Well, as you can tell the blog section of the webpage was rather light in 2023. Although writing is something I do enjoy, keeping a steady stream of valuable reading material for those of you who appreciate what I do is often a noble idea, but one that frequently takes a backseat to life in general, and well to be quite frank chasing my passion. Add in the fact that I tie flies for a living for others and well, there you have it. I have contributed some material and time to others articles, podcasts and organizations looking for donations in the past year, one thing you probably have noticed isn’t happening is presenting at the flyfishing trade shows.
To be honest, I miss the days of hanging out after hours with all the great folks who comprised the fabric that made those shows what they were. It was by far the highlight of an otherwise grinder of a weekend away from home, family and the vise where I could be doing what I do; tie flies for my customers. I like many have come to terms with the reality that the show scene dynamic has changed, and the need to be there isn’t all that important at this stage in my life. As I always say, you gotta take care of what’s in front of you.
There very well may come a time once my daughters are off to college where I revisit the notion of attending/presenting at the shows again, but I cannot guarantee that. My fear that the writing is on the wall for large shows as attendance has shown, and like many things that were the norm they will start to drop off the map like our striped bass stocks but in this case, never return. Things have changed, information flows freely and differently in todays world with the advent of the smart phone, and that old “Amazon” click and deliver effect has made it too easy to swipe for what we need without having to go somewhere. For many, it is just too easy to sit behind their tiny screens and search up a video and be content with what they find rather than get in the car and go see somebody in person who actually might have a lot more to offer than that 60 second clip they watched.
Comparatively, it is so glaringly obvious to me after various interactions in the past couple of years that the desire to carry on traditions, remember and highlight the history, or better yet have the desire to even recognize it is just simply nothing today’s generation of anglers and fly tiers is remotely even interested in. It falls right into the the 3E acronym a close brother of mine made me aware of which seems to be the mantra of todays flyfishing industry. Those 3E’s are: Explore, Exploit, Extinct.
So a bit late on my part, but never too late in my opinion, I have finally begun adding in some classic streamers into the store. I have always had an interest in these wonderful patterns that I fished in my youth that were the tinder in what sparked a lifelong pursuit into the depths of streamer fishing and fly design. The roots of these patterns run deep and in todays world seem to be getting lost in the mix. My hope is to keep those older flies relevant in todays world by honoring those who created them decades if not centuries ago by providing them for you. Some might be slightly different from the original recipe due to the inability to find a specific material, or better yet, a material that is much better than what was available at their inception is now present and incorporated in their construction. As I have said before, substitutions in materials are not an issue in my eyes, as long as they are relatively close in nature to that which they are substituting.
Often in fly tying, an individual tiers style is infused into that original design to provide something slightly different but in all essence a rendition of a pattern that has become a household design. Some tiers have a knack for eloquently infusing their style into a time tested fly design, and it shows in a tasteful manner. Some simply infuse their style and think that they have invented something new. The truth lies somewhere in the middle I am afraid, but I am not here to be the judge of who’s right or wrong, all of us who have gone down this rabbit hole have been inspired by those before us, just remember that and your ok in my book. A tiers style is what sets them apart from others, but in doing so they owe it to the originator of that particular pattern to give credit where credit is due.
As you will see, a classics section in the streamers tab has been added to the store. This will be a section of streamers that will grow in the coming year on a rather regular basis. I may even do a few tying videos on some of these in the future despite the internet being deep in these types of flies at present. If that happens, you will most likely garner some valuable tips in these flies construction as there are some finer nuances that repetitive construction of these provides that the average tier might overlook. These tips may speed up the tying sequence from a commercial tiers perspective, but the value is there for every tier, so why not share.
I have started with some bucktails, but featherwings and a few other odd balls will be added to the mix in the not so distant future. Heck, I may even offer up some presentation quality versions for those who collect them as well as there has been some interest there too, stay tuned for that. For now enjoy the offerings, and know this, these are tied with pride in mind and offered at a fair price for those of you looking to purchase. Thanks again for everything in 2023, and may you and your family have a safe and happy holidays and a great new year.
Best,
-RS-
