"Fly Tying: The Angler's Art"
By Dave Engerbretson
For information on this series of video tape read the December 1st
This Week's View article.
"Several years ago, when the folks at KWSU-TV approached me about the
possibility of doing a fly fishing series for public television, I liked the idea. The
problem was trying to find a unique concept that would appeal to viewers. The
idea of a fly tying show was appealing. There were a lot of fishing shows on TV,
but as far as we knew, there had never been a series on just fly tying.
"The only problem was, although I had been a commercial tier and had
taught many classes in the art, my present vision problems prevented me from
tying on camera. Oh, I can still tie a pretty fair fly, but I can't tie the way I used
to, and I prefer not to do it for a national TV audience.
"My problem turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We found someone else
to tie the flies — LeRoy Hyatt, from Lewiston, Idaho. LeRoy is an excellent
commercial tier, and I could be the "color man." I have been lucky enough to
have lived and fished in many parts of the United States, and have known many
of the country's great tiers, so I felt that I could bring a lot to the program even
though I didn't tie on the show. So the concept of a two man show was born.
"We have no script for each show, but simply know which patterns we're
going to tie. Then we turn on the cameras and see what happens. It takes a crew
of fifteen or twenty people in the studio, plus a post production staff working very
hard to bring it all together, but LeRoy and I are just having a good time!
"We think the concept worked out pretty well, and it turns out the viewers
seem to agree. Our series has been seen on about 150 PBS stations around the
country, and has been so well received that for 1998, we'll be doing twenty-six
shows instead of the thirteen we did in 1997. It looks like we'll be shown in a
number of new locations, and in better time slots in others. And, while the basic
format of the show will remain the same, we'll have a few surprises along the
way.
"Those of you whose local PBS stations don't carry the series, can contact
the Program Director, and request it. It's called, "Fly Tying: The Angler's Art"
and it's distributed by the American Program Service. They'll know what to do
from there. And, of course, the shows are available on video tapes, along with a
ninety minute instructional tape which was not shown on TV.
"LeRoy and I certainly appreciate your support. Thanks for watching!" -
~ Dave Engerbretson
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