I had a customer come to my little tackle shop with a
fly a deceased friend had tied. He said it was the
best brookie fly he had ever used and wondered if I could
tie some up for him. He said he kept catching fish on this
fly, but was afraid of losing it. My first impression was
hell no...I don't think I have ever seen a worse looking fly.
It was a moshed mess of orange, sparkle and an awkwardly
placed duck flank on top with mis-shapen red thread head.
I said I would try and do my best to match it. Tying samples
of them was almost embarrassing, and I made a few only much
neater and organized flies. One I matched as closely as
possible and tied almost as an afterthought just to make
a match. I was very dissatisfied and really didn't want
word to get out that I had tied such a simple and ugly
looking fly.
Sure enough that was the one he came back with, "I want
a dozen of these."
Everytime he goes out to his favorite trout pond he swears that
he gets his limit and a few catch and releases in just a half
hour of fishing.
A good fly is indeed one that catches fish and stays together.
Looks aren't everything. ~ Lloyd Metcalf
Please check out the Fly Tying Section, on the Bulletin Board here at FAOL too.
If you have any questions, tips, or techniques; send them to
publisher@flyanglersonline.com
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