See if you find any of the following tips and tricks useful:

• Storage and Organization
• Tools
• Hooks
• Materials
• Tips & Tricks

If you have any good suggestions or wisdom that you feel might be useful:

Did you know...

...that one pound of marabou is 3,243 feathers?
           submitted by: Mike Kunke
           email: makunke@prodigy.net

Storage & Organization

New: 2-2008 If your local grocery store has eggs in a clear plastic egg container - they serve as great dubbing and chenille dispensers. Use scissor tips to bore a small hole in the top center of each "egg top" on the container. Do this from the inside out so the frayed ends allow dubbing to come out and prevent it from slipping back in.  jgcannon3@optonline.net (Jim Cannon)

Store full skins of mammals and birds in large sea chests and clothes chests.

Use flexible magnetic strips for: 1) holding your current selection of hooks; 2) holding completed flies to dry.

Use a shaving mirror to see the other side of your fly, behind your vise, while tying.

Another fly holder: Cut a 6" length of tippet material. With a match or lighter, heat one end of the filament until it forms a bead. Insert the unbeaded end if the filament through the eyes of the flies to be kept together.(a great way to ensure there is no glue clogging the eye while drying) Clip a clothespin on the unbeaded end of the filament. There, a fly holder/dryer.

Ideas for hook holders:

• seven-day pill reminder boxes
• magnetic paper clip holders
• zip lock bags
• plastic 35mm film canisters

Cut a 1/4" hole in the lid of a plastic film container, put a couple moth balls in the container, snap the lid on, and keep a couple of these in your materials storage boxes/drawers to keep the bugs out.

Instead of using moth balls to keep your feathers and Furs safe, try using whole cloves. They work just as well and smell better.
           submitted by: Jerry Harris
           email: JH6109@aol.com

If you've been infested by bugs (not you, but your fly materials):

• zap the materials in the microwave for about half a minute,
• put the materials in plastic bags and freeze for a couple of days.

Use pieces of cedar wood instead of mothballs, to stop bugs, they work the same but they have a so nice smell that they also work as ambient deodorant.
           submitted by: Andres Ill
           email: allele@etc.CL

Take a piece of sheet metal about 1/4" wide and stick a strip of the hook side of Velcro (hook and loop tape) to it. Bend the end up to about 45 degrees to form the handle.

I also made a wider version, about 3/4" wide to use as a brush for straightening out yarns for tails and dubbing, as the pattern calls for. You can get the perfect amount by brushing the fibers straight, then taking them from the brush, which cleans it for the next use. This tool is also excellent for blending yarns, by alternating strokes between the colors needed.
           submitted by: Ed Sauna
           email: admosthenes@exit109.com

I just purchased a large tackle box with drawers and bottom compartment from Fenwick for organizing my fly tying stuff. It works great but I did have to modify one of the drawers by cutting out a couple of dividers. Fantastic for traveling as well as keeping everything organized.
           submitted by: D Trillus
           email: dtrillus@tcn.net

There are some zipper freezer bags now with actual plastic zippers (freezer bags are much heavier). They come in quart and 1 gallon size. I punch them and put them in a 3-ring binder. Labels on the end of the ring-binder and it stores in a book case and the materials are sealed from bugs.
           submitted by: Dee Harrison
           email: deecarolh@accs.net

Another idea is the baseball card sheets that fit in a 3-ring binder are great for storing dubbing and other small items. There are nine slots to a sheet and each will hold a package of dubbing, small pieces of hair or other items not too bulky. Label the end of the binder as to its contents and put it on the bookshelf.
           submitted by: Dee Harrison
           email: deecarolh@accs.net

I have limited space at home to tie, and also, occasionally, as the load allows I have time to tie at work, so I needed an efficient way to store and transport my materials. The solution I came up with was to construct a cabinet that sandwiches two of those workbench organizers you can find at Wal-Mart or K-mart. The things are great for almost all materials! The two I purchased have 60 drawers in each, measuring 2" wide x 1 1/2" high x 6" deep. I made the box tall enough to accept two drawers under the organizers, one for my tools, and the other for the longer capes, which I did not want to curl up to fit the drawers of the organizers. This gives me 120 different drawers to place my stuff in, each begging for a small sticky label, and as they are arranged in 6 columns of 10, you can sort the heck out of your stuff and arrange it the way you like... (very important if your as fanatical about organization as I am). The box opens in the middle to reveal the drawers and is held closed by an old-fashioned window hasp.
           submitted by: Dmosthenes
           email: dmosthenes@exit109.com

