Essential Tools for the Beginning Fly Tyer
Walk into a fly shop or start browsing fly-tying tools online and it doesn't take long to become overwhelmed. There seems to be a specialized tool for just about every task imaginable, and a beginning fly tyer can easily come away thinking they need a bench full of equipment before tying their first fly.
They don't.
One of the great things about fly tying is that you can get started with a surprisingly small collection of dependable tools. As your skills develop and the patterns you tie become more complicated, you can add specialized tools when you actually have a reason to use them.
For someone just beginning, these are the tools I consider essential.
1. A Good Fly-Tying Vise
The vise is the centerpiece of the tying bench. Its job is simple: hold the hook securely while you build the fly.
For a beginner, that is much more important than having a long list of advanced features.
Look for a vise that:
Holds hooks securely without slipping
Accommodates the range of hook sizes you expect to use
Is easy to adjust
Gives you good access around the hook
Most tying vises use either a C-clamp or a pedestal base.
A C-clamp vise attaches directly to the edge of a table or tying bench. It is generally very stable and often less expensive, although you need a suitable surface to clamp it to.
A pedestal vise sits on a weighted base. It is easy to move and can be used on almost any flat surface, making it convenient if you don't have a permanent tying area.
You'll also see plenty of rotary vises. Rotary capability allows you to rotate the hook while tying and can be extremely useful, but it isn't necessary for learning the fundamentals.
Buy the best vise that comfortably fits your budget, but don't assume you need an expensive vise to become a good fly tyer.
A vise that securely holds the hook is more important than a vise with a long list of features.
2. Bobbin
The bobbin holds your spool of tying thread and allows you to control the thread while wrapping it around the hook.
It looks like a simple tool, but you'll use it on virtually every fly you tie.
A good bobbin should:
Hold the thread spool securely
Allow the spool to rotate smoothly
Provide comfortable thread tension
Have a smooth tube that won't fray or cut the thread
Ceramic-tipped or ceramic-lined bobbins are popular because the ceramic surface helps reduce abrasion on tying thread.
Eventually, most fly tyers accumulate several bobbins loaded with different colors and sizes of thread.
When you're starting, however, one dependable bobbin is enough.
3. Good Fly-Tying Scissors
If there is one tool besides the vise where I wouldn't recommend simply buying the cheapest option available, it's your scissors.
You'll use them constantly.
A good pair of tying scissors should be sharp and have relatively fine points, allowing you to make precise cuts close to the hook.
For a beginner, a general-purpose pair of fly-tying scissors around 3½ to 4 inches long can handle most jobs.
There's also one habit worth developing immediately:
Don't cut wire with your good tying scissors.
Keep a cheap pair of utility scissors or small wire cutters nearby for wire, heavy monofilament and other materials that can damage the cutting edges of your tying scissors.
Sharp scissors make fly tying easier.
Dull scissors make even simple tasks unnecessarily frustrating.
4. Bodkin
A bodkin is basically a needle mounted in a handle, but don't let its simplicity fool you. It is one of the most useful little tools on a tying bench.
A bodkin can be used to:
Apply small amounts of head cement
Separate trapped fibers
Pick out dubbing
Clear adhesive from a hook eye
Position materials
Separate fibers
Make small adjustments to a finished fly
They're inexpensive, and you can even make one yourself with a needle and a small wooden handle.
It's one of those tools you might not think you need until you start tying—and then you'll find yourself reaching for it regularly.
5. Whip-Finish Tool
The whip finish is one of the standard methods for securing the tying thread when completing a fly.
You can learn to whip finish by hand, and that's certainly a useful skill, but most beginning fly tyers will find a whip-finishing tool easier and more consistent.
There are several versions available, but a standard rotating whip-finisher will handle almost everything a beginning fly tyer needs.
The tool can look a little confusing the first time you pick it up. Spend a few minutes practicing with it, though, and the motion quickly becomes much easier.
Before long, finishing a fly becomes almost automatic.
6. Hackle Pliers
Hackle pliers provide a secure grip on a feather while you're wrapping it around the hook.
They can be particularly helpful for beginners because holding the very end of a hackle feather with your fingers can become difficult as you work your way around the hook.
