It s pretty easy to get duped by a nice looking ad or a salesman trying to unload a slow moving product. There are also a bunch of tools I couldn t do without. Let s take a look at the essential ones. This little gem holds the thread and keeps tension on it while you tie the fly. I d never get a small fly tied.
Bobbins come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but they all perform the same duty.
Some have ceramic tubes the thread runs through, others are just stainless steel. Some are flared, some are straight at the end of the tube, and some have mysterious bends in the frame designed to make them easier to hold. Some have ceramic or jeweled inserts on the end of the tube and some have springs that reel up the slack thread while you use them. Good bobbins never cut the thread and cheap bobbins almost always cut the thread, so it s wise to invest in a good bobbin or two. I have over a dozen ceramic bobbins pre-loaded with thread on my fly tying desk at all times.