Hey Fly Tiers...What's In The Vise?

[JWHORF]

Looking to get into tying my own flies.
What are the essentials to get started?

Thanks in advance,

Jeremy

[rgfixit]

Well…..if you ask 10 different fly tyers that question, you’ll most likely get 10 different lists.
Here’s my basic list.

Vise:The Vise holds the hook.
You can get a Vise for $50 that will last you a while. $150-200 will get you a decent rotary Vise that will last years. I tied on a $100 Danvise for years before I eventually went crazy and bought my current Vise. Stay away from the cheap eBay stuff. Get a Vise made by an established manufacturer.

Scissors: for cutting materials and thread .
Dr. Slick scissors are hard to beat for the price. I have maybe 8 pair on my bench. (And another 5 or 6 more) Do you need 8 pairs of scissors? No! A pair of 4” all purpose will run you around $15 and last a long time, provided you reserve them for fly tying.

Bobbin: to hold thread and apply tension while tying.
To me the Griffin standard ceramic tip bobbin is the bobbin by which all others are measured. Simple, sturdy and it comes with a threader. Again around $15. I have maybe a dozen different bobbins. 95% of the time I use the one Griffin I’ve had for 25 years.

Bobbin threader: for threading the bobbin. (Obviously)
I have a combination bobbin threader/bodkin I picked up somewhere. It’s easy to spot on my tool carousel.

Bodkin: for various tasks like applying head cement, glue, picking out stray fibers and such.
I make my bodkins out of darning needles from Walmart and a piece of dowel. Being a woodworker with a lathe, I do have a couple custom turned bodkins. In the end it’s just a needle with a handle.

Whip finisher: for tying the finishing knot on your flies.
There’s a few different styles of whip finishers. I use a Matterelli style. Actually just ordered a new pair (standard and long reach) from The Fly Shack the other day. My original is probably 30 years old and still serviceable. Not too bad for $6.99.

Hackle pliers: for holding the tips of feathers while applying them to a fly.
Again there’s a ton of different types of hackle pliers out there. There’s clips, clamps and hooks. I have most of them and I use them all depending on the particular hackle I’m using. To start a simple clamp type will suffice.

DO NOT BUY A KIT WITH MATERIALS, VISE AND TOOLS. You’ll end up with a junk Vise and a pile of materials which you’ll most likely file away in the trash basket. There are tool kits out there from Loon, Stonfo and Dr Slick that have good tools. They’re pricy and you don’t need all that to start.

Things to consider:
What fish are you going to target?
Are you looking to tie dry flies, wet flies, streamers, panfish flies or maybe bass flies? Are you targeting trout, panfish, bass? That’s the real question to ask before you start your fly tying journey. This will determine many things including what materials, hooks,  thread and specialty tools you might need.

Think about where you intend to set up your tying area. It can be a messy business to try and contain. Tying at the kitchen table with bits of deer hair and feather fluff floating around will eventually incur the wrath of the kitchen proprietor.

Fly tying station: don’t waste your $$ on a pre made “fly tying station”  you’ll out grow it in no time at all. A bamboo cutting board from Goodwill will make a good base for $5. Adjust and customize it as you go for thread, material and tool storage. Keep it as simple as you can with stuff at hand and easy to find.

Light: you need good light to tie. I tried a few of the high intensity LED tying lights out there and didn’t like them. Too harsh on my old eyes. Bought and sold a few in the $100 range. Again, being a woodworker and retired electrician, I built my lights and I consider them wonderful for my bench. Anyway, you need a good light source.

There are unlimited YouTube videos available to you these days with instructions, techniques and patterns for just about anything you’d care to tie. I recommend Tightline Videos on YouTube. Tim Flagler is an amazing fly tyer and does detailed but simple to understand videos of all kinds of flies. You’ll learn a lot of techniques and get some simple tips to make tying easier.
Davie McPhail is an incredible fly tyer for more advanced tying. I still shake my head wondering how he does some of the things he can do with thread, dubbing and feathers. He is truly talented.

Of course, there’s a bunch of great fly tyers right here as well who are more than happy to help you get started.

One last thing. Before you dive head first into this obsessive, compulsive hobby, consider therapy first. It might save you from explaining a curiously balding cat, a second mortgage and an addition to your house.

Remember, most flies are tied to catch fly fishers, not fish. Simple patterns work really well the majority of the time. 10 component salmon flies are an art form, but, a deer hair jig will catch fish most every day.

[rgfixit]

Anyway….
Some of Tim Flagler’s  “Major Woodys”. Wood duck theme.



Yellow foam body stimulators…size 14



Orange foam body stimulators size 12

Hopefully I’ll be getting some of these wet soon.

[gotagetm]

Very nice Bob!

[Raquettedacker]

Awesome job guys..👍👍

[icefisher47]

Those look awesome

[rgfixit]

Thought I’d test the old eyes with a few #20 Tricos.



Just for reference



Tried one with micro fibbits. Gonna have to give those away. Can’t manipulate them much less see them any more. Maybe I’ll use them for some other tailing material…..in a big bunch.

[gotagetm]

That’s small ! I’ll stick to woolly buggers and bucktails! Lol I thought my 1/64 oz jigs were small!

[trapper2000]

i really liked the  stimulators  never used  foam  for bodys on them  good idea

[oatkasut]

Spent 3 months fishing tricos this year, they started earlier then normal which is the 2nd week in July, (Jun 29 on Oatka) so had a productive long season. Those are beauties; I use  20 and 22 size tricos with my buddy tying a tilt winged trico for higher visibility . Love them! 

And those wood duck winged flies are my go to dry especially in olive; trout love them in the Catskills and here in Western New York!Usually 14 or 16 in size.

[rgfixit]

Spent most of the day cleaning and going through the stuff I hadn’t gone through last time around.



I’m pretty happy with the results. Tossed a bunch of stuff gathering dust, put the good stuff in order.

[Raquettedacker]

Very nice Bob..

[trapper2000]

TYING A  FEW  WEIGHTED  MUDDLER  MINNOWS  AND I'M READY 

[Mac Attack]

Bob - I zoomed in and didn't see any bottles of Gorilla glue.


 

[Bartman44]

That's ultra organized, just throw a few feathers on the floor for looks.