Whether you’re just admiring your own handiwork or tying a bunch of bugs in stages, having a way to display them while keeping them close at hand is a luxury. A very affordable luxury. Alligator clips are ideal for this purpose as they have a sure grip, come in several sizes and are readily available and affordable. The clips are available either mounted on a 1/8” stranded wire or loose. I have both styles available. Those mounted on stranded wire are permanently fixed to a wooden base. The loose clips attach to a similar wooden base but with a magnet and they also stand straight up. I have found that flies tied on a #12 hook or smaller work best with the magnet mounts and small alligator clips. The transfer from vise to stand is far easier when you don’t have to pick up the whole stand. If you’re tying big stuff, say for muskies or salt water species, the large clips pre-mounted on wire, will serve you best.
The notion for the beaded wire fly displays was spawned by a picture I saw of a spin-casting lure maker. He had a mess of spoons that he was painting hanging on some wires separated by large beads while they dried. It was an easy adaptation to get things down to fly size alternating bead sizes, shapes and colors to space out the flies evenly. So, if you’re waiting for head cement to dry, or tying a dozen or two of your fav pattern this little hummer will come in pretty handy. If not, they work perfectly well for earrings.