Use baby food bottles to store hooks. They have wide mouths and are hard to nock over.
           submitted by: Dick Hines
           email: rd-lanexa@worldnet.att.net

I use a 1 1/2 in. white strip of magnetic tape across the back of my vise pedestal about 4 inches long to control my hooks. This is better than regular black magnetic strips for the fact that they are easier on my eyes. The strips keeps all the hooks together for one or more patterns or sizes.
           submitted by: anonymous

When traveling and fishing, use an old brief case to store your flytying equipment. Its compact yet it has pockets and room for most things. Match the hatch with a brief case.
           submitted by: Jeremy Slater
           email: bslater@itsnet.com

Dubbing Storage: Those zip lock packs of dubbing can slip and slide all over and removing exactly the amount you need can be difficult. Try stuffing the entire package into a plastic drinking straw. Believe it or not, the entire package "WILL" fit into a single straw. I use a thin dowel to pack the dubbing into the straw. Not only is the straw easier to store, but you can remove small amounts of dubbing from the end and more will "feed" from the straw (like a Kleenex box). Using clear plastic straws permits you to see the color of the dubbing.
           submitted by: W. Long
           email: WLONG10702@AOL.com

Instead of buying fly boxes at a fly fishing store, buy them at an organization store like Organized Living. They may not be designed for flies, but they work and save you money.The fancy, big ones only cost $3. The crappy, cheap ones cost $5 at a flyfishing store.
           submitted by: Carry Coons
           email: jcfishcomish@worldnet.att.net

Tools

from: hagemann@visi.net
To keep your materials and hooks off the floor, wear a "small-parts apron." Tape the bottom hem of a shop apron to the underside of your tying desk with duct tape (or staple it in place if you want it to be permanent). When you put the apron on you've created a "catch basin" over your lap that will prevent you from scrabbling around on hands and knees looking for dropped hooks and materials. I borrowed this idea from an old-time watchmaker who let me see his workbench after I told him that I tie flies.

Make your own multi-compartment dubbing box from a six-compartment plastic organizer. Drill a 1/4" hole in the bottom each compartment. Put the entire hank of dubbing in from the top, then use tweezers to pick out what you want through the hole.

Want a quick way to cut the thread after the last whip? File a sharp groove in the end of your whip finish tool. After the last whip, flip and cut.

Porcupine quills make great, sharp, inexpensive, disposable bodkins.

Split drinking straw pieces can serve many uses, one of which is a simple, but effective hackle guard while tying.

To keep your head cement from drying out in the bottle, keep the fluid level high, minimizing the air in the bottle. To do this transfer the cement to a smaller bottle or add marbles to the half empty cement bottle to raise the fluid level.

A bobbin cleaner can be made from a product called Bridgeaid and a bit of chenille. Bridgeaid is used for guiding dental floss under bridges and braces. Your dentist has them. Can also be used to thread a bobbin.
           submitted by: Doug Reckard
           email: dreckard@interwebb.com

A pair of good, small razor blades for trimming muddler heads can be found inside the disposable razor heads. Tricky to remove, but a hammer speeds up the process.
           submitted by: Doug Reckard
           email: dreckard@interwebb.com

To make a handsome but more utilitarian bodkin take a half hitch tool (Renzetti type) and some plumber's epoxy putty (blue and yellow ribbons that are mixed together in equal parts), a fine needle (selected to your specifications) and a course needle. Mix the putty and stack into the hollow half hitch tool (both ends). Insert the fine needle in one end, and cut off a course needle to ca 1/4-1/2 inch in length and insert in other end. Place course end in magnetizer (e.g. from Radio Shack). This gives you a fine needle point for adding small amounts of cement to the fly head, and a magnetized point for picking up hooks.
           submitted by: Jerry Snider
           email: Jerry.Snider@UC.Edu

I use a gun cleaning brush for dubbing. It works better than Velcro for picking out dubbing.
           submitted by: Jim Evans
           email: MFA@msn.com

