I also think that the last 10-15 years has been sort of a period of explosion in fly tying and design. If you think back to the era of Al Troth, you realize that not that many fishers were also tiers. In addition, there was not the internet, so many magazines and books on the subject. The sharing of ideas and concepts of fly tying were not well known then.

So, it was a slower time for fly development. And, a lot fewer participants to develop, share, and popularize new patterns.