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Today's Flavor ....

Today's Flavor ....

Today’s flavor is Hendricksons. There’s a steady drip from the roof eaves as the snow melts and the forest floor outside my window is still heavily cloaked in winter. A closer look and you can see a faint hue of red in the maple trees from the tiny buds that hold springs leaves tucked tightly inside. Under the stream stones, the different larval forms are beginning to sense the upcoming change in the season and are becoming restless as their day approaches. It won’t be long n

The Busy Season ....

The Busy Season ....

In "A River Runs Through It" Norman Maclean writes "we were left to assume , as my brother and I did, that all first-class fisherman on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman". For someone like me, the logical followup question is who tied their flies? I can only hope that the Disciples supported local fly tyers to fill their fly boxes. I'm fortunate to have the support of some great customers, and I am grateful and honored

Another Hendrickson ....

Another Hendrickson ....

I love seeing all the different versions of Hendricksons that fly tyers are posting on social media lately. Last week I went traditional with a Catskill style Hendrickson using vintage materials, this week I’ll go a different direction. The spinner stage can be an exciting part of fishing any mayfly hatch; and Hendrickson spinners are no exception. When I see them starting to collect over the riffles in the evening, I’ll drop down toward the middle of the pool and knot one of

Coq de Leon .....

Coq de Leon .....

There are so many ways to use these beautiful feathers. While they certainly see their share of use in nymph tails and have fibers that are just too long for smaller flies; there are some big mayfly imitations that allow us to put them to good use. The mayflies of the ephemera and hexagenia genus are huge, and many of them have heavily mottled wings that are well imitated by a dark pardo CDL hackle. Shown this week is my Parachute DNA Coffin Fly Spinner, with a Coq de Leon ha

Fly Archives ....

Fly Archives ....

Tucked away deep in my collection of clutter is a few Riker mount boxes of flies from an earlier time in my fly tying career. There was a time when classic and artistic Atlantic Salmon flies were an obsession of mine. For a fly tyer these fanciful creations represent the master’s game and is by far the deepest rabbit hole a tyer can go down. From collecting the classic materials and books from the Victorian period, to developing the techniques to properly prepare materials a

Ants that Fly ....

Ants that Fly ....

Late summer / early fall is the time when flying ant swarms become a daily possibility on the water. Ant swarms never follow the logic of other insects whose hatches can be predicted and anticipated. While we can expect to see Slate Drakes, Baetis Olives and Tricos at predictable times of the day; fly ants just happen, and we can only hope for being in the right place at the right time when it does. Interestingly there’s another component to flying ant swarms: having the righ

Anting the Hatch ....

Anting the Hatch ....

I’ve always been fond of ant patterns, having learned early on that trout are terribly fond of the real ones. Ant patterns and Pennsylvania fly fishing go together like peas and carrots, and the list of Keystone State writers and tiers that have influenced the ant imitations we fish is a lengthy one. An early influence for me was Ken Miyata who was a frequent contributor to Fly Fisherman Magazine up to his untimely death in a wading accident on the Big Horn River in 1983. Ken

Summertime Blues ....

Summertime Blues ....

It’s early August already, hotter than hell, and tough to find the motivation to do much writing lately. Standing in a stream and spending time in the mountains always triggers some inspiration to pound away on the computer keys, but there’s been very little of any of these activities of late. The trout waters in so many places are flowing warm and low, so here I sit dreaming of cool water, cool temperatures, cool places I love and cool friends I miss …. and tying Hendrickson

In-ˌflü-ən(t)s ….

In-ˌflü-ən(t)s ….

“Influence” according to the wisdom of Merriam Webster is “to have an effect on the condition or development of”. I’ve been fortunate to have met some great fly tiers over the years that have been strong influences on my own tying style. Some of them were very well known and achieved recognition on a very wide scale, while others of equally proficient talent never saw the time in the spotlight they deserved. Russ Mowry of Latrobe tied a series of unique fly patterns that had

Keeping it Smooth ....Part III

Keeping it Smooth ....Part III

Two weeks ago I talked about the need for creating a level, smooth under body when making a fly body from goose or turkey biots. Last week I talked about how to tie a biot in to ensure that you will get the result you want (raised rib vs. smooth segmentation) and pre-moistening the biot to help wrap it smoothly. This week I want to talk about wrapping the biot. The most important part of this is a gooooood pair of hackle pliers that are tuned up to prevent slipping (notice I

