Long ago, I realized that during fishing trips away from home, I could productively use the period after dinner to tie flies. It didn’t matter whether I was spending the night in a motel room, my van, a camper, or in a tent, but as long as I had adequate light, plus the right tools and materials, I could tie until my slowly drooping eyelids signaled it was time to turn in for the night.
My first portable kit, which I still use, was put together in a traditional Plano plastic fishing-tackle box, a model 757, about 11 inches high, 15 inches wide, and 9 inches deep. Rather than the usual cantilevered folding trays with lure compartments, it has a side-to-side, undivided, open bin on top and four full-width drawers below. When loaded with everything, including a pedestal vise, it weighs a bit over twelve pounds. The goal was to replicate my home setup in miniature and be able to tie not only all of the patterns used on a particular trip, but also any others I wanted, and this unit has fulfilled that need quite well.
While it works fine for me, it’s anything but minimalist in either design or intent. My friend Jeff had no interest in that concept — what he wanted was a very small, light, and compact portable tying kit, containing only the bare essentials needed to create fishable flies, something small enough to be tossed into a vehicle’s glove box or carried in a backpack. I don’t tie streamside, but this kit could easily be adapted to doing that, as well. I agreed to take on the project as a challenge to discover what I could come up with.
This endeavor was a bit uncomfortable for me, because even though I’m fanatical about reducing the weight of my equipment while hiking or backpacking, I’m a bit OCD in most of my activities and live by the motto I learned as a Boy Scout: “Be prepared,” and as military personnel are fond of saying, “Two is one, one is none.” During my entire career in law enforcement, I carried a backup gun when working in uniform. Some of my fellow officers even suggested I should have a backup for the backup. When hiking to a fishing destination, I carry a spare rod and reel in my pack so a broken or malfunctioning item doesn’t end the trip prematurely. I even carried two spare tires in my old Toyota four-wheel drive pickup. One of three different models of Victorinox Swiss Army knife is always in the front pocket of my pants, depending on the nature of the trip or just for every day carry. I’m sure you get my point.
Also, almost everything I write about is based on personal experience, and if I haven’t actually done it, I’m somewhat outside of my comfort zone when discussing something in print. However, I really enjoy doing research, and since putting together a minimalist fly-tying kit is something I’m doing from scratch, I invite you to participate and think about how you might want to do it differently.
Tools for the Minimalist
The first question that needs to addressed is how one defines “minimalist.” How much can actually be done without the aid of tools and equipment? Do we absolutely need things such as a half-hitch tool or a whip-finishing tool? It depends on what you’re comfortable doing without. Likewise, what materials are essential, and what can be swapped in and out each time, based on the individual patterns and quantity of flies being tied?
I’ve read that Lee Wulff tied flies without a vise, but I’m not up to that challenge, and some sort of a vise definitely seems essential. My search for a small vise eventually led me to a couple of hand-held devices designed for securing jewelry for polishing. One, listed as a “Hand held jewelry buffing clamp vise,” is sold by a company in Florida with an Etsy shop online, https://www.etsy. com/shop/Artistrywithbeads, and the price is currently only $2.99. While these are intended to be held by hand, they could also be affixed to a stationary object.
There are a variety of possible ways to use materials on hand or brought along to meet your anticipated needs. Jeff told me that he would often clamp a vise to the steering wheel of his truck when tying away from home. Duct tape, wire, or even a small C-clamp can be used to hold a vise to almost any stable or solid fixed object, thereby eliminating the weight of a pedestal base.
Hemostats used for removing flies when releasing a fish also can easily serve as a vise. Another tool that I regularly use is a Ty-Rite hook holder for tying my fly to a tippet. This small, spring-loaded device, which resembles a ballpoint pen, could serve as a vise, as well.
Many fly fishers carry a small Leatherman-style multitool. I found it nearly impossible to hold a hook solidly in the tool’s pliers’ jaws by hand, but the jaws can be secured with heavy-duty cloth-covered rubber bands (like those used for ponytails on hair), or “ranger bands” made from bicycle tire inner tubes. You can make your own or purchase them from Amazon.
If you want to retain the convenience of a standard vise, consider using just the upper jaws, spindle, and shaft. Check out some of the ideas in Sheridan Anderson’s classic Curtis Creek Manifesto.