Steel Wool around a fly tying bench is not a good idea. The constant insertion of bodkins into the steel wool will eventually pick up tiny shards of the steel which will then wind up as rust spots on your flies. Try Bronze Wool instead. You can find Bronze Wool at most good quality marine hardware stores.
           submitted by:
           email: GoldnMaple@aol.com

One of the best thing on my tying bench is a 4"x4" block of balsa wood. After applying head cement, just stab the bodkin into the wood. The needle will always be clean and you'll know where it is.
           submitted by: Bill Muir
           email: bbrium@mich.com

Punch a 1/4 inch hole in the lid of a plastic 35mm film container. Fill the container with Bronze Wool ( Steel Wool will rust). Place lid with hole back on container. After applying cement, jab bodkin into hole to clean. Works like a charm!
           submitted by: Bill Long
           email: WLONG10702@AOL.com

Drill a small hole in a film canister and place your dubbing material in it. Start the dubbing material up through the hole and you have a great dubbing dispencer that self feeds. The consistancy of the material will depend on the size of the hole needed.
           submitted by: Michael Labrecque
           email: myke@nh.ultranet.com

Hooks

If you choose to be one of the ever-growing population of catch-and-releasers (I am), you should debarb your hooks before you tie your flies(so you don't break a hook on a good tye). Do this by crimping the barb flat with a set of pliers. These "de-barbed" hooks are cheaper than purchased ones.

I just read your section on materials and noticed that you mentioned using a pair of pliers to de-barb your hooks. I simply open the jaws of my tying vise, insert the hook eye-down and at a ninety degree angle (perpendicular to the vise) and close the jaws. This hasn't damaged the jaws, minimizes the step of changing to yet another tool, and makes for an easy transition to tying the fly by opening the jaws and changing the fly to a parallel position. You can also tell immediately if you weaken the hook!
           submitted by: Tim Thompson
           email: bubs@cdsnet.net

Use a piece of the flexible magnetic strip to pick up hooks, you'll stab your fingers a lot less this way.

Use ugly pieces of hackle stems, for cleaning un-dried glue from the eyes of your tyed flies. This works better than a bodkin.

Materials

To prepare the eyed tail feather of the peacock for bodies of Quill Gordon's or any other quill body, put small amount of pure Clorox in shallow dish. Move the eyed feather through the Clorox till all the fuzz is dissolved. Here's the trick. This quill is now ready for bodies, but is quite brittle. Prepare small amount of pure glycerin, (drug store) and store the quills in it. Bodies are more supple and much easier to work. Ed Bang  ebang@tampabay.rr.com

Dryer lint can be used for dubbing. simply wash and dry desired color of cloths, and presto.
            submitted by: zachary newberry
           email: newzachberry@comcast.net

I recently needed some white material to tie a mosquito body, the only thing I could find was some styrofoam packing material that is used alot in packing electronics, it's about 1/64 th of an inch thick. I cut strips with a razorblade and wrapped my body, then I used a heavy black thread for the rib. The neat part is the fly will never waterlog, and the grayling didn't know the difference.
           submitted by: Keith Knorr
           email: kknorr@ptialaska.net

Noticed the tip about using the styrofoam packing material for a mosquito body. I have also found this to be a great body material for drys. I would add that ribbing can be done even more simply by coloring the cut edge of the styrofoam strip with a permanent marker. Just set the pen down and run the cut edge over the pen tip. It colors the edge and when wound on the hook with overlapping wraps makes a "ribbed" body.

           submitted by: Bill Long
           email: WLONG10702@AOL.com

I store my materials in cheap ziplock freezer bags. You can get them at Wal-mart or K-mart or even the local grocery store. They are very cheap (usually) and keep your materials safe from bugs, pets, and disorganization! Once you store the material say for instance deer hair, then you can also use an indelible marker to mark the contents of the bag... I.E. if you have similar hackles mark one hen and one cock... it's simple and far less confusing!
           submitted by: Brian Shumans
           email: svsteven@surfsouth.com

Here is a tip for you and your readers. When we tie our nymphs, we have been using antron yarn for the wing cases. Most of the flies we have tied have been with dark stone, but about 10% call for lt.gray or tan. The synthetic is a great substitute for turkey or ringneck pheasant tail, and can be uses for peacock. It is very durable, makes a great looking fly, and actually holds air bubbles so it looks like an opening wing case.

