# Fly Vice and fly Reel



## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

Between Chistmas and my birthday in May I'll have around $500-$600 to spend. The more I spend on one the less I have to spend on the other. I have done some homework and I am leaning towards a Middle of the line Regal Vice (around $200), and then getting a Cimmeraon Ross reel 4-6wt (I was leaning towards to Rhythm but am not excited about a large arbor reel) with and extra spool ($237). 70% of my fishing is done on the Ogden and Weber Rivers with an occasional trips to some lakes fishing on my pontoon boat. I would love to hear any advice anyone might have for me. o-||


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

For a vise I would strongly recommend the Dyna Barracuda Jr Trekker. It has many more features and the jaws are easily changed in seconds. THe Regal is a simple design but if you are tying lots of small stuff (18-24), i can almost guarantee that you jaws are going to chip badly. Every regal I have ever seen has that problem. I have put literally thousands of small hooks through mine and the jaws are still in great shape. The ball bearing rotary feature is nice if you are tying lots of buggers. As for the reel, go with the rhythm. EXACT same drag system as the Evolution, just less detents on the drag knob so that is why it feels a little different. The Cimarrons are good and have been around forever, but you will break the plastic clicker eventually. The standard Cimarrons are actually better than the CLA's. The CLA's have a very jerky drag.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Love that avatar!


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

I have a Renzetti Traveler Series Rotary Vise. I love this thing. I tie size 24 flies on it with out any problems what so ever. It holds hooks very well. I haven't had any shoot out of it yet. My old vise was a cheaper Regal and that thing couldn't hold a hook to save it's life. I still find hooks in my carpet that have shot across the room. (usually by snagging them in my foot)

Spend the money and get a really nice vise, you won't regret it. My tieing quality and consistency has improved just by that alone.

I would recommend getting a Rotary Vise as well. It makes ribbing and wrapping much easier and you will be more consistent with it.

Cheech, I am sure you could give some nice recomendations for him.


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

I looked into the Dyna Barracuda Jr Trekker and really like the idea of being able to take it up backpacking with me on our yearly backpacking trip + it looks to be a high quality vice. I plan to make thousands of flies throught my life and think I better pony up and get a quality one that will produce some great flies for years. I'm not super hip on the Rhythm reel because of the Large Arbor feature, but again it will be a reel I'll use the rest of my life so I might as well get the best. I'm easily influenced into buying something of higher quality, I use the equiment I get a lot thus always look for the best (the best that I can afford that is |-O-| ). Thanks for the help and I would love to hear from anyone else that has knowlege about vices and reels.


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## threshershark (Sep 7, 2007)

Dyna King Barracuda all the way. I've found that trout reels don't need to be all too high end because the average fish here in the regional West doesn't throw the kind of RPM that bonefish or steelhead are capable of. Plus, if you are like me you have about 7 lines and the cost of spools adds up fast. I like Redington reels, and I have a Ross on my 4 weight that has been great too. Mainly just get something you think looks good and has an easily adjustable drag. If you were going for saltwater, steelhead, salmon, etc. I would definitely recommend something with a heavy duty drag, but locally I play the majority of my fish by hand. The fish that do hit the reel don't outperform my mid-range drag systems.

Redington GD 5-6









Another Redington GD in silver that I put a black spool on. I like this combo too.


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## cheech (Sep 25, 2007)

For a nice reel that is affordable, check out the Pflueger Trion, the Okuma Helios, the Lamson Konic, or the Orvis Battenkill Mid-Arbor. You really can't go wrong with one of those.

For a vise, I'm going to have to say that the Dyna-King just isn't a very versatile vise. If you don't have the hook in the notches it will slip. In my mind, you should never have to change jaws just to be able to hold smaller/larger hooks. There are several vises that do this very well. I put about 5,000 hooks through a vise per year (maybe more), but there are a few vises that I like, and a few that I don't. I tie 2/0 to 32.

Like:
Griffin Montana Mongoose. This is my all time fave. It does it all.
Renzetti Traveler. Only sold it to get the mongoose. Great jaws.
Dan Vise. Very economical, and great jaws for the price.
Griffin Spider. True rotary for a great price.


Don't Like:
Regal. They don't hold so great on small flies. 18-32 Not true rotary
Dyna-King. Great for BIG stuff, not so great for 18 and smaller
Vosseler. Bad jaws. Same knob for tension and rotary.
Thompson A. Good to start with. Hooks will start slipping after a bit.

Again, those are just my opinions. I think a good vise should hold a hook without slipping, hold a wide array of sizes of hooks with minimal adjustment, and basically not cause you frustration or wasted time at the bench.


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## flyguy7 (Sep 16, 2007)

I couldn't disagree with you any more about the vises, cheech. I also tie thousands and thousands of small flies a year as well. I have never ONCE had a problem with the Dyna King vise. The midge jaws allow better access to the rear of the hook, but the standard jaws hold just fine. The tension is very easily adjusted. an 1/8th turn of the forcing cone will cause the cam to rollover harder, thus creating more tension on the hook and holding it better. The reason Dyna King became so popular is because of the hook holding power of the jaws. I looked at the mongoose when I got my Dyna King. Both were about the same pro deal price. Got the Dyna king and 100% happy with it. IMHO


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## threshershark (Sep 7, 2007)

I agree with FlyGuy 100%, I love the Dyna King, and in fact small hooks are the whole reason for the slots in the jaws. This allows you to hold a size 6 or size 4 perfectly in the slots, and all in the same motion stick a midge hook in the tip with very little if any adjustment. Tying is like anything else, everyone has their own method and style. Depending on how you learned certain gear will feel more natural. I've even tied on the Renzetti Master, and while there's no question it's a sweet vice I don't like the proportions.

Something you likely couldn't do at Cabela's or a retail store would be to sit down and tie a fly on a vice. Go hit a pro shop though and they usually have a tying kit right there for tying up custom fly orders. Most will let you grab a display vice and whip out a couple flies if you ask.


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