Shorty Bartholomew: Shorty grew up and still lives in Stroudsburg, PA. Although he has fished all over the Northeast, he has been proud to call the famed Brodhead Creek his home waters for the past 50 years. He began in his youth with worm and spinners but upon reaching maturity, soon found a fly rod in his hand. It was not long after that that he became afflicted with the addiction of tying his own flies. Before long, he found myself being asked by fellow fly fishers to tie his creations for their use and the rest, as they say, is history. He has now become a member of the Brodhead TU and The Catskill Fly Tyer’s Guild and enjoys teaching and demonstrating the art of fly tying whenever given the chance. Shorty also shares his love of teaching and tying through his YouTube channel, Shorty on the Fly.

David Benoit: My father introduced me to fly-fishing at a very young age. I spent most of my youth fishing for brook trout in a stream near where I grew up in Upton, MA, with trips to Rangeley, Maine each year on family vacation. Military service and the Vietnam War interrupted my fly-fishing and it wasn’t till I moved to Southern New Hampshire in 1979 that I got reacquainted with the sport. I have fished numerous rivers, lakes and ponds in the 5 New England states, the New York Catskill rivers and the Canadian Maritimes, have been an FFF now FFI Master Certified Casting Instructor since 2002.I completed Sweetwater Travel’s Montana Guide School in 2004. Participated for many years as a New Hampshire “Let’s Go Fishing and Becoming an Outdoors Woman” Programs volunteer instructor. In 2012, retired and spend the summer months, May to Mid October in West Yellowstone, Montana working part time in Bob Jacklin’s Fly Shop, fishing the rivers lakes and ponds in Yellowstone National Park and surrounding areas.

Scott Biron: Scott cut his teeth learning to tie flies and fly fish back in the1960s in the North County of New Hampshire. He has fished many of the streams north of Route 26 in NH and his favorite the Androscoggin River. Scott is an active fly tying instructor and he was awarded a 2017 NH Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant and studied fly tying including Traditional New England Streamer patterns and progressed to Classic Salmon Flies. Since then he has become a Master Artist in the Traditional Arts Program. He had an apprentice working under him during 2021. Scott has a strong interest in historical NH fly tyers and their lost patterns and has published, researched, instructed as well as demonstrated many of these lost NH fly patterns. He enjoys instructing individuals of all ages in the art of fly tying and is known for including the history of these tyers and their flies in his instruction. He has offered several classes on fly tying, tyers and their history through Colby Sawyer College. Scott is considered an expert on large group instruction and offers dozens of classes year round. Scott is a member of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild, an Ambassador for the American Museum of Fly Fishing and a member of the Center For The Arts- Lake Sunapee Region. He is a regular contributor to the Fly Fishers Journal, Atlantic Salmon Federation Journal, Fly Dressers Guild Journal, the NH Wildlife Journal and writes a monthly column for the Northwoods Sporting Journal. Scott is on the Partridge of Redditch, Sprite Hooks, Cortland, Riversmith and Ewing Feather Birds Pro Teams. He is on the Ambassador Pro Team for HMH Vises. Ewing has come out with a signature series line of feathers under Scott’s name.

Brad Buzzi: Brad has been tying flies commercially since 2004 and is the owner of BuzFly and the current President of The Atlantic Saltwater Flyrodders. He specializes in saltwater flies for the Northeast and East Central Coast of Florida targeting primarily Stripped Bass, Bluefish, Weakfish/Sea Trout, Albacore, Snook, Redfish, Cobia and Jack Crevalle to name a few. He grew up fishing the Jersey Shore from Sandy Hook to Island Beach State park cutting his teeth on Snappers and Fluke when he was a very young boy leaning how to fish. As he grew older, he started to fish for Stripped Bass, Bluefish, Weakfish and Albacore. In the mid 80’s his fishing expanded to fishing the East Coast of Florida, especially around Melbourne and Stuart. It was during this time he discovered Snook and never looked back. This year Brad will be Air Brushing and tying Popper along with tying flies with Light Cured Acrylics and Articulated Flies. Come check out his world class Bucktails that he processes and dies.

