I am an elementary school teacher living in central California. I have a
wife, Julie, and two teenage sons, Chris and Marc. My dad was a fly
fisherman but as a young boy I had no 'patience' for the sport. We mainly
fished small creeks in the Sierra Nevada's near our home. I spent many an
hour watching him cast, wondering what he saw in it. After all, I could
catch a lot more fish with crickets! It wasn't until much later that I
found out what he saw in fly fishing. I started fly fishing seriously
about 5 years ago with my brother-in-law Sid and from then on I was
hooked. It's like the saying in that ad for fly rods, "Fly fishing
doesn't practice catch and release...once it catches you, you stay
caught." That's me! I started tying my own flies about a year later and
I can tell you they were the ugliest flies imaginable! But, I just kept
on tying and learning and watching other tiers until I got to the point
I'm at now. I still have a lot to learn. I have been fortunate to have
had some of the best teachers. Roger Corum, a tier of great skill and
patience, has taught me a great deal about materials, techniques and
style. Another is my brother-in-law Sid Kenworthy. He got me started with
tools, materials and techniques, and is the model of artistic
craftsmanship that I think about every time I sit down to tie. Many
people have influenced my tying and many others will in the future. To
anyone who is a novice like myself, my advice is to listen to all of them
and then create your own style.