Keeping it Smooth .... Part II

Keeping it Smooth .... Part II

Biots can be used to make a segmented fly body that imitates a mayfly’s abdomen better than many other materials. The challenge is keeping them smooth and getting consistent results. Last week I talked about the need to create a smooth underbody. This week is part II which will talk about prepping and tying in the biot. To give yourself the most useable length, pull the biot from the feather stem rather than cut it off. That little extra gives you a good base to grip the biot

Keeping it Smooth ...... Part I

Keeping it Smooth ...... Part I

Many fly tiers I talk to find working with turkey and goose biots frustrating. They can be, but once mastered they make a really slick fly body, and they are a key material in many of my mayfly imitations. There are a few tricks that can keep your blood pressure down, your tying fun and your fly bodies smooth. The most important thing to create is a smooth under body. People that tie classic salmon flies and old school streamers and wets know this game better than anyone. If

The Warmup .....

The Warmup .....

While I seldom take many breaks from tying flies, it happens from time to time especially during the late summer when my customer orders taper off. Sometimes life gets in the way. If I’ve taken a break from tying for a period of time I go through a warmup process which starts out by working with some larger flies and working my way down to smaller versions of the same pattern over time. It’s a great way to get back into practice with good proportions, thread control, the mate

Bigger Isn't Always Better ....

Bigger Isn't Always Better ....

Years ago it was pretty common to find streamer flies in smaller sizes in most shops and fly boxes. They took many forms, from bucktails like the Mickey Finn and Black Nose Dace to the beautiful Lew Oatman and Carrie Stevens feather wing patterns. Pennsylvania’s Sam Slaymaker tied a series of baby trout patterns to imitate brook, brown and rainbow trout. Somewhere along the way the lid blew off and my streamer boxes these days have some pretty nasty and big articulated flies.

Diversions ....

Diversions ....

One of my neighbors is a premier breeder of Llamas, which are pretty cool animals. The fur from llamas is known as “fiber” and is used to make beautiful sweaters, scarves, gloves, socks and hats. I was invited to do a beginner fly tying class at a llama conference using llama fiber as a material, which is an interesting diversion from my normal weekend activity of fly fishing, writing about it, or photographing it. The people that attended my class were a lot of fun to work w

Roots ....

Roots ....

We can all trace our paths back to the beginning of something, back to the roots. I was an 11 year-old kid that was always drawn to the water and inquisitive about what happens in that mysterious world below the waterline. I decided at that ripe age that I wanted to be a fly tyer and set off on a journey that continues to this day. The first flies I attempted to learn back then were traditional wet flies and “The Knoll Guide to Trout Flies”, Helen Shaw’s “Fly Tying” and Ray B

Clip it Good ......

Clip it Good ......

In more than 45 years of tying flies things have piled up. There are boxes and bins and totes and bags of materials everywhere. It just happens. While I’ve collected a ton of material over the years; the one place I’ve succeeded at being a minimalist is the array of tools I use at my tying bench. I use a very basic vise, a few bobbins, two dubbing needles, three tweezers, one el cheapo pair of hackle pliers, a homemade dubbing brush and a hair stacker. No whip finisher. Cutti

Dances with CDC .....

Dances with CDC .....

Cul de Canard feathers are one of my favorite materials and play a big role in many of my “Signature Fly” patterns. Anyone that’s ever worked with these feathers knows that they can be frustrating to work with because they are sold loose; and because of their fluffy character, tend to blow around and scatter easily. A slight breeze or a sudden sneeze can send them flying all over your tying desk and the floor. A simple solution is to buy yourself a small plastic tote with a l

A Little Twist .....

A Little Twist .....

There are multiple angles on the topic of thread control, which is one of the key elements in fly tying. While learning how and when to apply thread tension and how to use soft loops are terribly important, another overlooked element that inexperienced tyers struggle with is controlling and managing the tying thread. Some companies and fly tyers talk about how a certain thread will wrap very flat, which is great when you are trying to maintain a smooth thread base that will b

Tying One .....

Tying One .....

I taught a fly tying class yesterday with the Anglers Club of Philadelphia at the TCO Fly Shop in Haverford, Pennsylvania. This a very fun group of people and it’s always a treat to get together with them. A big thank you to Mike Lastowski for the invitation to teach the class. One of the patterns we tied was my Soft Hackle Quill Gordon Emerger, which is a “flymph” type pattern I designed in the tradition of the great Jim Leisenring and G.E.M. Skues. It’s a very simple patter