On the Fly Magazine: The Greater Yellowstone Fishing Resource

I was first introduced to fly tying by my grandfather, who decided when I was eight that I was old enough to learn how to tie a fly. We went to his cool, quiet, basement fly tying room and he patiently showed me what I needed to know to tie a fly.

Grandfather was a self-taught tier, and most of his flies caught fish, but they won’t be found in any fly tying pattern books. He crafted flies from the furs and feathers of the game he harvested during the hunting seasons or from the chickens raised on nearby farms that would make Sunday dinner. I spent countless hours in that basement trying to get the hang of getting the materials to stay on the hook where I wanted them and thus become a creation that would catch a fish. Fifty years later, I can say that I have accomplished the primary goal and a fair bit beyond. Even after having tied thousands of dozens of flies, I still enjoy the whole process that is involved with tying a fly and catching a fish with that fly.

I think I’ve gone through most of the possible stages of becoming a fly tier. First as an enthusiastic eight year old struggling to learn how to get different materials attached to a hook, I simply chose colors I liked and didn’t
consider the fish’s preferences….

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