For many anglers, the year has two seasons. For some of us, the two are fishing and fly tying. We are the lucky ones.

If fly fishing is the "contemplative man's sport", surely making flies must be the contemplative man's craft. I don't know of anything that can erase the tension and cares of the everyday world as quickly and completely as sitting down at a tying vise.

Some of us live in communities where winter fly tying classes have become matter-of-course. Others do not. They must learn from books and questions directed at other tiers. One I am frequently asked is: "What tools do I need to get started"?

Fortunately, the answer is just a few and they don't have to be expensive. Here are the tools I find, if not indispensable, at least mighty convenient to have.

First of all, you need some way to hold the hook while the fly is being made. I do know some tiers, two to be exact, who hold it in their fingers and dress the fly while the hook is held in this manner. I prefer a vise made for the purpose as do most tiers.

The resurgence of interest in fly tying is reflected in tool availability. A few years ago there were probably a half-dozen manufacturers of tying vises. Today, there are several times that, many offering more than one model. The purchaser has a variety to choose from but to a neophyte the array must seem overwhelming.

Vises today range from simple cam-operated models to elaborate multi adjustment machines. Many have refinements unheard of a few years ago, interchangeable jaws and bases for instance. At least one electric driven vise rotates the hook to make winding of material easier. (That's about the only exercise a tier gets.)

I have ten simple lever operated vises, two Thompson "A" and the rest Herter's Model 9. Identical in appearance and operation, they have seen more than twenty winters of fly tying class service, been trouble-free all this time and hold a hook as well now as when they were new.

Speaking of holding hooks, if after some service your vise doesn't seem to grip like it used to, usually just cleaning inside the jaws with a knife blade will make it work like new. It only takes a little dried cement or other tying debris to keep it from holding well.

Herter's vises are no longer made. Thompson's still are, and I recommend them highly. Another vise, made in India and sold on the American market is a copy of the Herter and Thompson vises. It is listed in various catalogs as Sunrise model AA or Super A, seems to be well made and sells for much less.

Actually, all a vise has to do is hold the hook securely in a manner that allows plenty of clearance for dressing the fly and be trouble free.

An occasional drop of oil on threads and moving parts will help insure the latter.

Incidently, if you find you're fracturing hooks just by clamping them in place, don't blame the vise. It is because you are covering too much of the hook. The jaws should grip the lower part of the bend and barb but not the point. Covering the point will often fracture properly tempered hooks. If not completely broken, they are very apt to be cracked and break on the first good fish.

Next, and something that really is indispensable is a good sharp scissors. It should be pointed and have large finger holes. Embroidery or sewing scissors are usable but a good quality pair made especially for fly tying is hard to beat. Be sure it cuts well way out to the tip. Some kitchen knife sharpeners have a slot for sharpening scissors. These are a boon to tiers.

Incidentally, scissors, besides their obvious use, make a good tool for fuzzing bodies. Instead of trying to pick the fur or yarn out with a needle, a slow job at best, open the scissors points slightly and comb the body length-wise. It is much quicker.

For most of us, a bobbin to hold the thread is almost a necessity. It is a device that is held in the tier's hand and releases thread under tension. My fingers and anyone elses who works outdoors are almost invariably cracked and chapped. These irregularities, no matter how slight, catch and snag thread, so trying to make winds and knots without a bobbin can be catastrophic.

A dubbing needle, sometimes called a bodkin (old English for dagger), is also necessary. Most of us make them by gluing a sewing needle in a wood dowel handle. They are utilized for picking out wound down hackle, applying cement to knots, cleaning hook eyes and many other chores.

Hackle pliers are handy to have. Clamp-on devices that enable the tier to grip and wind small feathers and other components difficult to manipulate with fingers alone, they are available in a variety of styles.

The ones I Iike have a rubber pad on one jaw and serrations on the other. They grip well and seldom break a feather. Another popular one, known as "English Style" pliers have long grooved metal jaws. These grip firmly but, for me anyway, break a lot of feathers. The former is the most trouble free.

Like the vise, if one doesn't hold well, check the inside of jaws. Any foreign material there will let it slip.

And lastly, not that it is the least important but probably because it is the tool used to complete the fly, is a whip finisher. A whip finish is the knot used to keep a rope end from fraying or secure winding on fishing rods. The tag end of the thread is pulled under several wraps and then cut off flush. It makes a neat and secure fly head.

Most anyone can make this knot without a tool, but here is another place where cracked or chipped fingers are a hazard. Get a good one and learn to use it. It will prevent a lot of wound down hackle and frayed thread to say nothing about nerves.

There are two types on the market, the "figure four" and "Matterelli". Both are excellent. I use the figure four mostly because they are the oldest and were the only ones available when I started tying. They work fine, and I see no reason to change.

Here are a few more tips that should help a beginner. Some of them took me years to learn.

Good lighting is critical as is the background you are tying against.

Cover your bench with plain white paper. Any figured or dark background is an abomination. Newspapers are very hard to see against. Freezer wrap is cheap, makes the fly easy to see and will protect the table from spills.

Sit on a kitchen stool, not a chair. A chair wilI put you at about eye height to the vise. You will see only one side of the fly and usually against some dark or mottled background.

From a stool you look down on your work, and it will stand out against the white paper on the bench.

Background is important, too, if you ever demonstrate or teach fly tying. Wear plain, light colored clothing from the waist up so that people watching can distinguish the fly.