I have been an avid fly fisherman and tier for the last forty. I knew Art
Flick and was initially influenced and trained in the Catskill School of
tying. My tying style has been greatly influenced by Rene Harrop, Mike
Lawson, Charlie Broe, Hans Weilenmann, Gary LaFontaine and numerous guides
that I have met over the years. I believe that simplicity, silhouette,
profile, movement and a trigger, like oversized wings, teardrop shuck, etc.
are most important in fly design and construction. I have been impressed
with designs that concentrate on profile and material movement and have
combined these different techniques into effective fly patterns. My
objective is to find flies that outperform on very selective fish. The
thread flies (BWO, PMD, NO NAME, TRICO, BROWN DRAKE) have met this objective
based on reports from a number of guides and fishermen that have tested
them. Designed as an emerger and/or cripple, the thread fly is also deadly
at the end of the drift as a wet fly. Although a drawback is durability,
they are easy to tie and Amadou and Frog's Fanny keep them floating. Some
feedback from those that have tried the T/F design reported minmal success
with the flies they initially tied. Upon inspection in all cases the wings
of these flies were too short and not tilted forward. When the tiers retied
my patterns with a more pronounced wing tilting forward their success went
up dramatically.
Now that I am retired and part of a company that does trips in Patagonia,
ANDES DRIFTERS, I get a chance to more rigourously test my patterns on the
many spring creeks and rivers that I fish in Argentina.
I am interested in any feedback. Good Luck!
Chip