Fly Tying//My Passion

My first experience with the fly rod was May 30, 1973. The gentelman that put it into my hand was Roy Rexrode. Roy lived in Franklin which is about fifty miles upstream from Romney on the South Branch (trout water).  Roy didn't have a lot to say but when he spoke it had meaning. Roy and his son Ken invited me to fish a well known native brook trout stream near Franklin. It was a beautiful stream with huge springs pouring from its banks. Roy fished "old timey" wet flies. The "Peacock Body and Gray Hackle" was the fly of the day. I marveled at Roy's smoothness in the stream. He caught fish all evening and I primarily watched. The experience never left me and I gained expertise with the fly rod as the years passed. It wasn't until years later that I tied my first fly.

The Christmas was 1991: I was not really in the mood for joyous celebration. You see, my little girl was dying of a terrible, mostly overlooked disease-Anorexia Nervosa. She was starving herself to death. The doctors gave her a 50-50 chance. The present that Jackie gave her daddy  was a Cabela's Fly Tying Kit. It had a vise, bobbin, bodkin and a few other things. I told her that I loved it but it was she that I only loved. Jackie recovered and has moved on to become a Graphics Designer and married a great guy. She has two sons  and a happy life. A year or two after that Christmas, I found that little kit buried on my workbench. I looked at it again and all the memories came back. I really didn't know anything about all these objects, but I spent a Saturday figuring them out. I had no idea how to

tie a fly even though I loved to fly fish. I borrowed some thread from my wife and some hair from a fox squirrel tail and lashed the hair to a plasiic worm hook and hurried to the South Branch. I loaded the leader with split shot and cast it into the river. On the second or third try I hooked, landed and released a smallmouth. On my own fly! Needless to say, I was hooked at fly tying and have been ever since. "Thanks Jackie, I love you". I have always had the desire to become an artist of some sort. I tried drawing but recognized that my sister got all those genes. Then came the banjo but after six months of trying to play "John Henry" I gave it up, knowing it was coming too hard. I have always loved to fish and tying flies seems to blend with that love as well as

satisfying my artistic itch. My nature is that of a perfectionist and as the years pass; my flies look a lot better than my first fly pictured above. Not perfect, but with help from pro tiers like Kent Bartley, the first person to give me encouragement and subtle hints on ways to improve, they are getting better. More recently people like Hans Weilenmann (Netherlands) and Bruce Salzburg (Wyoming) and many more have helped me to continuely improve. I have found that fly tiers are a very friendly and helpful group.

Then there is all the paraphernalia that goes along with the art. The vise, furs and feathers of all kinds add to the excitement of fly tying. Many of these are gathered by my friends and I. Hunting and trapping are a way of life in the Mountain State. The artificial materials, that are becoming more prevalent in fly tying, allows the finished product to take on striking appearances. Photographing my flies has also brought me enjoyment. To properly display my wares to you on this web page has given

me great pleasure. I'll save that topic for another time. What I'm trying to say in my rambling way is that "Fly Tying" is getting me through my fifties and has become "My Passion".  From my first fly (above) to my last fly (below), this great field has given me many  pleasures and has allowed me to meet many wonderful people. If you have a love for fishing, give fly fishing a try. Sooner or later that will lead to fly tying. If you're interested give me a call or drop me an email. I'll be glad to help.

Photographs by: Carl D. DeFazio

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