Tying your own fly and catching a fish with it can be the most satisfying part of fly fishing – especially when targeting a picky species like a brown trout that will inspect but doesn’t seem to take anything. 

However, just like fly fishing, fly tying can be intimidating for newcomers. Fortunately, neither have to be that way! The key is keeping it simple, and in this article we’ll focus on the basic gear that you’ll need to get started tying your own flies at home.

In the next part of this double-feature series, we’ll dive into the essential, foundational materials that you will want to acquire in order to begin fly tying.

The vise may end up being your biggest investment, so among all of the equipment, this would be the one I recommend doing the most research for. My advice here would be to find a quality one that you could foresee yourself using for a relatively long period of time (months to years).

As you’re starting your research, you’ll find out that a vise has different components, including:

• Head - this part has the jaws that clamp down on the hook
• Stem - this is what attaches the head to the base
• Base - this is what keeps your vise stabilized, whether resting on a surface or attached to a surface

The best place to start your research is thinking about how you will be tying flies. Let’s begin by asking a few questions. Depending on your responses to these questions, you may decide to go one route versus another.

• Will you be tying flies from different locations, or will you mostly stay in the same place?
• Do you have a lot of table space to work with, or could you benefit from freeing up as much space as possible?
• What kinds of fishing do you enjoy doing – mostly freshwater, or warm water and maybe even saltwater, too?

Someone who likes to travel a lot, fishes for a variety of species, and doesn’t have a lot of space to work with may choose a vise that’s more compact, C-clamps to a table, and has a standard vise head to support a variety of hook sizes. Whereas an individual that will usually tie from the same place, mostly tosses tiny dry flies, and has a large table to work with might choose a vise with a solid pedestal base that even has pockets to store beads, hooks, and other materials in for tying, and would likely opt for a smaller head to accommodate the smaller hook sizes.

It ultimately comes down to preference, but don’t spring for the first one you see. Make sure to think about how it will be used so that you can get more mileage out of it! 

Over time, you may consider upgrades and vise accessories, like:

• A revolution or rotary head that simplifies tying for certain types of flies
• Bobbin holders and tool bars that attach to the vise for convenience and organization
• Material clips to hold fly tying materials in place while tying certain patterns
• Scrap traps that can be used to keep your surface clean and discard used material

However, for now, just focus on getting your vise, and getting started with your first few flies.

Fly Tying Scissors

Scissors are one of the items on the list that you will want to prioritize quality and sharpness for. The higher quality and the sharper they are, the faster you will be able to whip together flies and the better you will feel about them.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to substitute normal scissors. The ones used for fly tying are much smaller, and have the ability to make very subtle but important snips in tight areas, keeping the fit and finish of your fly right where you want it.

Over time I’ve acquired two sets of scissors that I use when I tie, the high quality ones are strictly used with softer material to prolong their life, and the lower quality pair I use with stiffer material like wire.

Bobbins & Threaders

This one you will definitely need to get started with fly tying; the bobbin is the instrument that holds the spool of thread in place and preserves tension on the thread while you apply wraps around the hook. 

I don’t believe a threader is absolutely necessary right out of the gates, but if you have difficulty getting your thread through the tube for specific flies you like to tie, you may choose to go that route. A nifty trick if you’re ever having trouble is to give the thread a snip and a quick lick, and try again. If that fails, try sucking it through.

Hackle Pliers

If you ever try to grab hold of hackles with your bare hands and position them for tying a fly, you’ll quickly realize how important these small clamps are. It’s almost impossible, because your fingers are simply too big, which is a bad combination when handling small and delicate materials. This is what makes hackle pliers a wise investment.

Hair Stackers

When you’re tying, you’re inevitably going to need to bunch up material, for example deer hair. Doing so without a hair stacker would be near impossible. It simply uses a circular chamber and gravity to get everything organized for you, so you can get back to tying.

Dubbing Tools

If you tie enough flies, you’ll realize how often dubbing gets used as a material. Also true that if you tie enough flies, you’ll realize how dubbing tools like the bodkin become a versatile part of your tying tool arsenal. Not only can they be used to pick at dubbing to get the right look and feel, it also can be used to apply head cement or even clear out clogs in hook eyes. Make sure to get one, I can’t tell you how often I use mine.

Whip Finisher

Although you can technically tie a whip finish by hand, it’s not easy. Let’s face it, when you’re just getting into fly tying, tying a whip finish is a tad difficult even with the tool. It’s very worth the investment in a whip finish tool and the time spent learning the technique; both will preserve all the time and effort you put into designing your fly, and will make sure it holds up on the water as long as possible (instead of quickly unwinding). 

Waxes and Cements

Dubbing wax is an important item to have on hand while you’re tying, it makes it much easier to apply the dubbing to the thread and to get the right level of togetherness that is needed to structure your flies the right way.

You’ll also want to invest in a small bottle of head cement as you’re getting started. You’ll appreciate giving each fly a small dab as you are wrapping up your tying, as you’ll know that it is going to keep them together for more than a few fish.

Eventually, you may choose to upgrade to UV epoxy, but it is by no means a requirement as you are just starting out!

Now that you have picked out your initial set of fly tying essentials, it’s time to find a room with a table, set up shop, and begin narrowing down your first list of files to be tied. In the next part of this series, we’ll be exploring the basic materials you will need to get started. I hope you found this helpful, and look forward to uncovering more soon!