I want to tye the red tag fly I know I need peacock herl, red wool, bead head (unsure where to get them bought some but to big) and feathers it says soft brown hackle can you get these from Aussie angler and how much do they cost

Theres no bead on a red tag (that will make it sink) You can get all this stuff from any tackle shop that supports fly fishing. CA in box hill have a great range of fly gear. The only real expensive item is the hackles as the generally come attached to the skin and you have to buy large sections. They will cost around 60-150 bucks depending on the size of the section and the quality. You will get a hell of a lot of flies out of this tho cos it will have hundreds of hackles on it. Go for the saddle hackle not the neck crap. I used to have my own rooster and id just catch him and pull a feather out when i needed one. Suffice to say he didn't like me very much. Its way cheaper to buy a rooster but the hackle will be of low quality for fly tying and may not look as flash but the fish sure dont seem to notice.

G'day Josh you should really go down to Aussie Angler or Compleat Angler and have a chat to them

Cheers Steve

Is there anything I can use instead of chicken hackle something cheaper

The feather bit is where fly tying gets expensive , benny isnt the first bloke to have a rooster to source their feathers for flies (I've known blokes that have had aviaries full of birds just to keep em in stock ) and like benny said no bead or it will become a wet fly
http://www.mustad.no/action/flyofthemon ... ed_tag.htm
Join a fly fishing club mate generally the blokes in clubs are more than willing to pass on tips and in some cases even help with materials

How soon before the projects due josh ?

regards mick

14 weeks for got ages going to learn to fly fish for it to

Here is a link for a red tag.
http://www.gvffc.com/Information/Fly%20 ... %20tag.htm

Good feathers are expensive, it's really worth paying that bit more for good quality rather than not being able to use most of the feathers. I belong to Southern fly fishers Highett, Victoria ( see open day post in Fresh water fly section) One of the reasons I joined was their regular fly tying nights and a great short course that covered most of the common tied flies. Have a look at your local clubs.
Another benefit is the how and when to fish the fly and the experience of years of tying and fishing them.
Good luck with it
Tony