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so naturally, soon after i picked up this 'addiction', i saw how expensive saltwater fly fishing can get, especially since my knots were terrible, and the flies seemed to snag every rock in the LIS.  i convinced myself, and my wife (but not for long), that i would be saving money by tying my own flies.  my wife soon 'got smart' after seeing countless ziplock bags arrive in the mail.

other than fly tying patterns and videos online, my number one reference was Angelo Peluso's book, "Saltwater Flies of the Northeast".

this book has over 400 descriptions and patterns/recipes for flies that are widely used in targeting the four primary saltwater game fish in northeastern waters: striped bass, bluefish, false albacore, and bonito.  included are flies that imitate bunker, spearing, sand eels, glass minnows, bay anchovies, herring, crab, shrimp, cinderworm, squid, and more.  while there are a bunch of editorial mistakes found throughout, and this book should be used more for reference than for reading, it is a must have in any saltwater fly tier's library.

the next book that i want to get is Dick Brown's "Bonefish Fly Patterns".  the book has 197 patterns with photographs!  variety is the spice of life, right?

for those of you still awake after reading this post, and want to save money on tying flies...i suggest buying your hooks on amazon.  amazon sells Gamakatsu hooks (100 pack), and since amazon uses dynamic based pricing, if you wait for the right time, you can get a terrific deal.