I met him in Last Chance, Idaho in the early 1980’s. He was self-taught in aquatic insects. I spent an evening with him in the old Challet Bar there in Last Chance. At that time he was tying at the FFF Conclave in nearby West Yellowstone.
Winner of the Buzzek (sp?) award and once featured in Time Magazine, he was an extremely talented and interesting man.
Today, there is a memorial in the parking lot at the head of the Harriman Railroad Ranch to him which was designed by Rene Harrop.
Last Chance is the unofficial name of the village at the southern end of Island Park, Idaho. It is where Mike Lawson’s shop is located as well as near the upper end of The Railroad Ranch on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake.
I think those are probably the smallest flies I have ever seen a photo of anywhere. I am assuming that is a common “kitchen” match they are displayed upon. That would be the only thing I could do with them, I would never get a line through the eye without a magnifying glass.
If anyone wants to read an article by R. Cordes/B. Lempke about the extended body extender as well as 3 of their patterns and how to tye them, here’s where you can find it:
FLY TYER magazine, Summer, 1983 (vol 6, iss 2), beginning on page 44. The patterns discussed and illustrated are tyed on size 18 hooks.
Couple of things about that issue of the magazine: There’s more information about fly tying in this one issue then in all the Fly Tyer magazines in any one year since about 2000. Other flies patterns illustrated and discussed by: Dave Whitlock, Tom England, James Ferris, Andrew Gennaro, Ken Iwamasa, Tom Beatty, Herb Button and others. Fly tying methods articles by Dick Surette, Alf Walker, Gary LaFontaine, Keith Fulsher, Gary Borger, Tom Nixon, Chauncey Lively, Fling/Puterbaugh, E.H. Rosborough, Jon Witwer, Stephen Misovich, and Hafele/Hughes. Then there are 3 more issues from that year. Great front and back cover too.
This magazine was the best there was, and is. If you can get your hands on any of these early FLY TYER magazines you won’t be disappointed.
I didn’t move to SE Idaho until some time after Lempke’s death. But I did know a couple of his close friends, to include Bruce Staples, another Buzz Buszek award winner.
Lempke was something of an icon in SE Idaho, and for more than small flies and the extended body tool that he created. ( My recollection, as I gathered from his friends, is that there was some dispute that Cordes was actually involved in creating that tool. )
I did get to view a video of Lempke tying with the extended body tool ( quite likely the same one you discussed with pittendrigh, Byron ). I think that probably had an influence on me, in that, while I don’t do anything at all like Lempke did, I have done a lot with extended body flies, and they have all been successful patterns.
Can you post a picture of the photo which shows how they used the extender in relation to the vise? Or, if that would be a copyright issue, perhaps a sketch of the setup.
I do not know if there’s a copyright issue. Unfortunately, I do not know how to copy a magazine photo to a computer. I’m pretty computer illiterate. Maybe someone has that magazine issue and knows how to post that information.
John - You wrote, “Lempke was something of an icon in SE Idaho, and for more than small flies and the extended body tool that he created. ( My recollection, as I gathered from his friends, is that there was some dispute that Cordes was actually involved in creating that tool. )”
I have no idea about any dispute. All I can say is that the article about this tool, and the 3 flies tyed, has both of their names as co-authors. The article is prefaced with the following quotation that I cite for authenticity of the creation of the tool not necessarily its contribution to fly tying. [i]“Mark this date well. The Lempke-Cordes fly body extender may prove to be one of the most profound contributions to fly tying in many years.” Rene Harrop
Here is an article from the FAOL archives about the tool with photos and the second like has a good photo that can be enlarged with a click but it is marked as copyrighted by ebay
I really hope some of you get a chance to read the article I’ve cited that was written by Ordis/Lempke. What I found very interesting is that the authors appear to place less emphasis on the ‘tool’ and more emphasis on the material used to create the extension. The material they used was 4-micron diameter FisHair fibers. They claimed that it was better then all other fibers tried, even horse hair. Said that other hair tails were too stiff and would cause fly to bounce away when fish hit. (I find that to be a ridiculous comment given all the tailing materials that are used successfully. But this is just an opinion) At any rate, I found another thread on this site, cited by Uncle Jesse, that has a tool which does the same thing as the one by Cordis/Lemple. I believe this tool was designed and used by a very respected fly tyer on this site and I’ve seen it in use. I won’t reveal his name. Anyway, he used a variety of materials as the base for the extended body/tail.
Another option to the use of the tool is simply to use a piece of 6# or even 4# monofilament as an underbody for the extention. Crimp the front part flat, the part that is tyed to the shank, and extend the rest over the tail. Tye in the tailing, wrap toward mid-shank(approx), apply and wrap body, and complete fly. When done, place a tiny drop of cement at end of body and tail, then trim off the excess mono underbody. There’s more than 1 way to skin a cat.
I’m not sure that the tool shown in that photo was yours. In fact, I believe it is the tool I was refering to as created by another fly tyer from this board. I’ll be interested in learning whose tool is actually in that photo and will try to get an accurate answer.
There are many different versions of this and similar tools. It probably goes back to the rug making industry which goes back 100s or more years. As I’ve stated in other threads, fly tyers are inventive people and will develop tying methods and tools as needed or imagined. I’ve seen tools similar to the one by Lempke but in the literature decades before his was described in print. This is not to take anything away from the Cordes/Lempke tool. It served their purpose and worked. So, however, did similar tools developed by others.
Now back to the tool on FAOL that you believe to be yours. It is not. I just called the individual who tyed the fly in the article and whose tool is in the photograph. It is his tool which he came up with. I will say that at the 2001(or '02) Fish-In, this fly tyer cannibalized some pin, a piece of this, a piece of that and his vise to create a ‘body extender’. In fact, he used 3 moose mane fibers and Gudebrod ‘G’ thread to tye the tail section. It was a nice green and yellow scalloped design that he then handed over to me so that I would complete the fly. I did and I still have that fly.
It is my tool. I got it back in the mid-80’s and really didn’t use it. My buddy sold it for me on ebay about a year or so ago. The tool was made by Cordes/Lempke. The vise my buddy used in the photo is a Matthias Vise. He and I got them at the same time years ago.
Why do you question that, by the way?
He did borrow a quote about Bing from someone who thought highly of Bing.
The tool shown in the second link that Jesse posted is my tool. I don’t know anything about the “Knit Picking Mayfly”. Jesse was referencing the photo in his second link. The first link was my old thread about the Lempke device.
Apparently there’s some confusion about two different tools. The one I am talking about is the one in the FOTW #279 and not the one ‘uncle Jesse’ linked to. Hope that clears up what I was talking about.
That is a really cool fly, Denny ( in case you are looking in ), tied on a very different device than Lempke used.
John
Thanks John, Nothing fancy but works. Lempke’s pictured flys on a match stick were size 18. Very nice. I tie them and catch large fish on size 22. I really like the Wally Wing on mine. The fly was developed by Tony Spezio, one of my Pro Reps who is also a Buszek award winner.
dc
