Tying a fly and then catching a fish on it is one of the most satisfying parts of fly fishing. It's a great way to stay connected with and learn more about the sport. With unlimited amount s of instructional videos and fly recipes on line it's never been easier. Basically there are two ways to get into fly tying. The first way is to buy a kit. Fly tying kits have come a long ways over the last few years. They used to be basically boxes stuffed with, for lack of a better term, scraps of fur and feathers. Combined with a cheap vise that wouldn't hold a hook and an instruction book with microscopic print and blurry black and white images it was nearly impossible to learn from these. Things have changed and the new kits have better quality materials, books that are in color, and with sharp images and easy to read instructions. Some have even replaced the book with an instructional DVD. Wapsi has a kit that contains materials and instructions for 17 modern popular patterns, all of which today's' angler will able to catch fish with.
Flytying is a hobby that can be fun for all ages
The other method is to purchase a vise and the basic tools and then start buying materials on a "fly by fly" basis. Most of the time you will have sufficient left over materials from one pattern to start on the next. Add some orange yarn onto the marabou and saddle hackle and chenille that you bought for a Woolly Bugger and you can now tie Egg Sucking Leech patterns. It won't take long before you have amassed a good assortment of hooks and materials to produce the desired fly patterns.