While not for every fly fisher, even though it should be, the simple joy of tying flies, one often ironically strange natural or synthetic material at a time, shouldn’t be missed.
I’m old enough to have learned tying on a Thompson Model A, the workhorse of many a kit for many a decade, sitting alongside my fly fishing and tying mentor, John.
Clamped to the edge of the hand-me-down kitchen table, he showed me the absolute basics and we together worked through the first two Jack Dennis Western Fly Tying manuals.
That first tying season happened to fall during one of the coldest and snowiest Northern Utah winters in years, so it was several months before my first over-sized, ratty-assed Bitch Creek nymph teased a hungry brown out of a pool on the upper Provo.
That first fish caught on a fly you crafted with your own two hands (and ten thumbs) tends to stick with you. As does teaching your kids to tie; our two kids learned on big, flashy salt water patterns during a long winter in their early elementary school years, and one has morphed into a damned accomplished tyer today.
Friends in the industry talk these days of a resurgence of interest in tying, and to that we say it’s about damn time. A hearty kudos are due industry big boys like Orvis with their free tying classes and just as importantly every independent shop that takes the time to run classes or host tying nights. Those events are often at the front or back ends of what are already long days, but the value of real deal, face to face, no bullshit social networking is immeasurable.
I suppose on one hand it’s easy to get lost in the (comparatively) vast array of vises and tools these days. It’s well worth remembering that some of the most skilled and creative tyers today create their masterpieces sans vise, doing all the work in hand. Watch a guy or gal tie something up in hand and prepare to be amazed. To the point – you don’t need a grand worth of vise and gear to crank out great flies.
Bottom line, just tie this season. If you’re new to the game, find a tying fisher you trust and have them walk you through the basic gear and skills. If you’ve got the rig and haven’t tied in a while, drag it out, dust it off, and crank out a box or two of your go-to nymphs for the spring.
And find somebody to mentor, preferably some youngster under the age of 12, captivated by fly fishing, who still has the ability to be amazed and can live several hours without a phone in their hands.
As the Headhunters guys in Craig have been saying for a few years now – it’s Fly Tying Night in America.
Git ‘er done.
