Back in November the International Fly Tyers Symposium was held at Somerset, New Jersey. This
past weekend (January 28, thru 30, 2000) "The Flyfishing Show" came to the same Garden State
Exposition Center.
There are similar shows held in various parts of the country each winter which help us maintain our
sanity on these gray an dismal days by gathering together kindred spirits to discuss our favorite
pastime. Fly-fishing and fly tying are indeed year round pursuits.
Some of you may not have a large show within easy driving distance of you, but there are many
smaller gatherings all across the country. And no matter the size, they are a great deal of fun, and,
an excellent source of information.
It is customary at these shows to have many vendors with all of the latest wares for you to touch
and feel. And that certainly is useful and fun. It is also possible at some of these shows to come into
contact with such luminaries as Lefty Kreh, Dick Talluer, Gary Borger, Stu Apt, Paul Jorgenson and a
host of others internationally known figures. To talk with these legends of the sport is truly a thrill,
and worth the price of admission.
There are also at these shows many more talented albeit lesser known tiers who are a veritable wealth
of information and knowledge. You might even be talking to some of these very special tiers here in the
FAOL "Chat Room" and have no idea of their talents. The Somerset Show saw Dave Rothrock, a.k.a.
"Paraleps", and Bob Mead a.k.a. "Mantis" tying and conversing with the many thousands of
attendees.
Susan Cox a.k.a. "Lady Jane", who traveled all the way from South Carolina for the show,
speaking to Bob Mead about technique for his Dragon Fly (pictured above).
Some of the finest tiers in many disciplines practice their art for your
benefit at these shows, Harold Williams, a fine Catskill tier, Joe Soma,
a wizard with some of the newest synthetics, Jack Gartside, one of the
most innovative tiers to ever hold a bobbin, were all there.
You can buy flies tied by many of these tiers to use as benchmarks to
judge your own efforts. But, more importantly you can watch them tie,
and ask them questions. They are all too willing to answer your questions
and will perform darn near any operation and teach you its' mechanics.
Many, will reveal 'Tying Tips' that they consider so routine that they
don't even consider them as tips at all, just the way they do it.
This weeks tip, simple, talk to those who are better informed at tying
than yourself. There is much there to learn from a dedicated group of
individuals who are always willing to share their knowledge with other
interested tiers.
To all of the tiers at each of these shows who share countless hours
with those of us of lesser talent, a great big "Thank You," we really
do appreciate you and your art!
If you have any tips or techniques, send them along, most of this
material has been stolen from somebody, might as well steal your ideas
too!~ George E. Emanuel
(Chat Room Host Muddler)
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