Vises

We cherry pick three brands, all American made.

GRIFFIN's entry level vise, the 1-A, has a fine jaw and terrific hook holding ability for $49. Step up to the Montana Pro and you get a bigger jaw operated with a cam for $78. Griffin currently makes ten vises. Two others that we like are the 2-A and the Patriot Cam.

Lots of people will tell you that a REGAL is the only vise you'll ever need. Its cam operated jaw is fast and easy and develops unbelievable hook holding power. We all tie on these. Prices start at $120.

RENZETTI originated the bent shaft, true rotary fly tying vise. Their C-clamp cam jaw traveler weighs only 8 ounces and is priced at $194.95 but their entry level Aprentice is a mere $99.95 and features a push-rod collet, moveable head, and full rotarty function.

Other vises we like are HMH, a line of highly refined draw-down collet vises. If you're still tying on a Thompson but are aware of the drawbacks you'll love these. And finally, we like DYNA-KING because it uses a push-rod design instead of the more common draw-down.

Scissors & Bobbins

Our best scissors are surgical stainless steel from Pakistan. Our brand is Dr. Slick. We carry everything from super-fine blades to big boys for bass bugs, even some with tungsten carbide blades.

Most of our bobbins come from Griffin, who makes a wide variety and have reasonable prices. We also like the Tiemco ergonomic ceramic bobbin and the automatic bobbin from Nor-vise whose clutch takes up slack or excess thread.

Materials

As for plumage, we carry the requisite peacock, marabou, chicken, goose and turkey feathers. Let me just say a few words about our dry fly hackle. Most of what we stock is the Whiting brand which has become the undisputed benchmark in the industry. However, we also stock the Hebert-Miner strain from Whiting. These necks feature unique natural colors, supple quills, outstanding barb counts and a larger sweet spot. Honestly, you're crazy if you don't at least look at these.

As for fur and hair, we carry the standard bucktails, deer and elk hair, squirrel tails, rabbit strips and hare's masks. Naturally we sell packaged dubbing for nymphs and dry flies, but you should take a look at our custom nymph dubbings made with real seal's fur. We can even show you how to blend your own. Whaddya think?

The synthetic materials we carry run the gamut from winging material, materials for winding or forming bodies, all manor of foam, rubber legs, popper bodies, brass and tungsten beads and some pretty jazzy and very shiny dubbing.

Let me offer one caveat. There are always new materials being introduced and because we're a small shop it's virtually impossible to carry everything. If you're not in a rush we'll be happy to order the hot new stuff you're looking for. If you're in a hurry let us help you find a suitable alternative. As long as you're flexible we can help cover your needs.