Welcome to the boards! Skip's your guy on the vises, him and most other folks can help with the tying part, so ask away! It's a great hobby. We have guys with everything you could need to tie with online at great prices, be careful though it's like a kid in a candy shop. :D I'd get a few jars of powder paint in your favorite colors for the heads, a few $1 cards of chenille in colors you like to start with, and some 1/4 oz packs of marabou in 6 or so colors. If you don't like it you won't have too much into it and can sell it...but I don't know anyone who hasn't liked it. It's addicting. :D

A few things though, get good tying scissors and don't cut anything but feathers, hair, thread ect with them and they'll last. Get a full ceramic bobbin or it'll be cutting your thread way too often driving you crazy, it's worth the 10-15 bucks. Get some 210 denier flat waxed nylon thread in white and black, on dark jigs use black on light colored use white, saves a lot of money instead of trying to have every color thread.