GETTING STARTED IN FLY TYING

Getting started in fly tying is relatively easy and inexpensive. One needs a few good tools, hooks, materials and instructions. Below is a description of such a list of starter items without the fat or hype you are apt to find in some catalog descriptions.

Basic Tools
Vise
Hackle Pliers
Bobbin
Scissors
Bodkin

Accessory Tools
Bobbin threader
Whip finisher
Hackle Guards

Hooks

Basic Instructions

Starting Materials

Basic Tools

Vise To get started the minimum is a decent vise.

The best starters' vise is a lever action vise like our AA vise. Such vises will hold hooks from size 4 to 18 without much difficulty. If one desires to work on the underside of flies often-like streamers, salmon flies and saltwater flies, we recommend a rotary vise. The entry level rotary vise is the Super II. It will hold hooks sizes 4 to 18, sometimes 20. For larger flies we recommend the Challenger vise. It will hold hooks 4/0 to 16.

If one intends to tie a lot of flies we suggest our premium line of vises - Regal. The Regal INEX vise is a standard non-rotary vise. Works well for 80% of fly tying applications. The Rotary Regal vises will hold hooks - 4/0 to 18 comfortably. (If smaller flies are going to be tied we can special order Regal vises with midge jaws. These will work well with hooks sizes 10 - 24).

Hackle Pliers

Hackle pliers hold hackle during tying. The traditional pliers are the Herb Howard pliers. These are available in two sizes- Med for most standard applications and midge for tying the tiny hackle sizes 20 and smaller.

A more modern plier is the non-skid plier. It has a corrugated rubber jaw on one side and a corrugated brass jaw on the other. This plier will work for all applications but the midge hackle and is our favorite type of hackle plier.

Another modern type of hackle plier is the tear shaped hackle plier. By gently squeezing the tear section the jaws open. Then a finger inside the loop to gently spin hackle completes the job.

Bobbin A fly tying bobbin is used to hold thread spools. In days gone by there were at least a dozen varieties. The only survivor is the "spring wire" bobbin. This is the only variety we carry. Our has flared ends to keep the thread from fraying.

Scissors Thin fine tipped scissors are needed to trim thread, trim materials tied on the hook and cut various types of materials for one application or another. Most fly tying scissors are surgical scissors. Materials such as wire, tinsel and other coarse components should not be cut with these delicate instruments. One can purchase a small pair of Fiskars (or the like) for such bulk tasks.

Bodkin The bodkin (or dubbing needle) plats a number of roles. It can be used to put a drop of head cement on a finished fly. It can be used to pluck out dubbing as needed.

Basic took kits may be purchased saving time and money. Fly Tying Vises and Kits

Accessory Tools

Bobbin threader. Used to put thread through the small tube of a bobbin.

Whip finisher. A tool for finishing of fly head with a finish more durable than the usually used half-hitch.

Hackle Guards. These hold hackles back out of the way during fly head finishing.

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Hooks

Buy 25 packs. Buy just one or two sizes of that hook. With more fodder around the tendency is to manufacture a lot-most of these first flies will be junk. Buy a few hooks concentrate on tying a few good flies. If the first ones do not please you cut the material from the hooks and start over. Learn good habits to begin with. Don't keep repeating the same old mistakes. Start with easy patterns. In the beginning, it doesn't matter that you may not use these first few patterns. It is important to learn how to do a few simple tasks correctly. Start with something easy-like a brown hackle wet fly or a woolly worm nymph. From here we can go to more difficult patterns like dry flies, streamers, bass bugs, saltwater patterns, etc.

Basic hooks to start with

• 94840 in in sizes 10 and 12
• 3906 and or 3906B in 10 and 12. These two styles could be used interchangeably for most nymph/wet fly patterns.
• 9671 in 10, 12 and 14
• 9672 and or 79580 in 8, 10 and 12. Again these hook patterns could be used interchangeably.
• 9575 in 8 or 10

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Basic Instructions

Nothing beats personal instruction. If you are in an area with there is a local Trout Unlimited, go there and seek personal help. These groups often run fly tying classes for a nominal fee-usually the cost of materials. Ask your fly tying buddy for help, if he/she ties. If all those avenues lead nowhere, buy an instructional video and a pattern book.

Books - for tying instructions Skip Morris' Fly Tying Made Clear and Simple is one of the nicest we have seen recently. For patterns - There's the American Fly Tying Manual or the super comprehensive Flies: the Best 1000.

 Videos - for the best in basics try Fly Tying Basics by Jack Dennis.

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Starting Materials Here's an area where the novice tends to be a hunter gatherer. First, it's very expensive to amass a number of unwanted materials and hooks. Secondly, materials do not last forever and must be cared for. It's best to ease into material collection as your expertise grows.

Below is a very basic list of materials that will allow one to get into basic fly tying with a minimum investment and waste.

• Hooks are covered above.
• Thread. Start with 6/0. Get a spool of black at a minimum. Black thread will be used the most. After that a spool of the earth tones in 6/0 may be a wise investment: olive, grey, brown, cream and beige or tan.
• A jar of head cement.
• A container of dubbing wax.
• Gold wire
• Lead wire medium to start.
• Flat reversible tinsels-Fine, medium and wide.
• Floss-Red
• Standard chenille-best to start with medium in black, yellow, olive and brown
• A package of gold bead heads in medium size.
• A buck tail piece assortment.
• Calf tail - white
• Grey Squirrel tail.
• A rabbit fur dubbing box.
• A piece of natural deer hair.
• A piece of light elk hair.
• A piece of moose body hair.
• Hackle-here is another place one could invest hundreds of dollars quickly and foolishly.
• Hackle can be bought by capes, saddles or in packages. Capes can be domestic or imported. If you intend to tie dry fly only - start with either 1/2 no. 3 genetic hackle capes or No. 1 imported capes or if you intend to tie flies primarily in sizes 10, 12 and 14-choose a genetic hackle saddle in grades 1 or 2 (these will yield 2 or more flies per feather).
• Packaged dry fly hackle is very expensive and should be bought only by experienced tyers who need just a few hackles of a particular size and color.
• If you intend to tie only wet flies or nymphs - buy hen necks of the appropriate color.
• For streamers, buy packaged saddle hackles of the desired color.
• Again, if you are starting off just doing 1 or 2 fly patterns, buy the hackle you need for that job only.
• Mallard wing pair - from which you can pluck matched wing pairs.
• Turkey white tipped tails - package.
• Ringneck pheasant tails - package.
• Package of stripped goose in assorted colors (Goose biots).
• Packages of marabou plumes in black, olive and brown.
• A package of peacock herl.
• A stripped peacock tail.
• A package of black ostrich herl.
• Packages of mallard flank in natural grey and dyed wood duck.
• A package of gold pheasant tippets and crests.
• A package of silver pheasant body feathers.
• Perhaps a package of English grouse hackle.
• Perhaps a package of imitation jungle cock eyes - medium size.

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Well, that's about it. Now all one has to do is find the time and space to start constructing fishing flies. In no time it's on to more patterns and different kinds of flies.

The Hook & Hackle Co.

607 Ann Street Rear, Homestead PA 15120

Phone: 1-412-476-8620
Fax: 1-412-476-8639

E-mail: ron@hookhack.com