. The guy behind the company calls himself the "Mad Scientist" namely because he creates most of the materials that he sells. Some of the materials include various dubbings, flash, bug legs, tails and wings, and synthetic hair. The dubbings he creates are very unique. They are extremely "buggy" if you will, with a good majority  containing micro bug legs in the mix. This makes for great nymph patterns.  He also has a soft dubbing that reminds me somewhat of Hareline's Senyo Laser Dub. It is a long synthetic fiber that is good for streamer heads. Something newer on the lineup he's developed are UV enhanced dubbings. When shining my UV light on them, they clearly contain small micro streams of dubbing, just as you'd buy from other companies.

The flash that he masterfully creates is great stuff. Everything from stiffer fibers to extremely soft for all your tying needs. I have incorporated a lot into my streamer patterns. He also makes his own krystal flash that looks like the quality you'd find in every fly shop.

One of the coolest items you can purchase from the dungeon is the synthetic hair. Similar to EP fiber, the fiber he creates is called Congo hair. It is great for baitfish patterns, and comes in just about any color or blend you could ask for. He also makes a few even softer type of hair with higher sheen and glow.

Congo Hair Baitfish

Another great item are the eyes he sells. They come in three different kinds and resemble just about any baitfish pattern you could tie up.  I particularly like the frog eyes.

One of the greatest buys you can get from the dungeon are the Fly Tying Material Gift Boxes. He puts together various boxes from the Fly Tyers Box (which I purchased), to the Baitfish Box. These gift boxes are a much better buy, and are even cheaper than if you individually bought each item from his store.

In conclusion, one of the greatest things about Fly Tyers Dungeon is the PRICE. Simply unbeatable. To this day, I have not found another company with cheaper materials of the same good quality. For instance, individual dubbing ranges from .75-1.00 a pack! Beats paying $2.50+ for other dubbings! Another great buy are the eyes. I cannot believe the price for eyes from other companies (upwards of 3.50 per pack of 12). At the dungeon, you pay .75-1.00 per 20! That is a much better deal if you ask me.

All in all, Fly Tyers Dungeon is a great place to check out unique fly tying materials for awesome prices. Yes, you may not find some of the very unique materials that other companies supply (specialty dubbings, flash, streamer heads/popper bodies etc), yet you will find great products and customer service. All of the material comes in a great quantity, and has made awesome flies for me that catch fish. When I placed my most recent order, the Fly Tyers Box, it arrived three days later and was an enormous amount of material for twenty five bucks. I recommend for all fly tyers to check out and support this small business. Check out his site here. 

Solo Mission

A much needed break from work finally came, so I set out on a solo mission to chase some nearby browns. The destination was a slow winding stretch of river known for easily frightened fish. Though these fish scare easily and are difficult to catch, the size alone draws me to this stretch at least a few times out of the year.

The usual method I choose to fish this section is with streamers. However, it had shown to be rather unsuccessful. It seemed as soon as the rabbit strip and flash hit the water, the browns would flee for protection. A change of strategy was needed. Since it was mid August, my strategy this time would be a meaty hopper patterns with delicate presentations. With dark clouds to my north, I hurried and readied my gear, knowing lightning would be here soon.

I came upon a stretch that has a nice deep hole with a big brush blossoming out surrounded by five inches of scum. I just knew there had to be a fish in there. I have fished this hole before, but each time never felt the bend I was seeking. This time, there would be no stripping of streamers. Instead, I landed a soft presentation a few feet above the brush, and patiently watched as my hopper drifted toward the obstruction. As soon as my fly kissed the scum, a nice brown unveiled itself and engulfed my bullet head hopper. Gotta love fishing dries.

By  now, and much too early, the storm I previously feared was now raining on me. Not wanting to end up getting zapped, I headed back to the car for cover and some lunch.

My next destination  was a creek just down the road that was similar to the first one. Thunderstorms were all around me but I just couldn't settle on only that one fish. Only one more cast right?

The rain was crashing down and tailgaters on highway 89 were pissing me off. I needed to get to this creek and fast before I lost my sense of calm that the day had brought. I finally arrived to see the water in good condition. I had forgotten how much water comes from this natural spring, and was reminded that I need to fish there more often.  I caught smaller rainbows and a sixteen inch brown that fought like a twenty. Again, the storms raged in with lightning and thunder so I booked it out of there. Overall, the day was a success and it provided the sense of relaxation and rush of a tighline.