At regular intervals I receive requests from collectors for my flies. I am happy to provide these, The cost per fly is $15.00 to $30.00, postage paid in the US, depending upon the complexity of the imitation. International postage is an additional $5.00 per fly.  Cost for large international orders will be quoted separately. See the page at the right for a sample list of imitations and their prices.

Classic Mickey Finn with black pupil on white eye, $30.00

Hair Leg Nymph--Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear $25.

Sunday, Day 3, at the Somerset Show started at 8 am when I held a Bible Study for a group of a little over 20 people. It was a great time for everyone. At 10 am I gave a demonstration on tying with a spinning loop. We looked at a Down and Dirty Minnow, a Down and Dirty Bugger, a Down and Dirty Sculpin, a Down and Dirty Stonefly, and a Down and Dirty Skater. Definitely a down and dirty time. At 2:45 I gave a Power Point presentation on Reading Waters, and then at 4 pm I signed books for a half hour. A great way to end the show.

The Sunday crowd was more than ample. Plenty of people in the aisles all day long.

Steve Rajeff playing to a large crowd intent on learning more about casting from the World Champion.

My good friend, Simeon Gawesworth, at the Rio booth. Simeon is heavily involved in all the lines that flow out of the Rio factory.

Today opened with a bang. Saturday is always a busy day at Somerset, and today was not different. I didn’t have any programs until after lunch, so I spent the morning talking with old friends and looking at all the gear, tying materials, and fishing venues. Sorta gets one’s blood circulating fast. After lunch I gave a presentation on Casting. It was to start at 12:15, but I had marked 12:45 on my notes. So I wander in at 12:30, thinking I was early and could spend some leisure time getting ready, etc. Well, since I was 15 minutes late, I had to gallop to the casting pond and get ready in a couple of seconds. Then I discovered I’d brought my 10 weight rod instead of my 6-weight. But of course, I had remembered to bring the 6-weight reel. Fortunately I had no problems tossing the 6 on the 10. Then immediately I had a Power Point Presentation on Fishing the Film. After an hour interval, I had a book signing. It was a great time for all.

The day 2 crowd at the Show was very large and very excited to see all that was available.

The crowd at the Power Point Presentation on Fishing the Film. They asked many questions and were very enthusiastic.

Today, Friday the 27, was opening day for the Somerset Fly Fishing Show. I presented a fly casting class this morning for 8 students. All of us had a great time. My long, and I do mean long, time friend, Ray Oswald, attended the class. Ray and I went to Penn State together, 1962-1966, and fished around the state. He lives in eastern Pennsylvania, now and fishes the Little Lehigh, the Broadheads, and others in the region. The class learned the Foundation Casting Stroke, the Elliptical Stroke, wrist casting, arm casting, thee Three Point Grip, Reach Mends, Hauling, and a whole bunch more. They did great! Ray and I s spend some time together touring the Show before Ray had to get back home and I had to give a Power Point on “Long Flies.” The crowd was heavy today—more like a Saturday than a Friday. It was great to see so many people out and excited about the coming 2012 season.

If you’re in the area, come on out and say “Hi.”

The casting class all did a great job with new ideas and techniques.

Today's crowd was large and very enthusiastic.

There's a lot to do at the show. This is my good friend, Michael Mauri, demonstrating Spey Casting.

Select a hackle of appropriate size for the hook being used, prepare it, and tie it in at the base of the wing. I tie in both in the front and in back of the wing post. Be certain to leave plenty of bare shaft at the base of the hackle feather so that it can be easily started in its parachute turns. To form the rear of the thorax, spin a tiny bit of dubbing on the thread and figure 8 it in front and back of the wing post. Keep it light, but thoroughly cover the area. Now, spin just enough dubbing onto the thread to form the frontal portion of the thorax, this is not very much, so keep it thin. Leave an inch of so of thread between the hook shank and the top of the dubbing (Figure 1).

Wind the hackle parachute style around the very base of the wing post; it should go onto the area at the base of the wing where the thread was previously wound when the wing was tied in. Tie off in front of the wing. This will use up the bare thread between the hook shank and the top of the dubbing. Clip away the waste end of the hackle and wrap the dubbing to form the front portion of the thorax. Tie off and clip away the thread.  Clip the wing to length. Fold it back over the top of the hook and clip it as long as the back of the hook bend. Place a generous drop or two of thin, flexible head cement into the base of the wing , and a tiny bit on the thread of the head (Figure 2).

