As I registered for the MAR free drawing, I noticed the question about taking materials streamside to tie. Question #1: Does anyone really do this? I did some research a few months ago and didn’t come up with any satisfying results with regards to handheld vices and small travel packs to hold materials and tools. Question #2: If you do tie streamside, what does your streamside pack include? Question #3: Does anyone have a good source for streamside supplies?
Very respectfully,
Adam
I don’t carry a tying kit on my person when on the stream. But I do have one in the fishin wagon. It has saved the trip more then I like to say.
It is the small Cabela’s boxed set and
a box of materials. Stowed behind the drivers seat.
Wet
I don’t tie ‘streamside’ but I do keep a small kit in my tackle bag. I’m not fast enough to make them up on the water, can’t give up fishing time to tying. I use the kit at lunch or in the evening on a mutli day trip. Can’t tell you how many times I found the fish would only take a particular fly and I only had 3 in by fly box.
My travel kit fits in a small PLANO box, it has a small scissors, a small vice made from an exacto blade holder, 3 common thread colors re-wound on sewing machine bobbons to save space, a bobbin bent to accept the the smaller bobbin. An assortment of common hooks, dubbing stored in 1 1/2" sections of soda straws, hackles in grizzly, brown and dun. Some antron in various colors.
Often when tying I end up with small pieces of left over material, these go into a small zip lock and eventually end up in the kit.
I do a demo for clubs titled the travelling flytier. It uses what I can only describe as the smallest tying kit you can get. Everything for the demo fits into the pocket of my shirt. About 5" by 3" is the size of the case.
The rule is that I have enough hooks and materials to tie a dozen of each fly I tie in the demo (Usually about 10 flies).
I have used this kit in fishing huts to save a day when I hadn’t the right fly or had run out of flies.
Here’s the kit packed and laid our.
Cheers,
Alan.
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
Alan,
What kind of vice is that in your streamside kit?
Bill
You will not be able to get one like that it was made for me however the Blue Mountain vice is very similar.
Sorry I don’t have a contact for them.
I have designed a vice that has a full rotary feature to go in that kit but I am waiting for the first prototype from the makers.
Cheers,
Alan.
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride!”
I’m like Wet Fly Guy . . . I typically don’t carry one on the stream (unless I’m going to be a long distance or time way from the car) but there’s always a small kit in the fish car.
Joe
Very many thks, gents! It has motivated me to go ahead and “drink the koolaid”. I think I’ll trie one of those handheld vises I’ve found and report back. As I already throw my entire tying kit and materials in the pop-up camper when travelling (and it has saved the day as many have said), I want to have something on me that I can tie streamside. I really found the need last weekend in the Shenandoah flying for brookies. There was a hatch of small dark caddis and, while I had some success with a big green traditional caddis, I know if I could’ve wipped up a couple of smaller, darker ones my wife and I would’ve met with greater success.
Again, tks for everyone’s inputs and if you have any other ideas, pls provide.
V/r.
Adam
Forgot one thing for AlanB. If you get your rotary up and running, pls drop me a line at bluwatr@worldnet.att.net. I was converted to rotary several years ago and haven’t looked back. A small one that would fit in my shirt pocket sounds perfect!
V/r.
Adam
Adam,
I know this is not quite! what you were looking for, but may be of some help… [url=http://www.sexyloops.com/articles/troutflydesign1.shtml:2907a]http://www.sexyloops.com/articles/troutflydesign1.shtml[/url:2907a]
tight lines,
Roy
Roy,
What size is a five pence coin? Thanks for the article. Can’t get much simpler and since I do not have to worry about a club…
Cordially,
mcsteff
Roy,
Great article! I’m going to try at home before going streamside to get the hang of it, though catching fish with plain hooks may be worth a try…
V/r.
Adam
OK, maybe I’m crazy, but a handheld vise makes absolutely no sense to me. Why would you not hold the hook in your left hand as did tiers of yesteryear, and skip the middle man? Holding it in your hand has many advantages, in that you can use spare fingers to do things, which you couldn’t do with a handheld vise.
