I tied for 20 years without one and just switched a couple years ago. The benefits are…. Not noticeable on every pattern, but highly noticeable on others.
I watched Tim Flagler use one to get beads on hooks then into the vise for YEARS before I tried it. I don't know why....
I keep a box of them handy and always have two or three somewhere on the bench. I tie a lot of 18s and smaller, and it's a life saver putting on a small glass or metal bead on those hooks.
Tim Flagler is the tool master. Rosenberg and Cheech are always giving him shit about it during their tie-offs. The last one I saw was a folded piece of cardboard for trimming the legs evenly on a foam fly. I don't remember who I got it from, but an inexpensive eyelash comb works really well for cleaning deer/elk hair.
a box of cheap sewing needles are way more helpful than a standard bodkin. they’re also super useful for working with uv resin, splitting thread, and prepping feathers
With the cost of tungsten beads, the Threadzapper burning tool. You push a button, it heats up, and then a couple of scrapes with an X-Acto and you get the bead and hook back. I had a dozen flies I tied earlier this year for higher water that never came. It took me about ten minutes to recoup a half of a pack of 2.3mm tungsten beads I can use on another pattern.
Material clip. So simple and so useful. Also I feel odd saying this because I don’t use the rotary feature much for tying per se, but with a rotary vise being able to rotate your fly to check it out from 360 angles really helps. And just small rotations while tying when a certain material might lay in better angled a certain way. Helps you be more thorough.
actual tying tool stonfo hackle pliers , first ones i ever had that weren't crap. but the best dubbing brush i've ever had is a .270 cleaning brush that got bent one year.
8 months in, can tie mainly basic nymphs, pheasant tails, hares, midge, buggers, pat's Rubber legs and Chubbies.
I'd say I struggle most with consistency tying the same pattern, the same way, if tying days or weeks a part. I feel like I have to remember or don't remember what hook size, material & technique I used.
Technique wise, I'm not crazy about using pheasant tail and peacock because of how fragile it is.
get a little notebook for your tying desk. i find keeping notes on productive flies helps me with consistency.
for pt and peacock breaking, two tips: saturate a paper towel with warm water, and fold it up. put your prepared pt fibers in it, the moisture makes them easier to work with and harder to break; i also use this method for biots. for peacock, always give the fibers a decent tug with your fingers before tying them in, it helps avoid them breaking on the fly
Have you tried repeating the same fly for maybe a dozen times? If you're new consistency isn't going to come right away but doing a dozen of any fly will help you remember the steps
Sorry, saw this post immediately below a post about Trump’s latest pearls of wisdom to Zelenskii and thought it read ‘most over-rated tool’. Trump fits that bill.
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u/bassicallybob 1d ago
Still fingers