Accessories for Fly Fishing. Which Ones Should You Have?

Recommendations of Accessories for Fly Fishing

Walk into most any fly fishing shop and you’ll see a wall full of accessories for fly fishing. With all the gadgets that are available it’s hard to decide which ones are really needed.

This page is here to give a description of the most common accessories for fly fishing.

Also I am adding a survey near the bottom of the page that those who have used these tools can vote on whether the accessory is necessary, nice to have, simply not needed, or they have never used one. Hopefully this will make it easier for those with less experience to decide what they need.

Line Cutter

A line cutter makes it easy to cut line and trim knots when you need to change flies, change leaders, or add tippet. Three common choices are scissors, snippers, or a simple pair of nail clippers.

Scissors have the added advantage of being able to easily doctor a fly.

Hook Remover

If you pinch down the barb on your hooks it is pretty easy to remove it from the fish’s mouth. There are times when the fish takes the fly to deep and a hook remover comes in handy.

For larger flies, like the ones used for bass, a pair of needle-nose pliers will do the trick.

For smaller flies a set of hemostats will make the job of removing the fly easier. Hemostats can also be clamped to your shirt or vest for easy access.

Knot Tying Tool

When you need to attach a new leader to your line you will need to tie a nail knot. Tying a nail knot can be done freehand but it is frustrating. A knot tying tool will make the task faster and easier.

Fly Box

To keep your selection of flies handy you will want to have a fly box. Fly boxes come in two general styles. Some have compartments and some are foam lined.

The fly boxes with compartments are best for larger bass flies or bushy flies that would otherwise be crushed in a foam lined box.

Foam lined boxes have the advantage of being able to see all your flies at a glance. Also on windy days there is little risk of a fly blowing out because they are stuck in the foam.

Hook Sharpener

It would be a pity to be on the water all day and finally get a hit from a monster fish only to find out your hook was to dull to properly set it in the fish’s mouth.

Hooks dull out quite easy when fishing in rocky areas. Using a hook sharpener could mean the difference of landing a fish or a day of casting practice.

Fly Floatant

If you use flies that don’t naturally float then you will need to have a fly floatant. Fly floatant is a gel, commonly silicone based, when used on your fly will keep it from absorbing water and sinking.

Floatant won’t last forever though and it’s a good idea to keep a fly desiccant on hand. After your fly gets waterlogged you will need to shake off any fish slime and excess water and then drop it in your desiccant container. After only a few shakes of the container your fly should be bone dry again. Add some more floatant and start fishing.

Fly Sink

Just the opposite of floatant, this stuff will remove any buoyancy from your fly and allow it to sink faster.

Line Cleaner

No matter how expensive or good a fly line you happen to buy it will get dirty and cause your cast to suffer. After every fishing trip or practice casting session you should at least wipe your line down with a damp rag to remove most of the dirt.

For the most part, a once over with a damp rag should do the trick, but if you want your line to cast like new again you will want to wipe it down with a line dressing .

Line dressing will not however help your line float any better. Floating lines do not last a lifetime. There is no way to stop a floating line from eventually sinking over time. You will simply have to buy a new one.

Split Shot

There are times when fish aren’t hitting your surface flies and you will have to go deeper to get the hit. Rather than change lines to a sinking one you may find it easier to simply add a small split shot sinker above your fly. It shouldn’t take much just a small one.

There are also moldable weights which you can purchase but the split shot is easier to come by and usually have more weight in a smaller size.

Strike Indicator

Strike indicators come in a variety of different types and there intended purpose is to act like a bobber and suspend your fly at a certain depth.

Many use a strike indicator to simply track where there fly is. For those of us with poor eyesight this is a great tool. It can even be something as simple as a piece of bright colored yarn.

Leader Straightener

When you take a leader out of its pack for the first time you’ll notice it is tightly wound up. A leader straightener is typically a small leather pad that you can run the leader through to remove any coils.

Don’t have one? Try pulling the leader between you hands at 2 ft intervals the entire length of the leader. This should do the trick, although it is not as simple as using a straightener.

Retractor

A lot of the time you will be wading in a stream when you are fishing. To keep most of your tools handy and less likely to fall in the water you can attach them to a retractor.

A retractor is a spring loaded cord that attaches to your vest with a clip on the end. Use them to clip to your tools and they stay out of the way until you need them.