That said, streamside tying has never held much interest for me either. I understand that if you see a bug, you would want to exactly immitate it right then and there, but where do you get the exact material you need, in the color you need, with the size hook you need? Are you carrying a suitcase full of materials or what? I’d rather just fish.
Eric
Here are some pix of the tying kit I used to carry around in my vest along with 50 lbs of other stuff I never used.
The kit is a heavy vinyl wallet with clear divider leaves for storing materials with an attached, undivided Dewitt type box for storage of tools and whatever else will fit, the whole kit folded up measures 6? X 4? X 2?. I?ve had this kit since the early 1980?s when I purchased it empty at the Suffern Show. I seem to remember the kits also being offered pre-loaded with goodies but I forget who manufactured it or sold them.
The tools I put in it are: a Matterelli Midge Bobbin and preloaded spools of different color thread, some small and folding scissors, small bodkin, half hitch tool and a really small whip finisher, (I forgot where I found that), other assorted tools, hooks, and miscellaneous junk. The vise is an old Sunrise India, (there?s a name from the past), hand held job with a removable base that you can screw into a log so you have both hands free.
As far as materials go, it is loaded with scraps and pieces of stuff that 20 years ago, I imagined was what I would need streamside. I seem to recall using it two times: once when I was trying to impress my fishing partner by trying to fashion a Trico spinner during a hatch, (I don?t seem to recall catching anything with that fly), the other time I used it was when I was catching a mess of trout on a lone Bivisible I had tucked away in my fly box. I broke the Bivisible off in a fish and proceeded to tie another streamside with the kit. Not exactly what I would call matching the hatch.
Back in those days I was prepared for ANYTHING streamside. I carried more junk than an expedition to Everest. I figured I HAD to be ready to match the hatch with a fly I crafted streamside because the trout were so smart, nothing else would work. Since those days I?ve realized both me and the trout are stupid and what I have in my chest box will work as good or better than any ugly contraption I created streamside with the junk in my kit.
I now keep the kit in the car for memories, laughs and just in case?.
[This message has been edited by Bamboozle (edited 03 March 2006).]
Tks Eric & Bamboozle. Great points of view. I don’t think I’m wanting to be able to tie everything. But, knowing that I can either tie or fish, I choose to get streamside. However, I have recently found my boxes a little wanting for the classics - or - the classics need a slight adjustment (i.e. a dark body vs. a green body for an elk hair caddis). If the whole think can’t fit in something that can go in my wader pouch or back pocket, then I’m not going to do it. I’ll fish like my 80+ barber told me he used to fish - take a sledge hammer and hit the biggest rock in the stream to stun 'em! (Of course, I’ll revive them after taking a picture or two…)
Tks again for the input.
V/r.
Adam
Adam, that 5pence piece is about 15mm across.
that’s about 5/8 of an inch
The point of that article was that when I was fishing the wee stream at home in the 1960’s I would fish the whole summer with just a packet of mixed hooks some fine wire and a pocketful of fur.
No vice nor other tools are required.
No flies were pre-tied nor carried in tins.
The only fly I took along was the one attached to last evening’s tippet.
The rod lived outside, assembled, leaning against a downpipe, ready to go.
Those were glory days alright.
[This message has been edited by RoyChristie (edited 04 March 2006).]
Roy, I really got a big kick out of that article, especially the last line…“Does it always work? Well, no…”
I think if anything always worked we would soon be off doing something else. I can see now why you had such an easy time tying flies with no vise for my little contest. You’ve been doing it for years! Really great stuff.
Eric
years and years, Eric.
Thanks for that mate, when’s the next contest?
;?}
ever hopeful,
Roy
Tks for all the gouge, Roy. The minimalist in me wants to start off your way before looking to put a kit together. I’ll let you know how it goes.
V/r.
Adam
We await your results with bated breath,Adam.
Wait till summer to start tho…
It is not easy with frozen digits.
Tight lines,
Roy