Learn About the Fixed & Rotatary Vice for Tying Fly Fishing Flies

Series Summary

Modern fly fishing is centuries old, having begun in North England and Scotland; however, the history of fly fishing can be traced back over one thousand, eight hundred years to the now mysterious Astraeus River in the Roman Province of Macedonia. In the 2nd Century A.D., Marcus Aelianus described Macedonian fishermen's use of fastening feathers and wool to hooks to attract fish. Fly fisherman today use the same baiting techniques but often buy their own flies at a fly shop. Many modern day fly fisherman choose to tie their own flies as in the “old days” and create that unique fly that has just the right personal touch to make it theirs. If you would like to learn how to tie flies and create your own unique type of fly, learn from a man who has tied his own flies for years and has developed many original fly types that are available to the public.

In this free online video series learn how to tie flies from fly tying expert Ed Story who founded Feather Craft Fly Fishing in 1955. Learn fly tying techniques such as using the rotary vice, the bobbin, bobbin cradle, the knob vice, the whip finisher, and de-barbing the hook. As professional fly tyer Ed Story demonstrates fly tying in various steps, learn how to tie flies such as the Crackle Back Trout Fly, and the F-C Pine Squirrel Nymph; learn how to tie the Woolly Worm Trout Fly; and how to tie the Marabou Streamer.

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Ed Story on behalf of expertvillage.com. My website is www.feather-craft.com fly fishing. This is a Renzetti true rotatory device and the difference between a fixed right position device and a true rotatory device this actuator arm allows us to wrap hackle using the vise. We could wrap peacock curl, we could wrap tinsel, a number of other products that include chenille for the fly bodies and trout flies. This portion here is actuator arm. The adjustments for tension are right here, and also right here. You could even lock the vise and our fixed position vise. We could loosen that and that would become a true rotatory device again. This particular vise is a pedestal vise which could be set down on any table as oppose to a C-clamp vise which locks to the side of the table. This is a bobbin cradle; when we need it we hang the bobbin in the bobbin cradle like this while we do other steps on the trout fly. When we don't need it we just move it out of the way. When we mount a hook in a true rotatory vise this one is called a nob vise. We mount the hook and the jaw with the shaft shank of the hook, parallel to the table top, lock it down finger tight here, be sure that it's parallel with the table top and lock it down in this position here with the back nob and the hook is solid in the vise jaw, and this is a vise jaw."