Back in the Game!

[DJRaven 0]

I started tying my own flies about 5 years ago and quit after about 3 years, now all my gear is gone and I've been dying to get back into it. The worst part is I've forgotten almost all I knew.

 

Just wanted to ask a few questions.

 

What is a good vice that's fairly inexpensive? I remember on my first go round I bought one of those fly tying kits at Bass Pro Shops and just went from there, the only thing I didn't like was the vice it came with, it had a rounded clamp and working with small hooks was VERY tedious. Would my best bet be to just get another one of those and replace the vice?

 

Some good gear to start with would be nice too, I'm looking at mainly tying saltwater and bass flies, but I enjoy tying small panfish ones also just for the pure craftsmanship that goes into them

 

Finally (lol) What are some good patterns to start off and practice on? I remember my favorites like the Black Death and Wooly Bugger but I'd like to branch out a lot more than those two.

 

 

Thanks!

Austin (DJ Raven)

[JSzymczyk 0]

I believe you will find the general consensus is to stay away from "Fly Tying Kits". You've got 3 years of experience and you know what types of flies you'll be mostly tying. If you can spend at least about $100 on a vise such as an Anvil, or $150 on a Peak, you will be much happier than trying to get by with a cheap kit vise. The kit vise will get the job done, but if you already know you don't like it, you won't want to use it. Spend as much as you can on good scissors, Dr. Slick makes great scissors for not too much, but avoid the $3 generic crap. You'll get ten million (maybe more) opinions as to what is the "best" vise and why. Do some searching on this forum , there have been a lot of vise discussions.

[bluegill576 0]

i have had the peak for three years and it has been pretty good so I would recommend the peak if you can afford it because if you buy one of those cheap ones you will be buying one like the peak within a year.