Notice that this is a single feather, gray hackle Parachute Adams. I prefer this color to the mixed brown and grizzly normally used. It is not so bright in strong sunlight.

Figure 1. Tie in the hackle, form the rear part of the thorax. and spin the dubbing on for the front portion of the thorax.

Figure 2. Wind the hackle, form the thorax, cut the wing to length, and apply the ccement.

My friend, Theo Bakelaar, from Holland is the one who introduced gold beads into the U.S. fly tying community. To attract attention to the idea of gold beads on the heads of nymphs and other sunken imitations, he got the idea to paint his his own head with gold. Trouble was, he used spray paint for cars. Not easy to get off. But, my, did he change the landscape of fly design. He just sent me a photo of one of his tying demos in which he appeared with a gold bead head. Great stuff.

Theo as Mr. Goldbead in the early 1990s.

After the thread has been wrapped forward to secure the tail, stop and add the body dubbing to the thread. Leave about an inch of bare thread between the hook shank and the top of the dubbing. It’s much easier to apply the dubbing very tightly when twisting it on an inch or so down from the hook, rather than trying to get one’s fingers up tight against the hook. Now, wrap back to the rear of the shank. This will use us the inch of thread and bring the dubbing right up into place ready to wrap on to form the body. Wrap the dubbing forward to form a nicely tapered body. Now, pay close attention. Remember that production tying is not just speed tying. It’s also really good tying. So, as you wrap the dubbing forward, don’t be afraid to stop and back up a turn or two and re-wrap, add more dubbing, or remove dubbing, until you get the body just right.

Now for the wing. I prefer to us a sparkle nylon yarn or similar material so that the wing has some “zing” to it. Besides, it makes tying in the wing much faster and more effectively that using calftail or other hairs. Chop off a chunk of yarn about six times the length of the finished wing (this length is easy to handle) and separate out a clump that is ½ the final thickness of the wing. Fold this chunk up and around the hook shank, immediately ahead of the body. Secure the clump with figure-8 wraps, and then wrap around the base of the wing, just above the hook shank, 8 to 10 very tight turns (Figure 1).

Figure 1. After adding a tapered, dubbed body, fold the winging material up around the shank and secure it with figure-8 wraps. Then, wrap the thread very tightly around the wing post 8 to 10 turns just above the shank.

Tenkara fishing is finding a good following among U.S. anglers. Certainly it is fun and different. More important, it teaches one some very needed skills about using the rod in fighting and landing fish.

Tenkara has a good presence at the Fly Fishing Show. A Tenkara group was not only present in Denver, but they also gave great demos and presentations on the sport of Tenkara. Jason Klass posted a photo of me in Denver using a regular fly rod and demonstrating the Bow and Arrow cast, which is often used by Tenkara anglers.

There are many other casting tactics that can be adopted straight from casting with a guided rod, including such novel casts as the side-arm roll cast, single-handed Spey, C-cast, Snap Cast,, all the Reach Mend variations, and much more. For a more thorough examination of this highly refined “pole and string” style of fishing go to www.tenkaratalk.com/

The Bow and Arrow Cast is important to all fly fishers. It is a favorite of mine and a good way to introduce the concept of Presentation. Photo by Jason Klass.

The Parachute Adams is one of the best all-around emerger imitations out there. There are production tactics that make it fast and easy tie. First is the fan tail. This tail not only helps the fly position itself in the film, but also suggest a partially cast nymphal or pupal skin. Start the thread around the mid-point of the shank and wrap to the rear. Build up a small ball of dubbing right at the very start of the bend (Figure 1). Select a small clump of hackle fibers to be used for the tail. Pre-trim them to length. Tie them in a couple of turns ahead of the small ball of thread, and then wrap back tightly to the ball. This will cause the fibers to flare into the fan shape. Wrap forward to lock the fibers firmly in place (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Start the thread near the center of the hook and wrap to the rear. Form a thread ball right at the bend.

Figure 2. Attach the hackle fibers and wrap back tightly against the thread ball to flare them into the fan shape..

A major part of every fly fishing show is the casting demonstrations by a variety of well-known angling instructors. There are opportunities to learn a new wrinkle in a rod grip, a particular casting tactic, a different way to mend line, and much, much more. Take time at the shows to watch the casting demonstrations, and the take time after the show to practice newly acquired skills.

This is me demonstrating the Long Range Bow and Arrow Cast at the Denver Fly Fishing Show. My friend, Michael Mauri, another casting demonstrator shot this photo for me.