Lawrence Clemens: Lawrence is a resident of Virginia Beach, VA. He is a professional Trumpet player and a propeller mechanic for Murphy’s Propeller Shop in Norfolk, VA. Larry has served on the board of directors and as president of the East Jersey Chapter of Trout Unlimited and on the board of directors and president of the Virginia Coastal Fly Anglers. He co-authored (with Jeff Dubinok) “Flies of the Chesapeake”, and ”Flies of the Chesapeake, Volume 2”. Being an avid fly tier, Larry spends his free time fly fishing the lower Chesapeake Bay and its’ tributaries year round. This will be his fourteenth year tying at the “Fly Fishing Show”.

Lou Digena: Lou is a Regal Vise Pro-Staff fly tier and on the Solarez and Ewing Feather Birds pro teams. He is also a Tenkara USA Ambassador. He guides for South Branch Outfitters in Califon, NJ, formerly Shannon’s Fly Shop. He has over 40 years of experience in fly tying and is committed to designing patterns using the K.I.S.S. rule (Keep It Simple Stupid). He primarily targets trout, smallmouth, bluegill, and toothy predators throughout the United States. Lou uses his fine arts background to produce patterns with a simple and studied elegance. His primary target is trout throughout the United States. Lou’s home waters are in the northeast, where he is fishing for native Brook Trout, wild Browns, Bass, Panfish, and toothy critters. He enjoys tying traditional patterns like Frank Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail and Killer Bug and creating new patterns, like his Lou’s Stonefly Creeper, Tiger Baetis, Bubble Pupa, CE Crayfish (Close Enough), SP Baitfish (Simple Perch), and KISS Crane Fly Larva.

Capt. Mark Dysinger: Captain Mark has fished the New England salt most of his life. Although he is skilled in many angling methods, he is most accomplished with the fly rod. As the owner of Flyosophy Charters, he specializes in the northeast slam of striped bass, bluefish, and false albacore. Although he guides in Long Island Sound and its surrounding waters, he is also passionate about freshwater fishing and is a recognized authority on flyfishing for northern pike. Mark has fished extensively across North America, and his works have appeared in numerous print and online publications, including three books. He has been a featured innovative fly tyer for Eastern Flyfishing Magazine, and his Bunny split fly (aka Musky Bunny Twin Tail) is included in the “deadly dozen” musky patterns in Rob Tomes’ Musky on the Fly. He is an experienced teacher both on and off the water, and takes great joy in seeing others succeed. His enthusiasm and attention to detail make him a popular instructor, and his topical presentations are both informative and entertaining. Mark’s patience and enthusiasm have positively affected many fellow anglers. Mark resides on the Connecticut coast with his wife Anne and daughter Lucy.

Tim Flagler: Tim is the owner of Tightline Productions, L.L.C., a video production company located in Califon, NJ. Although he produces video programs over a wide range of topics, his specialty is fly fishing. Tim is a well-known fly tying instructor. His YouTube videos are some of the best in the business and his YouTube channel, practicalpatterns.com currently has over 118,000 subscribers and 38 million views. Almost every week he produces a new fly tying or “how to” video which appear not only on his YouTube channel but on Midcurrent and the Orvis News fly fishing blog as well. They’re also featured on Trout Unlimited’s national website and in the Orvis Learning Center. In addition, he has a regular column “Beginner’s Masterclass with Tim Flagler” in Fly Tyer magazine, which selected Tim as their “Fly Tyer of the Year” in their Winter 2022 issue. Many of Tim’s tying videos take the viewer well beyond just the tying of the fly and show what it looks like underwater, what natural it represents and how it can be fished. Tim’s a fixture at the Fly Fishing Shows – giving presentations, teaching classes and often as a Featured Tier. He does monthly “Tie-Off’s” with Tom Rosenbauer (Orvis) and, recently, Cheech Pierce (Fly Fish Food) as well. He enjoys guiding year round for South Branch Outfitters (formerly Shannon’s Fly & Tackle)in Califon, NJ and hosts annual trips to Patagonia in the spring and to the Kootenai River in MT in the summer. He has also started hosting several trips within the year to Spruce Creek, PA and to the Erie area for steelhead in early December.