Hackle pliers are useful when working with:
Palmered hackle
Dry-fly hackle
Soft hackles
Small feathers
Short feather stems that are difficult to grip
Traditional spring-loaded hackle pliers work perfectly well. There are also newer designs that offer different gripping surfaces and handles.
You don't need anything elaborate.
You simply want a tool that grips the feather without constantly slipping or breaking the stem.
7. Hair Stacker
I would put a hair stacker just outside the absolute minimum group of tools, but it's likely to be one of the first additions to a beginner's tying bench.
A hair stacker aligns the tips of deer, elk and other natural hairs before they're tied onto the hook.
You'll eventually find it useful for patterns such as:
Elk Hair Caddis
Comparaduns
Stimulators
Hair-wing flies
Many terrestrial patterns
If you're beginning with simple flies that don't use hair, you don't need one immediately.
Buy one when the patterns you're tying give you a reason to use it.
What Do You Actually Need on Day One?
For someone sitting down to tie their first flies, the essential toolkit can be surprisingly small:
Vise
Bobbin
Scissors
Bodkin
Whip-finishing tool
Hackle pliers
That's enough equipment to begin learning many of the fundamental techniques of fly tying.
Add a hair stacker and other specialized tools later as you begin tying patterns that require them.
Don't Buy Tools Just Because They Exist
Open a fly-tying catalog and you'll find dubbing spinners, dubbing brushes, hair packers, material clips, threaders, tweezers and dozens of other specialized tools.
Many of them are genuinely useful.
That doesn't mean you need them when you're learning.
One of the easiest mistakes for a beginning fly tyer is buying a large collection of tools before understanding what most of them are actually for.
A better rule is:
Let the flies you tie determine the tools you buy.
When you encounter a tying technique that is difficult without a particular tool, that's when it makes sense to add that tool to your bench.
Six Good Tools Are Better Than Twenty Mediocre Ones
Large inexpensive beginner kits can look like a tremendous value because of the number of tools included.
Some are perfectly serviceable.
But don't evaluate a fly-tying kit simply by counting how many pieces are in the package.
I'd rather see a beginner own six dependable tools than twenty mediocre ones.
If your budget is limited, put more of it toward the vise and scissors. Those are two tools where quality can make a noticeable difference in the tying experience.
The other basic tools can generally be purchased relatively inexpensively.
Start With Simple Flies
The same philosophy applies to the flies you learn to tie.
A beginner doesn't need to start with patterns containing six or eight different materials and a dozen tying steps.
Simple patterns allow you to concentrate on technique rather than struggling to remember what comes next.
Two excellent places to begin are the San Juan Worm and the Woolly Worm.
Start With the San Juan Worm
The San Juan Worm is about as simple as an effective fly can get.
That's exactly what makes it useful as a first fly.
It gives a beginning fly tyer an opportunity to practice:
Starting thread on the hook
Controlling the bobbin
Maintaining thread tension
Securing material
Positioning material on the hook
Building a neat thread head
Whip finishing
There aren't enough materials or tying steps to distract you from what your hands are doing.
Instead, you can pay attention to thread tension, where your wraps are landing and how the material reacts when you secure it.
And when you're finished, you've tied a fly that actually catches fish.
That's important.
A beginner's first fly doesn't need to be complicated to be worthwhile.
Then Move to the Woolly Worm
Once you're becoming comfortable handling the bobbin and controlling your thread, the Woolly Worm is an excellent next step.
The Woolly Worm introduces several new skills without adding unnecessary complexity.
It gives you experience with:
Attaching materials securely
Creating a body
Selecting and preparing hackle
Wrapping hackle around the hook
Controlling the spacing between wraps
Securing the hackle
Finishing the fly cleanly
Most importantly, it provides a straightforward introduction to palmering hackle.
That technique appears in many other fly patterns, so the Woolly Worm becomes more than simply another fly to learn.
It becomes a vehicle for learning a skill you'll use again and again.
That's how I prefer to approach beginning fly tying.
Learn techniques through simple patterns, and then carry those techniques into more complicated flies.
Other Good Patterns for a Beginning Fly Tyer
After you've developed some basic thread control and become comfortable tying flies like the San Juan Worm and Woolly Worm, there are plenty of other proven patterns that make reasonable next steps.
Among them:
Hare's Ear Nymph
Pheasant Tail Nymph
Clouser Minnow
Elk Hair Caddis
These aren't necessarily the flies I would put in front of someone during their first tying session, but each provides a logical opportunity to add new skills.
