Frequently Asked Questions

BigTimeFlies is a division of Pacific Fly Fishers, a retail fly fishing store in Seattle, Washington area of USA.  Although BigTimeFlies doesn't offer a brick and mortar storefront, we do offer many of the flies on BigTimeFlies.com at our Pacific Fly Fishers store in the Seattle area.  For more information on Pacific Fly Fishers, click here.

Absolutely.  If you are looking to purchase flies from us for a trip, we are happy to help with fly suggestions.  The staff at BigTimeFlies has had the pleasure of fishing many of the popular destinations and fish species throughout the world so we should have some experience with your trip.  If not, we know the people and where to get the info we need.

Yes, we do.  We sell electronic gift certificates that you can purchase, receive in an email, and send to whomever you wish.  You can purchase our gift certificates here. 

We work with many different fly producing companies that have tying facilities all over the world. 

No.  We do not have a minimum order size. 

It would certainly be more efficient for us to fill orders if we only sold “packs” of flies, but we don’t feel like that’s how it works when anglers buy flies.  You should be able to order whatever quantity you like.  So, yes, ordering one fly is totally fine!

Custom flies are flies you want tied to your exact specifications.  Custom flies can be ordered but the minimum quantity is ten dozen for most fly styles.  Two sample flies must be mailed to us with a materials recipe, and payment must be received prior the work beginning.  Flies are usually completed and ready in 8-10 weeks but can take longer.  No refunds are allowed on custom fly orders once production begins and the two sample flies cannot be returned.

Sorry, we don't have fly recipe information easily available to provide.  If you haven't already, we would recommend buying a the fly you want to tie and taking it to a good flyshop.  Good flyshops will be able to look at the fly and tell you the materials you need, sell them to you, and provide tips on how to tie it should you need them.

Sorry, we do not print catalogs. 

Our staff has decades of experience in the fly fishing retail industry so we have some pretty good instincts, but we also use the help of our suppliers and their representatives.  We also try and keep track of trends in magazines, on the web, sales trends on our own website, and popular, trends in angling destinations. 

Oh, man.  I wish we did.  New fly patterns come out so fast that we certainly don’t get a chance to fish all of them.  But, we do fish a lot, and so we do fish quite a few of them.  Since most of the members of our staff travel quite a bit, we also try to fish different patterns for as many species as we can.

We generally have all our products in stock so we can ship your order within hours on most days.  We ship orders Monday through Saturday.  When choosing a Shipping Method, keep in mind that US Postal Service and UPS do not pick-up, deliver or move packages on Sunday. We ship orders from Seattle, Washington so shipping times vary from one to five days within the U.S., depending on your location and shipping service you choose.  If you choose Free Shipping, your order will usually ship via USPS Ground Advantage and is usually received 2-4 days from the day we ship the package, excluding Sundays.  If your order is going to be shipped outside the U.S., you should simply have patience that it will take a while for your order to arrive unless you pay for expedited service. 

Yes, but we do encourage placing the order over the web site for your benefit and ours.  Phone orders can be inaccurate because of miscommunications on both sides of the line.  If you’re already looking at our website anyway, we highly encourage you to place your order online.  It is safer and much more secure than reading your credit card information over the phone and ensures we send you exactly what you intended to order.  If you really prefer to call, we will still gladly take your call over the phone during our normal business hours.  Please have exact fly names, sizes, and quantities ready before you call if possible.

If you don’t see sales taxes added to your order total as you checkout, you will not be charged sales taxes.  Currently, only customers receiving orders in Washington state have to pay sales tax, and the tax will be shown on the order when you checkout.  This may change in the near future as state regulations change, but you will never be charged sales tax unless you see it before you pay.

Yeah, keeping flies in stock can be much harder than it sounds.  Unfortunately, we don’t always know when we’ll be able to get a fly back in stock.  Shoot us an email with what you’re looking for and we’ll share what we know about when we’ll have it back in stock. It may be on its way and only a day or two from being back in stock.

First, do a Search for the fly you’re looking for.  Try using parts of the name in your search.  Instead of searching for "Nyman’s DOA Green Drake”, try searching for just "DOA" or "Nyman".  If you don’t see it on our web catalog, sorry, but we simply don’t have it. 

Custom flies are flies you want tied to your exact specifications.  Custom flies can be ordered but the minimum quantity is ten dozen for most fly styles.  Two sample flies must be mailed to us with a materials recipe, and payment must be received prior the work beginning.  Flies are usually completed and ready in 10-12 weeks but can take longer.  No refunds are allowed on custom fly orders once production begins and the two sample flies cannot be returned.

We do offer a Guide Discount Program and we do offer a Bulk Purchase Program for clubs that can combine orders among members for one large order.  Minimum order quantities of 20 dozen apply, and orders are subject to product availability and may not be available for immediate delivery.  Discounted orders will only be shipped in one dozen increments per each pattern, size and color.  Guides will be required to submit a copy of your state Guide’s License each year.  Contact us for program details. 

There is a great deal of variation in the fly market and there are great flies and there are terrible flies, and everything in between.  The short answer is no, we do not match prices because our prices are very competitive for the high quality of flies we sell.  The longer answer is that we don’t match prices because our Hare’s Ear Nymph is not the same Hare’s Ear Nymph on another website for 95-cents.  Customers of BigTimeFlies have been there and done that and realize that good flies cost a little bit more and are worth it. 

Shipping fees with BigTimeFlies are typically inexpensive because flies don’t weigh very much, we don’t add processing fees, and most orders can ship with inexpensive shipping methods such as US Postal Service Ground Advantage.  In addition, if your order is $50 or more, shipping fees are free to anywhere in USA, including AK and HI. 
To find the exact amount of shipping fees, add your products to the shopping cart on the website.  On the shopping cart page, a Shipping Calculator is located where you can get the exact shipping options for the items you have in your cart.  Our shipping fees are taken, real-time, from the US Postal Service and are based on weight.

We ship our orders from Mill Creek, Washington, 98012, U.S.A.  Mill Creek is located near Seattle, WA. 

Most fly orders are packaged in small plastic boxes for maximum protection in the mail.  Some flies, like steelhead marabous or large baitfish streamers are protected much better in plastic, zip-lock bags.  Whatever the case, we make the extra effort for your flies to look as good when they arrive to you as they did when we put them in the box. 

Yes.  We ship to most countries around the world.  Please have patience with the time it can take to receive orders shipped internationally.  We would recommend choosing US Postal Service as the carrier for your shipping method but once the package leaves the U.S., we do not have visibility to see the progress of your package.  Also, you will be responsible for any taxes, duties or other fees associated with your package entering your country.

To find the exact amount of shipping fees for your order, simply begin adding the items you want to your shopping cart on the website.  On the shopping cart page, you will see a Shipping Calculator where you can get the exact shipping options for the items you have in your cart.  Our shipping fees are taken, real-time, from the US Postal Service and are based on weight.

Flies can be returned for a refund but must be received within 30 days of the date we shipped them to you.  Shipping fees are not refundable. Returned flies must be in the same, new condition as we shipped them to you.  Flies that appear used, mishandled, insulted, verbally abused, or otherwise unhappy upon their return, will not be accepted as a return.  Please do not take flies on a trip and try to return them.  We are very picky and want to be very clear about that.  For more information, please read our Return Policy. 

If we made a mistake and sent the wrong items, please contact us so that we can make the return/exchange as quick and easy for you as possible. We will email you a return label so you don't have to pay for return shipping and can simply drop the package into the mailbox. Please include your order number or packing slip and a quick note as to what the mistake was. We'll immediately take care of the problem and get the correct items back to you.