Give it a try and pass it on.
           submitted by: Todd G. Terczynski
           email: TTERC-LRFLYSHOP@JUNO.COM

Tips & Tricks

Tired of stacking hair for every fly? Stack a large bunch of hair, end tie the bunch with with tying thread. While tying, just snip off a few hairs for the current fly, there is no need for re-stacking if you are careful.

Use a damp wet sponge to dampen your fingers, rather than putting your fingers in your mouth. This is a good way to avoid Beaver Fever.

To cut even strips of materials from larger sheets clamp the material on a clipboard, use the clip as a straight edge for the razor cuts.

To cut uniform strips of latex roll the latex in a tight roll, then cut off slices of the roll with a razor blade.

Make a high pressure steamer out of a metal oil can. Fill the can with water and bring it to a boil on the stove. The narrow oil dropper makes the steam higher pressure than a water kettle.

Wing materials made from slippery materials like flashabou tend to slip out of their tie after a few strikes by fish. Prevent this by folding the material as you tie it. For example, for a six strand wing of flashabou, tie three strands of the material in position at the half-way point of the flashabou, fold back and tie the folded strands down.

Avoid getting Beaver Fever by moistening your fingers in your mouth. Use a steno sponge to dampen your fingers as necessary.

Always wrap your ribbing material the opposite direction of the body material. This will prevent the ribbing from "hiding" in the wrap of body material. It may also prevent the body from fraying after a few fish strikes.

Put a very small piece of larvalace over the point of a hook being tied to prevent accidentally cutting your tying thread.

Wet your floss prior to tying to prevent fraying the thread during tying.

Use an old desk calendar sheet to provide a white background. Just turn it over to the blank side and place it on your table top. It will also serve to keep the desk/table cleaner. Also great for making notes and keeping track of how many flies you have tied.
           submitted by: Russ Levin
           email: davidl@Radix.Net

I use clear RubberMaid plastic boxes to store my materials. It allows me to group my stuff and to see what is inside. I have one set aside to store the materials for the flies I am tying that day. Another is set aside for the tools. I add a few mothballs to each, but the smell stays in the boxes.
           submitted by: Russ Levin
           email: davidl@Radix.Net

Look at craft stores for tying materials. You will not find everything there, but what you do find will be very inexpensive. New ideas may spring-up too.
           submitted by: Ralph McConnell
           email: rmcconnell@aol.com

Taming Flashabou or Krystal Flash is easy. This little trick will help prevent execess waste, keep you tying area cleaner and make tying in material easier. Clip off a clump of material you need tight against the cable tie that binds the bunch together. Now tape the ends you cut together with clear tape. Now trim and Tie in your material from the other end. Cut material to lenght. WOW the remaining material stays bunched together and is ready to use again.
           submitted by: Scott Nordby
           email: snordby@isd.net

To make factory neat haywire twists at home, in no time, bend the wire as normal and where the two strands cross, clamp in your rotary vise. Use the rotary action of the vise to put evenly spaced, tight, neat twists in the wire. I like to join the leader to the wire in a loop to loop fashion and use a cross lock snap at the other end to attach the fly. Try it, it works.
           submitted by: Richard Siberry
           email: richsib@ibm.net

Match the hatch? At my cabin on a trout river/stream in northern SC I would leave one lamp on late in the evening and pull the screen to allow mayflies to fly in next to my vise. In the morning my newly tied flies matched the bugs that would be on the river/stream in the A.M. No fumbling around while the fish are feedin'. Check out my 34" hookjaw male brown(6lb.9oz.) on the wall if you don't believe this works.
           submitted by: Mike Middleton
           email: voltdcell@aol.com

Turning over a very long, very light leader with little or no line out of the tip-top (like an 18 footer on a spring creek): Sounds crazy: hold casting elbow straight out to the side. Lock wrist (use baseball grip). Cast between 10:00 and 11:45 with vigor, absolutely no wrist. You will be sore at end of day, but leader will false-cast and turn over beautifully. New Zealand trick, not mine.
           submitted by: Montgomery

 

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