Fly Patch

To temporarily store waterlogged flies you can use a fly patch attached to your vest. Made of fleece or foam these patches will absorb some of the water but are only to be used for temporary storage. Flies, especially ones with barbless hooks, can fall out and get lost.

Flashlight

For those of you who like to fish early in the morning or until late in the evening to avoid the crowds a flashlight may prove useful. Some of the smaller flies can be hard enough to tie on under normal conditions. Take away sunlight and you’ve really got some problems.

They are also helpful for those of us who forget “where the heck that trail is that leads back to the car.”

Thermometer

Fish, like most of us, have certain temperatures we are comfortable in. A small thermometer can help give you an indication of where the fish are holding.

Tape Measure

It’s amazing how every time some people tell there story of the monster fish they landed the fish seems to have gotten bigger with every new person it’s told to.

A small tape measure will give you an accurate measurement of the size of fish you caught. How much of a tale you tell is up to you.

Landing Net

You can increase the odds of landing your fish with a landing net. You should get one that is the size of the largest fish you could possibly catch, not the size you usually catch. You never know when you could hook into a huge lunker and your chances of landing him will be decreased if your net is too small.

Tippet Holder

When you need to add new tippet to you leader you may find a tippet holder handy. Although, you could easily store your spools of tippet in one of you vest pockets, a holder makes it easily accessible on the outside so you don’t need to search around for the right size.

Lanyard

A vest is the preferred method of most fly fisherman to store their tools on the water. Some fly fisherman, with fewer tools, don’t need all the storage offered by a vest and opt for a lanyard hung around their neck.

A lanyard usually comes with around eight clips to attach tools to. Be sure to get one that can also clip to your shirt to keep from swinging all over while you’re casting.

Multi-tool

When I was a kid my grandpa bought me a swiss army knife to keep in my tackle box. It had all sorts of little tools in a bulky pocket knife form, even a toothpick for whatever reason. (I guess the swiss just couldn’t fit a toothbrush in there.) Anyways, I used it for years and it was really handy although you had to search for the tool you needed.

Nowadays, Leatherman and Gerber have both designed multi-tools that are far easier to use than the old swiss army knife I once had. Multiple tools in a compact design. They even have models specifically for fisherman.

Personally I have three. One stays in my car, one in my closet at home, and one with my fishing equipment.

Wading Staff

Most of the fishing done on small stream will probably require that you wade in the water to get to a spot where you can cast for your fish. The bottoms of these streams are often rocky, slippery, and irregular. Get deep enough and even the current makes it hard to get around safely.

Many fly shops offer wading staffs as an extra safety measure to keep from falling in. Once you’ve reached your spot and have good footing they can be folded to a compact size and attached to a belt loop until you need them again.

Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses offer more uses than just keeping the sun out of your eyes. They provide protection from a miscast fly (Trust me it happens), and take the glare off the water allowing you to see the stream bed and even fish.

There are three main types of lenses you can get with polarized sunglasses. Plastic lenses are the cheapest, easiest to scratch, and worse optical quality. Polycarbonate lenses are better but a bit more expensive. And glass lenses are the most expensive, but offer the most scratch resistance and optical quality.

No matter how much you plan to spend on them remember even the plastic lenses can possible save your eyesight from a hook.

Of the different colored lenses available brown is the choice of most anglers. Grey lenses are in most cases too dark and yellow ones too light.

Find Out What Others Recomend Here.

This is the form that I mentioned at the top of the page.

For those of you who have been fly fishing for a while please take a few seconds to help others out by casting your votes.

If you just need to see the results do not answer any of the questions and click the vote button at the bottom of the form.

Accessories for Fly Fishing Recomendations
Line Cutter
Hook Remover
Knot Tying Tool
Fly Box
Hook Sharpener
Fly Floatant
Fly Sink
Line Cleaner
Split Shot
Strike Indicator
Leader Straightener
Retractor
Fly Patch
Flashlight
Thermometer
Tape Measure
Landing Net
Tippet Holder
Lanyard
Multi-tool
Wading Staff
Polarized Sunglasses

I hope this article clear up some of the questions you may have about which accessories for fly fishing you need. If you have any questions or suggestions on tools that may need to be added to this page please feel free to contact me and I will try to answer you the best I can.

Return from the accessories for fly fishing page and find out about other fly fishing gear here.

Or go from the accessories for fly fishing page to the home page and read more about fly fishing for bass and panfish here.

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