Photo credit Mike Cline at the Fly Fishing Show Atlanta 2008. Even the pros get clusterered when tying desk (area) is too limiting.
Fly tying is a popular hobby—whether as copyists, innovators, anglers, artists, dabblers, or mechanics.
Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023.
By Henry Clement
However, tying your own flies can be frustrating if your workspace is cluttered. As an amateur, I realized that tying isn’t enjoyable when I spend too much time searching for tools or materials. I thought cleaning up my space might restore the fun of tying my own and friends’ fly patterns.
Hoarded Supplies
I researched online, watched YouTube tutorials, texted experienced tiers, and discussed with our small, irregularly meeting group of coffee-and-bagel tiers. We all shared—and some professional-tier respondents confirmed—that we have too much “stuff” and lack proper storage. All the pros I talked to or saw on YouTube solved storage issues similarly by nesting plastic trays with fitted tops.
Starting the Project
By removing unused materials accumulated over five years, I decluttered significantly. I had enough 2mm colored foam sheets to tie about 50,000 damselflies—almost the entire seasonal North American population.
Note: Our tying group has yet to decide where to donate the surplus tying materials.
Then it dawned on me
It wasn’t the supplies causing the mess in my area. It was my wooden tying table. Although crafted by my brother and beautiful, it had the limitation that the holes drilled to hold tools were too close together. Also, the overall square inches of open workspace were confined. A few waste clippings and random tools could be hidden away too easily.
My wooden tying bench was also pocked with holes that couldn’t properly hold all the tools and threads, making access awkward, so leaving tools out added measurably to the clutter.
Tim Flagler showing tying tips and hacks on a YouTube demo video hosted by Mad River Outfitters’ Brian Flechsig [see link below].
Foamanizer
Accepting that a plastic organizer can modernize and free up space was a bit of a mental hurdle. Still, a couple of Hareline Foamanizers opened up my tying area by at least a factor of 3. Without the wooden desk organizer my brother built (24” x 13”), I had the whole surface (44” x 23”) to work with.
Next Steps
I bought a small basket to organize materials for specific flies, eliminating the need to search for containers or tie in a chaotic mess. Even pre-cut some materials needed.
Getting a second basket for the tools for each fly wasn’t necessary since the Foamanizer made access easy. With more space, a few tools on the desk didn’t cause clutter and could be quickly replaced when done.
The vise stayed centered on my bench for easy reach, regardless of hand dominance. Since I mostly tie tube flies, hooks are literally never underfoot.
Note 2: Ideas were from Tim Flagler and the Foamanizer from Ryan Ratliff from Mad River Outfitters.
Note 3: I decided early on to limit my thread choices to avoid being overwhelmed.
Foamanizer comes in various sizes. The most popular size is 16-inch.
A friend in our tying group recommended 70-denier thread as suitable for most needs, which turned out to be right—especially when using cording and uncording for Tim Flagler’s tying hacks. My supply of specialty threads and ribbing is limited to one per type that I actually use.
Most of my fellow coffee-and-bagel tiers adopted new setups to meet their needs and improved the neatness of their ties with Foamanizers. No one claimed their system was magic or impressive—just noticeably neater and more enjoyable, which is a relief.
A Breakthrough
About five years ago, I started saving my work stages with half-hitches to manage interruptions. Now, I use them to protect my progress at various stages—a one-finger half-hitch or the usual hollow tool does the trick.
For some flies, I now skip the whip finish and dab threads with thin UV resin—so far, it yields a cleaner finish and prevents unraveling. I didn’t invent this, but I cannot remember who showed it to me.
Your comments, please.
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