Hare's Ear Nymph
The Hare's Ear is a good introduction to dubbing, ribbing and proportions.
Learning to control the amount of dubbing applied to the thread is an important tying skill. Beginners almost always want to use too much material.
The Hare's Ear provides plenty of opportunity to practice using less.
Pheasant Tail Nymph
The Pheasant Tail helps develop better material control and proportion.
Pheasant tail fibers require a little more care than some beginner materials, and learning to keep the fly slender rather than gradually building excessive bulk is valuable practice.
Clouser Minnow
The Clouser Minnow moves the beginner into a different style of fly.
It provides experience working with:
Bucktail
Flash
Weighted eyes
Material placement
Controlling bulk
It's also a versatile pattern that can be tied in many sizes and colors for both freshwater and saltwater fishing.
Elk Hair Caddis
The Elk Hair Caddis introduces several additional techniques, including:
Working with natural hair
Using a hair stacker
Wrapping hackle
Controlling proportions
Building a clean head
It requires a little more precision than the first few patterns, which makes it a good pattern to tackle once the basic mechanics of tying are becoming comfortable.
Learn Techniques, Not Just Patterns
This may be the most important lesson for someone learning to tie flies.
The goal isn't simply to say:
"I know how to tie a San Juan Worm."
Or:
"I know how to tie a Hare's Ear."
The real goal is to understand the techniques contained within those flies.
A San Juan Worm teaches basic thread control and material attachment.
A Woolly Worm adds body construction and hackle wrapping.
A Hare's Ear introduces dubbing and ribbing.
A Pheasant Tail requires greater material control and attention to proportion.
A Clouser Minnow introduces hair, flash and weighted eyes.
An Elk Hair Caddis brings together hair handling, hackle and more precise proportions.
Once you begin looking at flies this way, learning new patterns becomes much easier.
You stop seeing a fly as a complicated list of materials and start recognizing a collection of techniques you've already practiced.
Tie More Than One
Another mistake beginners sometimes make is tying one fly and immediately moving on to another pattern.
Instead, tie several of the same fly.
Put the first one on the table.
Then tie another.
And another.
After five or six flies, put them beside one another and compare them.
Look at:
Overall proportions
Material placement
Thread buildup
Hackle spacing
Head size
Consistency from one fly to another
You can often see noticeable improvement during a single tying session.
Repetition allows your hands to learn.
Eventually, things that initially required a great deal of concentration—starting thread, maintaining tension, positioning materials and whip finishing—begin to happen almost automatically.
Don't Buy a Fly Shop's Worth of Materials Either
Tools are only half of the equation.
Materials can become just as overwhelming.
Walk through the fly-tying section of a good fly shop, and you'll see seemingly endless varieties of feathers, fur, synthetics, threads, tinsel, wires, flash, and hooks.
You don't need all of them.
Choose the flies you're going to learn and buy the materials required for those patterns.
If you're starting with a San Juan Worm and Woolly Worm, buy what you need to tie those flies.
When you're ready to learn a Hare's Ear, add the necessary materials.
Then move to the next pattern.
This approach does three things:
It keeps the initial cost reasonable.
It keeps your tying area manageable.
And most importantly, it keeps the emphasis on learning to tie rather than collecting fly-tying materials.
The collection will grow soon enough.
Ask any longtime fly tyer.
Start Simple and Tie Often
Your first flies probably aren't going to look exactly like the examples in a fly-tying book or the beautifully photographed flies you see online.
That's okay.
The goal of your first dozen flies isn't perfection.
It's learning how to control thread, secure materials, maintain proportions and finish a fly correctly.
Start with the San Juan Worm.
Move to the Woolly Worm.
Tie several of each.
Then begin adding patterns that introduce new techniques.
Pay attention to what every wrap of thread is accomplishing and why every material is being added.
Over time, those basic movements become automatic. What once seemed complicated starts to make sense, and suddenly you can look at an unfamiliar fly and recognize many of the techniques required to tie it.
And there's one other thing worth remembering when you're looking critically at those first few flies:
The fish are usually much less critical of your flies than you are.
Start with a few dependable tools.
Start with simple patterns.
Learn one technique at a time.
And most importantly, keep tying.
Marshlight Outdoors
Tips from the Field