Dave Flint: I’m an avid fly dresser, fly fisherman, Spey casting instructor and all round outdoorsman. I grew up fishing in the small streams of Mass, and upper New England. Our family would go tenting each year in Maine and New Hampshire. As my brother was climbing mountains, you would find me hopping rocks along the mountain streams with fishing gear. I’ve been fishing since I was a young kid but didn’t start fly fishing until I was about the age of 13. My first fly fishing experience was in the early 70’s on the Roach River in Maine. Our family tented each year in the area and I became friends with the local camp owner in Kokadjo. One morning I watched him fly fishing, carefully maneuvering a fly in and around the currents. After successfully catching a few fish, he handed me the rod and said,” give it a try”. He showed me the type of fly he used and how to fish it. I followed his instructions and before I knew it, the line was screaming off the reel – this was no small brook trout! After a couple of leaps and with help from my new friend, my prize was brought to net. Not only had I caught my first Salmon, but it was also my first time fly fishing. The following spring, armed with my new fly rod, I spent all my time hopping rocks in the clear mountain streams. I’d dip flies in the small pools; sometimes missing a rock along the way and putting myself in the pool instead. 50 years later and I am still hopping rocks and pools. I started dressing flies in the 80’s after joining a local club, the New England Fly Tyers.
My love for dressing flies, especially Salmon flies, continues to grow. Each year, meeting new people, sharing ideas and learning new things, it’s awesome. Through the years it’s been a privilege to contributed flies to several wonderful organizations such as the Miramichi salmon Association, Wounded Warriors project, North Atlantic Salmon Fund (certificate as Master Flytyer), and the NEFT Youth Outreach, among others. I’ve also supplied flies for some well-known books such as Rare and Unusual Fly-Tying Materials Vol. 1 & 2, Forgotten Flies and The Art of Angling Journals, along with Bonefish Fly Patterns. As well as teaching at NEFT (and local clubs) and co-produced the NEFT Video Manual of Fly Tying. I get such a rush from tying/demonstrating at shows/events, interacting with the tyers, venders, and guests; because with that comes the opportunity to learn new things, new tricks and to share knowledge. And the opportunity to pass on my experiences and expertise to others. My passion for fly dressing flies has become a full-blown obsession. All flies are enjoyable to dress but my favorites are Atlantic salmon and Spey flies, soft hackles and streamers run close seconds. I’ve done everything from commercial fly tying; sending Sports with my flies all over the world, to selling custom framed artwork with specialty display flies from Misty Morning Flies. These days my focus leans toward dressing and fishing full dressed salmon flies, designing, and working new ideas into old world proven patterns and designing specialty framed art pieces for people. Please, share your knowledge and experiences with others, so they may enjoy them also. Especially share it with the children, for they are the sportsmen of tomorrow. This is what we do, it is our passion, help them experience it.

Brendan Gomez: Brendan is a passionate fly tier and angler based in Watch Hill, RI, specializing in custom beast flies. With 10 years of experience, his work is heavily influenced by renowned tiers Bob Popovics and Andrew Warshawer. When tying flies, his intentions are to target giant trophy striped bass, whether on the flats or the rips. Brendan’s fly creations are crafted for the stunning northeastern coastline, designed to entice a variety of game fish.

