By Chris Morrison. Southern Sierra Fly Fishers newsletter
Let’s start with some defi nitions. What is “rotary tying” and how can it help me tie better, faster, and
more consistently?
A valid question, with a very simple answer, really. A rotary vise, also called In-Line Rotary, True
Rotary, and Full Rotary, is simply a vise that allows you to hold a hook while keeping the shank in a
straight line parallel to the rotational axis of the vice jaws. That means that whenever you need to
apply a piece of material to the hook by wrapping it around the hook shank, you can rotate the hook
instead of moving the material around it. This includes chenille, floss, dubbing loops, dubbing
brushes, quill bodies, peacock herl, ribbing material, palmered hackle, collar hackle, soft
hackle…and a myriad of other materials. No longer will you lose your grip on that piece of chenille
mid-wrap only to have the whole body of your wooly bugger unravel, forcing you to start over. It also
means that you have a full 360* view of your fl y available without moving your vise or removing the
hook from the jaws. Imagine…you can now view the top, bottom and both sides of that intricate full-
dress salmon fl y to make sure your married wings are even and your expensive Jungle Cock eyes
are symmetrical.
So, how does rotary tying work? Again…a valid question with a simple answer. Let’s think about tying
a wooly bugger. After you have the tail, ribbing material, chenille, and hackle tied in, you start to
wrap your chenille body forward using the standard “over-grab-under-grab” method. This is a time-
consuming process, which can be maddeningly frustrating
if you lose your grip on that chenille mid-wrap, and the whole body unravels. There is an easier way.
On a rotary vise, once you have your materials tied in, bring your thread back to the front of the fl y
behind the hook eye, tie a half hitch, and drape your thread over the bobbin rest. The bobbin rest is
that funny-looking piece of wire that sticks out in front of the vise. It holds your thread under tension
and out of the way. Now, grab your chenille, hold it about 90* off to the side or above (or even below,
if you wish) the hook, and rotate your vise while guiding the chenille forward. See how easy that is?
Since your hand holding the chenille never moves, you don’t risk losing your grip and having to start
over.
Now, tie off and clip the excess chenille, tie another half hitch, grab your hackle and in the same
manner, guide the hackle back towards the hook bend to form your palmer. When you reach the
hook bend, wrap you ribbing material once around the hackle to hold it in place, and then use the
rotation of the vise to guide your rib back towards the front
Tie off and clip the excess rib, build a beautiful head, and finish the fly. The whole process took
about half the time and you never once lost your grip on any materials. Look at the fl y, too. Have
you ever tied such an even and consistent body, rib, and hackle on a wooly bugger this quickly and
with as little frustration? I didn’t think so. Now imagine how easy it is to tie Copper Johns, floss body
wet flies, Zebra Midges, Red Quills, tinsel-bodied streamers, or any fl y with a rib, dubbing loop body,
or collar hackle.
There is no doubt that rotary vises are more expensive than your standard Thompson Model-A. They
should be. They are machined pieces of working mechanics considering all the ball bearings and
sleeves-matched-to-shafts and what not. But don’t fret. You don’t need to invest a small fortune to
drastically improve your tying and get started with the rotary style. There are many vises available in
a myriad of price ranges with different features and functions, and I will provide you with a “short list”
of my favorites.
Starting at under $100, there really is only one choice that I am aware of. The Dan-Vise is a delrin
composite vise with metal jaws and a cam-operated closing system, C-clamp mount, true-rotary
functionality, and honest hook holding strength, all for around $80. It does everything a rotary vise
should, including holding hooks from size 2 all the way down to 32, and probably even larger, though
I’ve never tied larger on one.
Next, there are several companies producing excellent machines for a price ranging from $150-200,
and these machines are true works of art. Renzetti, Griffi n, and Peak are the three that I have tried,
and they are masterful vises. Brilliant beauty, true hook-holding power, great customer service, and
years of experience and tradition in vise making. If you want a metal machine of beauty to tie your
fish catching works of art on, but don’t want to spend $200 or more on a vise, these are the choices
for you. Each one is an exceptional piece of machinery designed with the comfort and ease of the tier
in mind.
On the next level, you have vises that range in price from $200-500 and more, and these beauties
are the top of the food chain. Most of the vises in this price range feature stunning beauty with
unparalleled metal work and machining, precision ball bearings with smooth, effortless rotational
abilities, comfortable and pleasing ergonomic designs for hours of tying enjoyment, your choice of C-
clamp or pedestal bases, and a myriad of available features and options such as indexing, which
allows you to rotate the vise to a number of lockable positions along the 360* axis. My favorite vise,
and the one I tie on, is the Dyna-King Barracuda Jr.
Now that you have the information you need, it is time to start shopping around. Rotary tying will
drastically improve the look of your flies and the ease of your tying, as well as making it faster and
less frustrating. Don’t be scared of change. Rotary vises can make your tying so much more
pleasurable that you will spend more time at the vise and produce much better looking and higher
quality flies. You’ve really nothing to lose, except frustration, hand cramps, and un-even flies.
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