My earliest memory of thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up, was that I wanted to be a scientist. Now, as a gainfully employed neruophysiologist 40 some years later, I look back on what I thought a scientist was, and laugh. But despite my childish notions of men in white coats pouring solutions back and forth between beakers, I stumbled into a lifelong love of science. I am fascinate by how things work, and in particular how natural things function in what seems to be a perfect fashion.
I always loved fishing, and spent many happy summers salt water bait fishing for flounder and bluefish. Fresh water fishing seemed arcane and somewhat boring to me. Years later, I became a fly tyer almost accidentally when my father-in-law gave me a fantastic collection of materials and tools from his own tying bench. I quickly became fascinated with the materials and how they came together to form a fly. The entomology aspect of tying fit well with my love of biology, and I quickly began to think about tying in scientific terms. Oddly, I was a tying flys for years before I ever tried to fish them. Fly fishing still seemed arcane and had the added negatives of being expensive and difficult to master. I approached fly tying as an artistic endeavour, more interested in creating or re-creating patterns than in catching fish. Of course, I eventually gave in and became addicted to the sport of fly fishing. I can’t put into words the joy that all of this had brought into my life. The winter evenings spent learning how to control thread tension and how hackle feathers best wind on the hook, the beautiful spring days starting in the predawn hours waiting for the hatch to commence, the crisp fall days hiking along small streams, and the thrill of the tug on the end of the line signalling that I had won a battle of the wits with an animal relying on a brain smaller than a pea.
These are things that all fly fisherman are fortunate to share with me. However I have also had the good fortune to enjoy the study of fly tying. Not just the standard study of patterns and insects, but a deep delving into the properties of the materials used in tying. I believe that many take the beauty of these materials for granted, and who could blame them when engaged in a sport of so much beauty. My goal here is to share some of what I have learned and continue to learn. I can’t say that any of this has made me a better tyer, and I suppose it could be argued that my time would be better spent practicing. However I believe that there are some that will appreciate a closer look at he commonplace to marvel at the natural design. I'll look forward to your comments to both make these articles more informative and to let me know if anyone else is interested in these details.
I always loved fishing, and spent many happy summers salt water bait fishing for flounder and bluefish. Fresh water fishing seemed arcane and somewhat boring to me. Years later, I became a fly tyer almost accidentally when my father-in-law gave me a fantastic collection of materials and tools from his own tying bench. I quickly became fascinated with the materials and how they came together to form a fly. The entomology aspect of tying fit well with my love of biology, and I quickly began to think about tying in scientific terms. Oddly, I was a tying flys for years before I ever tried to fish them. Fly fishing still seemed arcane and had the added negatives of being expensive and difficult to master. I approached fly tying as an artistic endeavour, more interested in creating or re-creating patterns than in catching fish. Of course, I eventually gave in and became addicted to the sport of fly fishing. I can’t put into words the joy that all of this had brought into my life. The winter evenings spent learning how to control thread tension and how hackle feathers best wind on the hook, the beautiful spring days starting in the predawn hours waiting for the hatch to commence, the crisp fall days hiking along small streams, and the thrill of the tug on the end of the line signalling that I had won a battle of the wits with an animal relying on a brain smaller than a pea.
These are things that all fly fisherman are fortunate to share with me. However I have also had the good fortune to enjoy the study of fly tying. Not just the standard study of patterns and insects, but a deep delving into the properties of the materials used in tying. I believe that many take the beauty of these materials for granted, and who could blame them when engaged in a sport of so much beauty. My goal here is to share some of what I have learned and continue to learn. I can’t say that any of this has made me a better tyer, and I suppose it could be argued that my time would be better spent practicing. However I believe that there are some that will appreciate a closer look at he commonplace to marvel at the natural design. I'll look forward to your comments to both make these articles more informative and to let me know if anyone else is interested in these details.
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