David Kolesar: David Kolesar is a licensed New Hampshire fly fishing guide and FFI certified fly-casting instructor. As a partner in New Hampshire Rivers Guide Service and the Northeast Fly Fishing School he spends the fishing season providing fly fishing and fly casting instruction to beginning fly anglers and guiding trips for trout and smallmouth bass throughout New Hampshire. He offers both wading trips and drift boat trips. Dave is also a long-time member, past president, and tying instructor of United Fly Tyers and a member of the Manchester Fly Fishing Association. Prior to joining NH Rivers Guide Service Dave was a fly casting and fly-fishing instructor for L.L. Beans for nine years. He also taught basic fishing, fly fishing and fly tying as a volunteer for NH Fish and Game’s Let’s Go Fishing program as a volunteer for over 25 years. During the winter months Dave can be found at many of the regional outdoor shows and local clubs demonstrating fly tying or giving fly fishing presentations.

Justin Krumlauf: Like many of us, Justin has been fishing for as long as he can remember. Growing up, he spent many summers in the Adirondacks; swimming and fishing in the Ausable River and its tributaries. This is where the earliest seeds of fly fishing were planted in his young mind. With an engineering background, he teaches high school fabrication and Makerspace and a special, intersession, course entitled “Conservation, Art, and Design in Fly Fishing”. This three-week course gives students a deep dive into fly fishing, focusing on fly tying and conservation. Students also study prominent conservationists, fly tyers, river systems, and anglers with a certain significance to the sport. In his home waters of southwest Connecticut, he fishes for wild Trout on small streams, but especially enjoys exploring local salt ponds, back-bays, and flats in his kayak for Striped Bass. Justin has shipped flies to various states across the country and has found more gratification in the prospect of someone creating a lifetime memory using something he made, than fishing itself.

Dan LaPointe: I started fishing the small streams and beaver ponds of the New Hampshire’s White Mountains at a very young age. My father and occasionally my grandmother would take my brother and I out with the old steel telescoping fish poles and a can of worms that we dug out of the garden to go in search of brook trout for the supper table. This is how I caught the fishing bug. I discovered fly fishing as a teenager and have been pursuing trout and other species of fish with a fly ever since. I started tying my own flies about thirty years ago beginning with a fly-tying kit my brother gave to our three sons for Christmas one year. The fly fishing and tying eventually became a small business venture in 2008 with the introduction of an online fly shop selling the flies produced at my vise. www.danflyshop.net . My fly patterns mainly evolve around trout and smallmouth bass, these are the most abundant species of game fish found in our area of northern New England. I also do custom tying for customers, which has become an interesting and important part of my tying business. The online shop has since become a real shop that we run out of our home albeit part time. I obtained my New Hampshire Fishing Guides license in 2009 and started guiding fly fishers the following year. Besides tying for my own shop I tie for several other shops and conduct tying classes at White Mountain Community College in Berlin NH. Helping interested folks, young or old learn how to tie their own flies is one of the most enjoyable aspects of tying.

Bob Lindquist: A fly fishing fanatic for fifty years, Bob lives in Callicoon, NY, where he guides on his beloved Delaware River.  Before retirement, he waded the waters of Long Island hunting false albacore, striped bass, weakfish and the wild brook trout of a local spring creek, the Carmans River.  Bob has fished the Catskills, particularly the Delaware River System, since 1983.  His passion for this magnificent river inspired Bob to build his retirement home on the banks of the Main Stem of the Delaware River.  As a guide, Bob uses the skills learned fishing Delaware River system to catch the demanding rainbows, browns and warmwater fish in this legendary fishery.  In addition, Bob fishes for Atlantic Salmon and various saltwater species. Trained in mathematics, physics, philosophy and education, Bob takes an analytic approach to fly fishing.  His work has lead to articles that have appeared in or are set to appear in Fly Tyer, Salt Water Fly Fishing, Fly Fisherman, American Fly Fishing, On The Fly, Dark Skies Fly Fishing and Japanese Fly Fisherman magazines.  He is a recognized fly tyer who has appeared at many shows including those held in Edison, Lancaster, Marlborough, Virginia, Connecticut, Texas and Long Island.  Recently, Bob has added a passion for photography to his fly fishing and tying addictions, having his work appear in photoessays in magazines and a gallery.  As a retired teacher and coach, Bob uses his public speaking skills to give presentations from California to New England and across the mid-Atlantic region. Bob, an adjunct professor of mathematics, has worked with numerous fly fishing and tying companies including Whiting Farms, Solarez, and Ahrex.  He helps with Project Healing Waters and to run the New York State Trout Unlimited Camp each summer.

