There are many realistic patterns I tie; some of my own creation, & some others have created. They become very useful when The trout (& bass) have had everything thrown at them & need to see something new. I also see realistics as a fun challenge. I like to especially study Paul Whillock’s & James Matthews methods to name a few. 8)
Okay, Thanks Ron.
By the way, Ernie was the hardest guy in the world to get a fly from. I’d remind him at every show that he had promised me a fly he had tied. One time at Jim Bashlines place on Spruce Creek he lost a fly in a tree. It was a get together of a bunch of us who had been at the Seven Springs show. I about broke my neck when later I shimmied up tp retrieve the fly. At last I thought paying no attention to my scrapes and bruises.
The following year I was riding to the now long defunct Seven Springs Show again with Dick Talleur who lived about 10 miles from me in Clifton Park and I brought the subject of the fly up. It was only then that I learned it was one of Dick’s flies he had given Ernie! Well, at least I have all his books signed… Such is life…lol.
Mr JML, Paul Whillock of course I know, actually he asked me to write the foreword (which his editor mis-spelled as Forward) for his book. But you have me with the name James Matthews. Where is he from and what is his speciality. Is he published anywhere where we could see some of his flies.
First David Martin and then Dale Beamish created realistic fly sites and a large crop of new realistic tyers have hatched. Perhaps I know him by his ‘handle’. Thanks…Bob
Ernie was a little tight, years ago when Fly Fisherman mag was based in Vermont, my sister, who was office manager proofed a new book for Ernie, you know comma’s, mispelled words etc. never gave her a dime for her work
I fished with Ernie many years ago on the Henry’s Fork when I guided there. Will asked me if I would go with him as I had the day off and Will was busy that day. He learned a few lessons there that day to. Seem’s he liked to fish upstream to fish. On the Fork all that get’s you is spooked fish. He learned that even the best right and left hand curve cast didn’t work LOL On that river you learn to fish across and down or stay at home. Took him a few hour’s to listen but he got it after a bit. 
Had a good day though.
You know I had two or three of his flies on my vest from that day but I sure couldn’t tell you were they went to? Back then you never thought about collecting things like that. Same with some other flies that I bought back then from “Now” famous tier’s. I do have a lot of them but I always got them as samples for my tying not for a collection. But I guess it has become that now. Ron
Ron, You’re right! Fly ‘collecting’, where you would ‘ask’ for a signature, seems to have started in the eighties. Only far sighted people asked for a signed card in the 70’s or 60’s or 50’s or before. Sure if you ordered flies from the Darbee’s or Dette’s you might have gotten a signed letter, but more often than not tossed out the letter and box just like you threw out the box the Heddon or South Bend wood lure came in years ago. Lure went in the tackle box, lure box went in the trash can!
Flies gotten from someone demonstrating tying at an outdoor show more than 25 years ago, you just wanted as an example to tie your own from. Most of us never had the forethought to ask for a signature to go with the fly back then. Well, a few of us maybe did…
You will find James Matthews in Rackelhannen Magazine Look up “Organza Gilling Technique” 8) , & you cna find a lot of his patterns !!!
Hi MrJML, James emailed me. He is a very nice fellow and I have been encouraging him to come over for the Somerset International. He is a very precise and neat fly tyer. I see a lot of Paul Whillock and Ollie Edwards influence in his beautiful tying…Bob
Organza Gilling Technique… I believe Steve Thorton developed something like that a few years ago, if that is where you take the edge of a ribbon cut an 1/8 of an inch of material along the seam several inches, then needle out the latteral threads leaving just the verticle ends sticking out from the edge seam and then wrap…or is that the Oliver Edwards described method in his book Masterclass? Or is it something new and different? Is that a foreign magazine,… German?
Some of James Matthew’s flies are shown as well as tying instructions provided on the following site.
http://www.finesseflytying.co.uk/index.htm