I feel that part of the minimalist philosophy is utilizing each item for more than a single task whenever possible or practical. Some jobs require specific, dedicated tools for achieving the best outcome, but many do not, and by multitasking some tools, you can reduce the total number of items in your kit. I’m going to make some recommendations based on my experiences when using my original kit, but if you feel differently that’s fine, because the kit you create is for your own use, not anybody else’s.
It’s hard to go without a pair of high-quality scissors. Don’t pinch pennies here — get the best you can find and protect the points from damage while transporting them. Another tool on my list of essentials is a small, simple bobbin holder. Also, adding a bobbin threader takes up very little space, adds little weight, and can save time and eliminate a lot of frustration, although a strict minimalist would likely see this tool as a frivolity. Depending on the patterns you intend to tie, a small hair stacker can be useful and worth the space. Jeff uses a fired .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire cartridge case as a miniature hair stacker. Any other small-diameter, open-ended tube should work as well.
A bodkin is a tool I rarely use, so I don’t include one. If you bring a sewing kit on your fishing trips, its needles and safety pins can serve as bodkins. Jeff pointed out that barbless fish hooks, particularly those used for larger streamers, can also perform the jobs for which bodkins are usually employed.
Hackle pliers are small and light, but not all patterns need or use hackles. For those requiring them, I’ve used Whiting’s 100 packs of presized saddle hackles. The individual hackles are long enough that you don’t need hackle pliers until you reach their ends. By carrying only the number, colors, and sizes you anticipate using, you can easily make do without pliers and take the short remaining ends back home to be used at your bench. Of course, if you want to invest the time, you can preselect and remove hackle feathers from the capes and saddles you already have on hand. Some patterns and materials call for the use of a dubbing loop. Peacock herl tends to be a bit fragile, and I always employ a dubbing loop when wrapping it to provide additional durability, so I carry a small dubbing hook for that task. There are many commercially manufactured dubbing hooks and spinners, but you can easily make a dubbing hook from a cut-down bobby pin or from coat hanger wire. The Ty-Rite tool also could be used, but for this application, I prefer a tool specifically designed for the job.
Materials for the Minimalist
Tying thread, depending on its size, is usually sold in 100-yard or 200-yard spools. Weigh the likelihood of needing that much thread versus the bulk of the spools. If you need more than 100 yards of thread, you’re probably spending more time tying than fishing. What has worked well for me was something I discovered as a Boy Scout while making survival kits as a troop project — the small metal or plastic spools used for dispensing thread on sewing machines. Sewing shops and craft stores such as Michaels, and even Walmart sell these. You can bring along four or five different thread colors, and a new bobbin holder is stiff enough to hold them snuggly. Doing this eliminates carrying excessive bulk.
Unless you’re planning on tying just a single pattern, I would carry a small number of sewing machine spools holding basic colors such as black, olive, red (or hot orange) and perhaps a medium tan, gray, or brown in 6/0 or 8/0 — they’re by far the two sizes I most frequently use when tying at home. Beyond that, what you carry should simply depend on what flies you expect you may need to tie.
I’d suggest sticking with simple patterns that require only a few materials, rather than more complex flies — think of a San Juan Worm, rather than a Stimulator. However, you’re doing this because it you enjoy it, and your pattern choices are completely up to you. There’s no reason not to tie more complicated patterns if it brings you satisfaction and enjoyment, and you then just accept the fact that you’re straying a bit farther away from a totally minimalist approach.
One way to think about that approach to fly patterns, though, is the concept of guide flies. One of my earliest fly-fishing and tying mentors, Mike Kingston, who had tied professionally and guided in the Mammoth and Bridgeport area back in the 1980s, told me, “A guide fly is a pattern that’s quick and easy to tie. It employs inexpensive, readily available materials, is generally suggestive or impressionistic rather than imitative, and most of all, it’s a proven fish catcher.” He added that a working guide doesn’t have a lot of time or money, and must be able to provide his clients with flies that catch fish faster than they can lose them.
Some of the patterns that meet those criteria and that have produced results for me over many years of fishing the Sierra from Reno to Bishop are San Juan Worms, Brassies, Griffith’s Gnats, Black Fur Ants, Zebra Midges (as well as other chironomid patterns), Krystal Leeches, and Ed Story’s Crackleback. The September/October 2019 issue of California Fly Fisher featured a fly in the “At The Vise” column, the “Grey Duster,” that meets the definition of a guide fly, and I’m planning on tying some. I’m sure they’ll work successfully.
