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Buggy_Whip

Best Vise for Big Hooks (Bass / Saltwater)

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New to tying and do a lot of bass fishing plus saltwater fishing.

 

I do not want to go cheap, I want something that will last 5+ years.

 

Any suggestions? I know it is a matter of personal preference but I have read some reviews on some vises and most were a long the lines that vise wore out tying big hook flies.

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This question is just like asking a room full of motorcycle guys "which oil is best?" .... :P

 

I also tie lots of bass and some saltwater flies. Recently I was having troubles with Mustad 3407 PLATED saltwater hooks in size 2 and 1/0 slipping in my vise. One of the guys here told me to fold a slip of notebook paper around the hook bend, then put it in the vise- another "holy crap why didn't I think of that" moment, and problem solved.

 

As long as you don't 'spring' the jaws on a collet type vise by overtightening it, I think most vises can be made to hold most hooks well enough to tie good flies. - the exceptions are of course the extremes of hook size on both ends- and most decent vises have midge and saltwater jaws available if they are needed.

 

I have a Peak with standard jaws and I think it works very well.

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I use two different vises for the flies you are referring a Renzetti Master and a Renzettin Salt water travellor. Both work great. The master is better for small midges like 24's for tailwaters.

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The Renzetti Saltwater is the exact same one I was thinking about pulling the trigger on.

 

Thanks!

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I tie alot of saltwater flies and love my Apex anvil. I have never had a vise hold a 2/0 as well as it holds a 22.

Fred

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My LAW vise does pretty well with size 26 to 5/0. I haven't tried anything smaller or larger yet. I'll have to try a 32 just for ships and giggles.

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Buggy_whip,

 

I use a Regal rotary which allows you to flip the fly around 360, but is not a "true rotary" for rotary tying, It holds hooks rock solid from 20 to 6/0 and up with the jaws I have, and there is no adjusting for different sizes. I've been using it for 20 + years with no issues. I tie a lot of SW and trout stuff.

 

Many vises, including the Regal will have slots set back a bit that are cut in the jaws for larger hooks. When shopping, I would take a range of hooks smallest and largest to try and allow a wide margin for future tying--- down to trout size stuff in your case if that's a reasonable possibility and up in size at least to 4/0 and bigger if you plan to throw larger to offshorey stuff. The price of additional jaws can be an issue, so consider that too if there's a reasonable possibility you'll want to expand your tying for other species down the road.

 

Consider a clamp model if you're going to be doing a lot of deer hair spinning. At a minimum for bass and salt, you'll want a heavy base to stand up to the thread torque of heavier thread so it doesn't slide around on your bench when you crank down.

 

I would try as many different ones as possible- Regal, Renzetti, DynaKing, etc to see which one might work best for you. Google "fly vise shootout hans Weilenmann" and "best vises under $150" for some good info on different vises in Fly Fisherman mag and the ohio fly fishers. They will give a lot of pros and cons, as well as helpful info on what features/qualities to look for when shopping.

 

As far as hooks go, a lot of the flies you'll tie can do double duty in both Salt and FW --- clousers, deceivers, deer head snake flies etc, so it would make sense to tie on saltwater hooks where you can. I mostly use Mustad 34007, 3407 in regular shank and Eagle Claw 253 or 254 for a shorter shank hook, and put an edge on them with a yellow handle Luhr Jensen hook file ($6) before I put them in the vise.

 

Hope this helps. Good luck, you'll have a blast tying!

 

peregrines

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I use the Renzetti Presentation 4000, and I like it, but JackScott's comments about the DynaKing's are correct. The Dynakings will hold very large hooks extremely well, and if you are not worried about the vice marring the finish, this might be the way to go. If you are going to tie on expensive vintage or one of Ronn Lucas's exhibition hooks, you might want to be careful with a DynaKing.

 

I have never tried the Renzetti Saltwater vices, so I cannot comment on them.

 

Good luck :)

 

Ryan

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The LAW bench vise will handle everything from #28 to 10/0 and stainless steel to Japanned salmon hooks. But, it is very expensive. This is the only vise I know of that is one size fits all.

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I don't have much experience with a lot of vises but I have tied everything from a 20 to a 3/0 on my Peak using the standard jaws with no problem. I have the saltwater jaws, I just haven't used them yet.

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I don't have much experience with a lot of vises but I have tied everything from a 20 to a 3/0 on my Peak using the standard jaws with no problem. I have the saltwater jaws, I just haven't used them yet.

 

 

:headbang: :thumbsup:

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