Basic Fly Tying Tools For Trout Flies

When you decide it is time to start tying your own trout flies, it is time to go out and get those tying tools. Here is the list of items I can’t live without for fly tying.

Recommended Fly Tying Tools

These tools you have to have if you want to tie trout flies:

• Scissors – 3 1/2 – 4″ Anvil or Dr Slick Scissors with a fine point and aligned tips $16-$20 each
• Orvis Hackle Pliers $7
• Bobbin – Thread bobbin ranging from $7 for decent Griffin Metal Tube to more expensive ceramic tube bobbins $13 to $25
• Bobbin Threader $5
• Bodkin about $5 – apply head cement, lacquer, and tease out dubbing
• Hair Stacker $4-$20

Optional Fly Tying Tools But Recommended

• Matarelli Whip Finisher $18
• Griffin Hook & Hackle Gauge $5

I also found this video with a good overview of the fly tying tools you will need:

Hackle Pliers for Fly Tying

Hackle pliers are pretty simple tools, just make sure you don’t have sharp edges on the mouth of the pliers otherwise they can cut the hackle as you apply it to the fly. I like the Orvis Hackle Pliers because they are sturdy and don’t have sharp edges.

Want to see how to use your Hackle Pliers?

Fly Tying Scissors

Fly Tying Scissors make a very big difference in how well you can put your flies together. A good pair of scissors will cut your materials clean and accurate. You want to make sure the tips line up straight and the scissors are very sharp. The scissors should be between 3 1/2” – 4” in size. I would recommended a good pair of scissors and a cheaper version. Use your best scissors for cutting threads and fine materials. The cheaper scissors are used for cutting heavy materials like fine wire, hair, and synthetic materials. This will keep your best scissors sharp and well aligned.

Choosing the Right Fly Tying Scissors

Here is some good advice from Dr Slick:
“For maximum performance and longer scissor life, two main rules apply when choosing scissors for tying. First, match the scissor to the types of materials you tie with most often. Most scissors in the DR.SLICK line can handle both natural and synthetic materials with ease, but if you tie predominantly with synthetic materials, consider the new generation of scissors like Tungsten Carbide, Razor and Prism that are designed to handle these materials. Second, match the scissor to the size and type of flies you tie. If you tie small flies without much mass or material, use small finer blade scissors like Arrow, MicoTip and Iris. Conversely, if you tie larger flies, with more mass and material, consider larger scissors with heavier blades like All Purpose, Hair or Razor. Great scissors make great flies!”

My top picks for scissors are Anvil & Dr Slick.

My Favorite Dr Slick Scissors

http://www.drslick.com/catalog/scissors

• Dr Slick Microtip, 3.5 Inches – Arrow about $16 http://www.drslick.com/catalog/scissors/microtip
• Dr Slick Microtip, 4 Inches – All Purpose about $16 http://www.drslick.com/catalog/scissors/microtip
• Dr Slick Finishing Scissors about $15 http://www.drslick.com/catalog/scissors/finishing

My Favorite Anvil Scissor

http://anvilusa.com/fly.htm

• Anvil Ultimate Scissors http://anvilusa.com/Anvil_Ultimate_Scissors.htm – $20
• Anvil Quick Snip http://anvilusa.com/Anvil_QuickSnip.htm – $16

Fly Tying Bobbins

You want to spend some money on the bobbins. The cheap ones tend to snag or cut your thread. This makes it really hard to feed out line consistently. Griffin makes some good metal tube bobbins for starting out, but I would recommend the ceramic tube bobbin. The ceramic bobbins feed out line consistently and don’t cut the light weight threads. The ceramic bobbins range from $15-$30 and they are well worth the price.

It is best to start by buying a few bobbins for the most used threads you have. This make it a lot quicker to tie flies because you don’t have to constantly switch the thread on one bobbin. I have 3 bobbins I use consistently and keep different colors of thread on each. Then when I need to switch threads on the bobbin, I grab the next bobbin. You don’t have to buy all your bobbins at the same time, you can add them as you figure out how many threads you need at one time.

I also like to keep fine metal wire for ribbing on a bobbin. It makes it really easy to add ribbing to nymphs and dispenses the metal wire really easily.

Here is a good video on how to you a fly tying bobbin:

Bobbin Threader $5

A bobbin threader does exactly what it says, it threads your bobbin. I buy whatever I can find in the fly shop, these are not precise tools and you don’t use them that much.

Bodkin

A bodkin is a stick with a needle attached to it. It is used for applying head cement and lacquer. You can also us it to lift up trapped hackle or body materials.

Whip Finishers

A whip finisher is made of brass and steel which allows you to tie uniform heads on your flies. It can be a little hard to get used to using a whip finisher. Here is a video to help out with how to use one.

Hackle Gauge & Hook Sizer

The Griffin Hook and Hackle Gauge is very handy for sizing hooks and checking hackle sizes as well. It fits on the base of a vice so you always have it in reach. This particular gauge has high-visibility yellow background so you can easily see all the measurements. The hole fits on standard 3/8″ vise stems. You size the hackle by bending the stem over a pin and reading where the tips of the barbs fall on the chart. Its that simple.

It’s Your Turn

What do you think? What tools do you have to have for fly tying? Which fly tying tools do you love/hate? Share your experience and insights in the comments box below.

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