As a wee lad of 7 or 8, I caught my first trout near Leadville, Colorado.
Like many fly fishers, my fishing heritage took me from worms and salmon
eggs, to small flatfish and Mepps spinners, to tiny dry flies and big
weighted stoneflies. I started flyfishing with an old fiberglass fly rod in
1967 or 8. I started tying my own flies in 1972 while at college at
Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. Basically self-taught,
someone took notice of my flies and invited me to tie at the FFF Southern
Council Conclave in 1985. Since then I've tied at FFF conclaves, sportmens
expositions, local fly fishing events, and fly shops. I think my most
noteworthy accomplishment to date is my golden stonefly nymph - which has
caught trout literally everywhere, from Missouri, to California, to
Australia and New Zealand. I call it the Piper (as in Pied Piper of trout).