Most fly-tyers will recommend that you purchase the “most expensive” or “best vice you can afford” and this is in many respects true, however, I thoroughly recommend getting the cheapest vice you can find before you invest too heavily in fly-tying. As a hobby and an art form, fly-tying is not for everyone. It requires patience and no little amount of dexterity to become a successful fly-tyer, and many people I know never got on tying flies after spending more than a few pennies on expensive equipment. I really do recommend a cheap and cheerful starter pack for beginners, and then progressing, or graduating, to some high quality equipment, not least because you’ll appreciate it all the more when you do!

As with most of the items we talk about at Fly-fishing.in, most of them are available to purchase online – so we’re going to do a little run-through of the fly-tying vices you can buy on the internet for delivery to your door.

Naturally, there is more choice out there in local tackle shops, and good ones will even let you have a little go with bits and bobs before you buy – you should try to seek out these hidden gems near you as the good quality tackle shop may well become a thing of the past pretty soon.

Delrin Rotary Vice – £59 Orvis

At £59 from Orvis, the Delrin Rotary Vice isn’t hugely expensive and it does everything you would want from a mid to high-range vice, at a price which is not excessive (unlike some items I’ve found in Orvis over the years!).

The jaws can take a hook from a tiny size 28 up to a whopping 2/0 so your average trout man will never need another vice no matter how fiddly or giant he makes his flies.

Importantly, indeed the vice’s main feature, this vice rotates, which allows one to varnish or touch up otherwise difficult to reach sections of the flies undercarriage – some flies are easier tied “upside down” due to the requirements of the pattern.

The vice also incorporates a thread bobbin rest, which, when you don’t have one, you appreciate the need for!

Our score 8/10 – comprehensive, all you need in a vice.

Click here to visit Orvis and order this vice online.

Price £59.00

Turrall Fly Tying Vice – £13.19 TackleShop

I started fly tying with a vice much the same as this one. It won’t do much more than holding a fly in place, just about, but these entry level vices are perfect for a beginner because they are not expensive. Lets be honest, who, at the age of 12 or 13 has £60 to spend on a vice when you could buy a whole setup rig for the same money that would be perfectly adequate for a couple of years or so, at least until you learn whether or not you want to continue with fly-tying as a hobby.

This vice will not hold your thread bobbin (but you can fashion some way to do this for free – I know because I used to!) for you, and neither will it rotate, but you can make most patterns adequately with a vice like this one. If you can afford better, then get better, but this will do.

Our score 4/10 – minimal but effective

Click here to visit TackleShop and order this vice.

Price £13.19

Turrall Lever Fly Tying Vice – £9.89

This vice is largely the same as the one above, except that it comes in at under £10 and is black rather than chrome finish.

Again, this vice is far from perfect, but it would make an affordable entry into fly tying for a novice or young tier who wanted to test the waters before purchasing a more expensive and comprehensive vice for the future.

It is likely that the vice will wear out a little with use too (I had a similar design which did) and it will have difficulty controlling hooks with long shanks or gripping particularly small hooks without distorting them slightly, however, for the money, this is adequate, and it will at least hold a hook while you practice imitating aquatic life with feathers and thread.

Our score 4/10 – minimal but effective

Click here to order this vice from TackleShop

Price £9.89

We shall add to this list over time as we discover other vices which are available online – feel free to leave a comment below on these vices, or another vice which you use. If you discover any other gems online let us know and we’ll link them up too so that we have a useful starting point for all tiers to find a vice for their needs.

The right glasses should fulfil two objectives:

1. Clarity – to make it easier to see your fish; and
2. Safety – by offering protection from windswept or wayward flies.

Polarised Lenses

The first point raised above, that of blocking out reflections from the water, is best performed by a pair of polarised sunglasses. Polarised glasses essentially separate reflected light from that which has shone directly. Just don’t ask me to explain how!

An interesting way to test whether or not your glasses lenses really are polarised is to look at the screen of a modern mobile phone through them – you should be able to see it. Turn the phone the other way up and the screen may become invisible! This method only works with some phones, and a particularly good pair of glasses, but when you can get it to work, its truly amazing. It also proves beyond doubt that your polarised lenses really work!

Photochromic Lenses

The top of the range fishing glasses also feature what is known as Photochromic lenses, which essentially means that they react to the intensity of the light: getting darker when the light is at its brightest and lighter when the natural light dims. This is also of great benefit to the fisherman as it allows him to see clearly in all light conditions without having to switch glasses or take them off (which, as we will see, could lead to a safety concern).

Safety

Now we come to perhaps the most important reason for wearing a pair of glasses – that of safety. It is not impossible to strike oneself when casting a fly, particularly in a breeze. Most of us have done it once or twice out of the many times we go fishing – the law of averages says so! I have a friend who managed to get his fly embedded in the side of his head on a particularly gusty day, which resulted in a very painful trip to the doctors as we were still, at the time, using barbed hooks. Imagine if that fly had struck him in the eye.

This can, has and still does happen to fly fishermen. Even the cheapest throwaway pair of sunglasses will afford you protection from taking a fly full in the eye, though there are several great pairs that provide so much more to boot. Here is a selection that those of you from the UK can buy online:

Fishing Glasses to Buy Online

• Ekynox SX Titanium - £88.64 – this is almost the best pair of fishing glasses available! Its polarised, light sensitive and wraparound for that total protection. At the price, you might be worried about dropping them, but these are a lovely pair of fishing specs.
• Exception Titanium – $355 – Similar in many respects to the Ekynox, this pair is slightly lighter weight and is rimless at the bottom, providing enhanced visibility.
• Ketyum Titanium – $355 – As photographed at the top of this article, this pair of glasses has it all: superior vision all around; great protection; lightweight; excellent polarisation and light sensitivity. You couldn’t be much better prepared, optically speaking!

If you have a particular favourite pair of fly fishing glasses, or would like to make another related comment, please do so below.

Keep your eyes healthy – and see the fish!