Farther away from the trailheads and higher into the mountains, the trout seem to be less selective, and there, I generally rely on Royal Wulffs, Elk Hair Caddises, the Adams, Woolly Buggers and Woolly Worms, Hare’s Ear, Pheasant Tail, and Prince Nymphs, and other traditional patterns. I believe that trout there are opportunistic feeders, and if well presented, almost any fly will be taken.
I’ve also come to the conclusion that trout don’t read the same books that we do and don’t know how any specific pattern is supposed to look, because I’ve hooked trout on flies that have been chewed until their hackles or wings flop about. If any of the flies you tie when away from home don’t look exactly the way you wanted them to, not to worry; with a good presentation, the trout won’t know the difference. In more remote waters, knowing where to present the fly often compensates for a less-than-perfect presentation.
Organizing for the Minimalist
Because the materials you carry will vary with the patterns you decide you may need to tie, when it comes to the most efficient way to separate and transport the tools and materials, there isn’t a “one size fits all” answer. Appropriately sized zip-lock plastic bags are a simple and inexpensive solution and have worked well for me. I’ve found some as small as two by three inches, sold in packs of 50 at Walgreen’s for about $3.00. They’re called “Pill Pouches” and are also available on Amazon. I use them for hooks, beads, short lengths of wire, tinsel, f loss, and so on. They are also ideal as dubbing containers. If you prefer something more rigid, there are dozens of styles and sizes of hard plastic pill containers sold at drugstores. They have snap-locking lids, some over each individual compartment and others with just a large single lid. I prefer the zip-lock bags because they’re far less bulky. In addition, some manufacturers’ packaging of materials can be used just as they are. Tools, though, are better protected and remain separated and more organized if carried in a either a thin pouch with individual compartments or a thin hard plastic container.
Once all the small, individual components are gathered and packaged, they need to be placed in some sort of a pouch, bag, satchel, or other container to keep them all together. Some possibilities are padded camera cases, canvas bank coin bags, padded smartphone cases, zippered toiletry or Dopp kit bags, and military style-tactical pouches. There are almost unlimited options, and this is an area where the Internet and a Google search (or perhaps simply a visit to your community’s military surplus store) will turn up items you probably haven’t considered. For example, for many years, I have used Coghlan’s heavy-duty roll-top waterproof plastic bags for carrying cameras, first-aid kits, and emergency gear while backpacking. They may be a perfect and inexpensive choice for carrying your kit. A number of fly-tying tool rolls and pouches also are available online, but some of them actually hold too much for a bare-bones kit.
Useful to Bring Along
As when tying at home, when tying on the go, there’s always the question of adequate lighting. Because I don’t tie streamside, all the tying I do is after dinner, when the daylight is rapidly fading or it’s completely dark. One of the best and easiest solutions is to use a powerful headlamp. If you’re backpacking, you’ll already have a lighting device of some sort, but the headlamp has the advantages of leaving both hands free and focusing the light exactly where you’re looking.
Another item I bring along is a small magnifying device. While hiking or fishing, I always have a first-aid kit, inside of which is a magnifier, normally used when removing splinters, or, if necessary, ticks. My aging eyes work better when tying small patterns in the field if I use the magnifier. How you use it depends entirely on how you hold or position your hands or vise — this is where your own ingenuity kicks in.
Another option to consider is dollar store reading glasses of suitable strength. Jeff uses clip-on, fold-up magnifiers attached to his regular prescription glasses. Once again, like most things, there is no single answer that will suit everyone, and your own experience or Google searches will likely suggest ideas to pursue.
The Internet is a source of all kinds of information on this or any topic, but I still enjoy reading actual books. I’m fortunate to have amassed an extensive library of outdoor books covering all of the things I enjoy doing or fantasize about doing. Don’t discount the tremendous value of well-written books by knowledgeable people on any aspect of the sport of fly fishing.
One book I recommend is Fly-Tying Tips and Reference Guide, third edition, by Dick Stewart. It covers a wide variety of topics and is very well illustrated. It was first published in 1993, and a second revision was published in 1999. Although going on thirty years old, the information is still as useful as when first written. Unfortunately, the book is out of print, but used copies can be found on Amazon or from used-book brokers such as Abe Books.
If the idea of creating your own portable fly-tying kit appeals to you, I hope this article has provided enough information to initiate the project. If you already have a kit, perhaps reading this has stimulated further thought about it and suggested some ideas to make it better and more efficient for your use. Everybody’s kit will differ, and the goal is to have yours be the best for you.