Bart Lombardo: Bart has been fly fishing and fly tying for over forty years. Although he travels the country to fish for trout and salmon and chases fish in the salt, his real passion is warm water fly fishing for bass, panfish, and other warm water species. As an endorsed fly tier for REGAL VISE, he enjoys teaching others about the art of fly tying. He regularly conducts fly tying classes for organizations like Orvis, LL Bean, and Trout Unlimited. Due to the popularity of his website Panfish On The Fly and his interest in warm water fly fishing he has been featured guest on a number of podcasts including The Warm Water Fly Fishing Podcast, Tenkara USA’s Tenkara Cast, and The Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast with Tom Rosenbauer. Bart’s primary interest in fly tying is developing new patterns to target panfish, bass, and other warm water species. He is a member of a few pro-staffs in the fly tying industry including Solarez and Ewing Hackle. His website where he shares information about warm water fly fishing is www.panfishonthefly.com, and he can be contacted via email at info@panfishonthefly.com.

Scott Mentzer: Scott started fishing with his father as a kid and those will always be amongst his favorite childhood memories. He started chasing Striped Bass and False Albacore with a fly rod off Cape Cod as well as Landlocked Salmon in Maine with a great friend 25+ years ago. As a member of clubs such as New England Fly Tyers and Sanibel Fly Fishers Scott has evolved as a tier and fly fisher. Fly fishing has provided motivation for him to travel to places such as Maine, Montana, Alaska, Canada, and Belize connecting to stunning fish in beautiful places and meeting some of the coolest people. Now in his retirement from a career in public safety Scott concentrates more and more on fishing and tying. When he’s not fly fishing from a kayak on his home waters of Hampton NH and Fort Myers FL, Scott is tying custom orders of fresh and saltwater flies for individuals, guides, and occasionally shops.

Rich Murphy: Rich is a Registered Professional Civil Engineer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a published author, a contract fly designer, a salt water fly fishing junky, and a pretty good husband to a lovely wife. Murphy taught himself to fly cast and tie rudimentary fresh water flies over the winter of his eighth year. He caught his first trout on a fly that next spring using a mayfly spinner pattern he copied from an old Field and Stream. He started tying saltwater flies commercially, part-time, over 35 years ago. In the winter of 1995, Murphy submitted four of his saltwater fly patterns the Conomo Special, Steep Hill Special, RM Shortfin Squid, and the RM Flatside to Umpqua Feather Merchants for production consideration. That Spring Umpqua accepted all four for their 1996-1997 main catalogue and Murphy became an Umpqua contract fly designer. Between 1997-2004, Umpqua accepted five more of his salt water patterns for commercial production-the most notable of which was the Pamet Special. Over that same time interval, Murphy interest in commercial fly tying became progressively suborned by his interest in writing about a gamut of saltwater fly fishing topics- including, but not limited to, presentation tactic and strategies, fly rod/reel/line tackle balancing, and modern fly tying techniques. He has had a number of feature articles published in a number of past and present US flyfishing periodicals including Saltwater Flyfishing, Flyfishing in Saltwater, Fish and Fly Magazine, and Fly Tyer. Between 2004 -2008, he composed his first book, Fly Fishing for Striped Bass, which was released by Wild River Press in Dec. 2008. As of this date, Murphy maintains a small consulting engineering practice. He is also presently completing the manuscript for a sequel to Fly Fishing for Striped Bass. He reports that his work will consist of a concise, illustrated examination of state-of -art saltwater fly fishing tactics, techniques, tackle, and fly patterns. Murphy presently lives in Georgetown, Massachusetts with Lucy, his wife and most cogent critic, and Nelly Ann, their 2-year old black Lab.

