Hey Tye,

Once again we find out that life is not fair and justice is hard to find unless you have retained a firm full of patent lawyers. The unfortunate fact of the fly naming game is that access to the mass media is a must if your invention is going to carry your name. The local guide who invented a new, successful pattern is almost certainly going to lose it to the first outdoor writer who wishes to claim it. Certainly, most outdoor writers are not flynappers but one or two famous flies with your name on them is a powerful step toward fame and therefore irresistable to a few. A change in wing color, a wire rib or a new type of flash and the fly become yours. Unfortunately. there are a number of stories about some famous angling authors who have "borrowed" flies from local guides. No, I don't want to name names. 8T