Rite Bobbin

If you are a fly tyer, it doesn’t take long to notice Rite Bobbins. You might see the one arm design or the four leaf gold dial in other tyer’s hands or hanging from their vise. When people ask for a bobbin recommendation, a Rite is commonly suggested.

The main advantage Rite has over other bobbins is the adjustable tension that allows thread control. This is a spring drag system controlled by a dial on one side of the thread spool.

All Rite Bobbins are manufactured in the United States. Merco manufactures five models including Standard, Shorty, MAG, Cermag and Half Hitch MAG. The Standard and the Shorty are identical except the Shorty is well…shorter. The Shorty is made for smaller flies and smaller hands, but you may even want to use one if you happen to like shorter bobbins. Both are ceramic bobbins created with the strongest ceramic available. Rite uses zirconia to make their ceramic tubes for their bobbins. I’m sure you have heard of zirconia, it’s what they make fake diamonds from. The type you would rather buy for that special someone, because it’s much cheaper, but the ladies would despise you for it! Anyway, it happens to be the material that makes ceramic extremely strong. You can use wire bobbin threaders in these particular ceramic tubes without worry.

The Cermag has a longer reach with an extended ceramic insert. It has a high pressure click drag system and heavy duty thread tension. If you’re looking for a ceramic bobbin to spin deer hair for example, this one is recommended.

If you need a stronger bobbin, you can go with the next model, which is the MAG Bobbin. Originally designed for saltwater fly tying, the tube is made of stainless steel. The thread tube is also larger in diameter and is a good choice to use with yarn.

Besides the four basic models, Rite has added their latest creation. I have fallen in love with this bobbin. It’s the Half Hitch MAG Bobbin. This essentially is the MAG Bobbin with a couple of other features that puts the icing on the cake. It has the strong stainless steel tube like the MAG, but the barrel is tapered to allow thread to slide off the barrel to help you tie half hitch and whip finish knots. After the legendary Joe Humphries visited Lyle and showed him the technique of using the barrel of a bobbin to tie these two knots, the design of the tapered barrel came to life. In the following video, Lyle demonstrates this technique.