Fly tying equipment advice.

[XD351]

G’day Raiders,

Now that my transition away from other hobbies ( model engineering ) to focus more on fishing is nearly complete I am looking at satisfying my need to make stuff by doing things like making my own floats and maybe giving fly tying a go , this may lead to taking up the chucking of fluffy things but for now I’m mainly interested in weed and bread  flies I can fish on conventional gear . My main question is where to start ? Is one better of buying some sort of kit or buy things separately? What do you look for in a vise? I don’t want to buy junk but don’t want to spend too much on something I will only use occasionally. I doubt I would ever tie dry flies for trout but more looking at flies for luderick, mullet , carp , flathead, whiting , bream , yakkas and garfish . 
I did what I feel was a comprehensive search on here but it seemed that every thread wandered off to talk about rods or line . 
Any guidance is appreciated!

Ian.

[Little_Flatty]

Ok so my cheap vice kit lasted three months. The only thing that has lasted is the scissors.

I’m for buying separately or buying cheap with expectations of replacing later. But the basics are:

Vice - buy the best you can afford. This one is false economy to skimp on. You can really go to town on this one, but the one I settled on was about 200 dollars. It hasn’t been perfect but I don’t want to drop 600 on a Peak or Renzetti vice just yet. A rotary vice is what I use as it allows you to rotate the fly without releasing it from the vice. But there are pros and cons to all styles.

Bobbin holders - cheap is ok, but make sure you buy ceramic insert ones as thread will break and it won’t  be the thread’s fault. I have two and I think mine were less than 15 dollars each.

Scissors - don’t need to be hugely expensive but need to be fine tipped. Embroidery scissors are good if you can find them cheap.

Finishing cement- UV resin is popular but can be fiddly especially if you don’t have a needle applicator and a very good UV torch. So I suggest going to the discount shop and buying yourself some really cheap thin brush-on superglue for starters. To be honest nearly all of my flies have some superglue in them.

Whip finisher - used to tie off the thread at the end. Many go without but personally I can’t.

Dubbing spinner (very nice to have) - learning how to spin a good dubbing loop is key to forming a fuzzle effect which is required for many patterns. Good for bread flies, shrimp or baitfish.

Velcro brush (make your own) - used to tease out dubbing.

I’ll PM you some specifics when I get a free moment. There are some very reasonable local suppliers, as well as some excellent local premium suppliers who are more expensive but worth the money for advice, availability and range.

[Little_Flatty]

The other advice is start small with materials. Buy just what you need. You’d be amazed how far a small pack of dubbing or craft fur will go. Don’t do what I did and go nuts at a discount store buying tonnes or stuff that was substandard.

Also if you’re not quite ready to start fly fishing, try dressing some jigheads. You’d be amazed how good a dubbed shrimp tied on a jighead looks in the water.

[XD351]

Thanks Mike ! It’s a bit like someone who has never worked on a car trying to work out what tools they need ! Like everything these days there is rubbish , sort of works ok , good , great and overpriced equipment out there so I thought it best to ask before buying! 

[Green Hornet]

Excellent advice above from Mike and about the only thing I can add is an option for the finishing/head cement. All I’ve ever used is clear nail polish and it’s never let me down. Cheap or free if you raid the wife’s kit, comes with it’s own brush for application, easy to apply and lasts for ages.

[Little_Flatty]

25 minutes ago, Green Hornet said:

Excellent advice above from Mike and about the only thing I can add is an option for the finishing/head cement. All I’ve ever used is clear nail polish and it’s never let me down. Cheap or free if you raid the wife’s kit, comes with it’s own brush for application, easy to apply and lasts for ages.

And the not-clear stuff is also good for making shrimp eyes (You will need UV resin + light for this): 

 

[XD351]

Why do I all of a sudden have this urge to make shrimp eyes 🤣🤣🤣

Anyone ever tried dressing up a prawn style SP with these eyes ? 
 

4 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

Excellent advice above from Mike and about the only thing I can add is an option for the finishing/head cement. All I’ve ever used is clear nail polish and it’s never let me down. Cheap or free if you raid the wife’s kit, comes with it’s own brush for application, easy to apply and lasts for ages.

Careful! Getting caught raiding the wife’s nail polish stash could dangerous- possibly fatal 🤣🤣🤣

Thanks for the help guys ! I knew I could rely on fellow raiders to clear things up and get me started on the right path ! 
 

From what I have seen on YT  fly tying could be an enjoyable hobby on its own but I think catching something on a fly you tied yourself would be blast! Probably similar to catching a fish on a home made lure , might even carve out a few small hardbodies in the future - something I haven’t done since I was in primary school! 
 

 

[Little_Flatty]

The crafting is fun and allows you to actively contemplate your sport when off the water.

It doesn’t have to be beautiful, but it does need to be the right size, weight and sit/swim right in the water. And last long enough to land a fish…because that’s what it’s all about after all!😎

[Green Hornet]

Anyone ever tried dressing up a prawn style SP with these eyes ? 
 

I haven’t added eyes, but have used mono to add legs and feelers to make prawn SP’s look more authentic.

Another tip for when fly tying is to throw all your scraps into a small plastic container. The leftovers come in handy when you only need just a pinch of something to finish off a fly. No point paying for quality materials only to throw 10% of it in the bin.