Tools for fly tying

You need surprisingly few tools in order to start tying flies, and most of them last for many years. Here is the basic set and what each tool does, so you know what you are looking for, whether you buy a kit or the parts separately.

What you need

• Vice – holds the hook steadily while you tie. The most important tool.
• Bobbin – holds the thread spool and lets you wrap evenly with control.
• Scissors – a small, sharp pair for clipping thread and material cleanly.
• Whip finisher – for finishing the fly with a durable knot at the hook eye.
• Bodkin – a needle for picking material free and putting varnish on the knot.

The first three you need from the start; whip finisher and bodkin make life easier but can wait.

Kit or parts

As a beginner a starter kit is usually both cheapest and simplest. Then you get the most important tools matched in a box, often together with a little material. When you have noticed that you have stuck with the hobby you can upgrade individual tools, for example a better vice.

Where it pays to spend

If you are going to put a little extra somewhere, do it on the vice. A steady vice that holds the hook hard without it slipping makes tying much easier and less frustrating. Scissors and bobbin, on the other hand, may happily be simple at the start; they can be swapped up later.

Next step

When the tools are in place you need materials, see materials for fly tying, and then it is just a matter of getting going with tie a Woolly Bugger. An overview of the hobby sits under fly tying for beginners.