William Newcomb: When Bill was born, he was very young so he doesn’t remember much of the event. But he absolutely recalls fishing the streams near his boyhood home. As time passed, he graduated from school and joined the Navy, and continued to fish up and down the Eastern Seaboard, the Northern Atlantic and the Caribbean. When he discovered flyfishing, the sanity men seek in life disappeared. Along with flyfishing, of course, comes flytying. On a fishing trip for salmon, he spent $20 on six flies. After seeing his friend tie a fly, he realized he could have saved that amount by tying his own. Over the years, he’s figured he spent $40,000 trying to get that $20 back. You’ll see Bill at the fishing shows. He enjoys meeting new people, swapping lies, and stealing their patterns and claiming them as his own. Unlike many of the other tyers, Bill IS a legend in his own mind.

Ted Patlen: Winner of seven fly-tying world championships, has demonstrated at fly-fishing venues from the rocky shores of the Pacific coast, across the states as well as Canada, from a 12th century convent in Italy, north to Scandinavia, to the heart of Great Britain……as well as on a hot dusty parking lot in Roscoe, New York.

Roger Plourde: Roger began fly fishing back in the early 1990’s and was quickly hooked on the sport. He joined the CT Fly Fishing Association and learned the fundamentals first of fly fishing and then fly tying from a great group of mentors who quickly became lifelong friends. It was an exciting journey into the world of feathers and fur, trout and salmon flies.
He has enthusiastically fished his home river, the Farmington River in CT as well as many rivers in Maine, Canada, Alaska, Montana, Chile and other locales. Then, a course on tying classic salmon flies in 1998, ignited a new passion and he has been on a new mission ever since of learning the history, artistry and challenging techniques of the Victorian era salmon fly. In addition to fishing and tying flies, Roger also does custom picture framing and collects and sells antique fly-fishing tackle and salmon fly tying materials. Friends can usually find him in his woodworking shop in Plainville CT when he’s not out fishing.

Max Rivetta: I have been fishing as far back as I can remember. Thanks to my uncle who has been an avid fisherman throughout his entire life. At every stage of my personal life there has been a rod in my hands. I received my first fly rod as a Christmas gift from my uncle when I was about 7 years old. Fast forward to recent years and I found myself with a fly rod in my hands once again and haven’t put it down since. Quickly after came fly tying. Whether it be nymphs and dry flies for trout and other fresh water species or monster sized streamers for striped bass and other saltwater predators.

Ingrid Sils: An avid angler her entire life and fly tier since the mid-1970s, Ms Sils is “the woman who has worn many hats.” In the 1980s she was a fly tier and lecturer at many shows and contributed as both author and photographer to United Fly Tyer’s Roundtable and Massachusetts Out of Doors. In the 1990s her photographs were published in Sports Illustrated, Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod and Reel, The Atlantic Salmon Journal and others. Then together with Paul Schmookler, Ms Sils shared a variety of roles including tier, photographer, author, graphic designer and publisher for The Salmon Flies of Major John Popkin Traherne, Rare and Unusual Fly Tying Materials: A Natural History, Vol 1&2 and Forgotten Flies. In the early 2000s the Gold Ink award winning Art of Angling Journal was added to her accomplishments. She has enjoyed targeting a wide variety of fresh- and saltwater species with flies she tied including small- and largemouth bass, trout, Pacific and Atlantic salmon, bluefish, striped bass, tarpon, and lemon and black fin shark. In 2017 she retired from a 40-year career as a research biologist/physiologist where she contributed to over 60 scientific articles as co-author or author.

Peter Simonson: Peter has been fly-tying for 25 years. Of special interest are the unnamed and other lesser-known fly patterns of Carrie G. Stevens, the well-known Maine streamer tyer of the early 20th century. Peter became fascinated by the beauty of Carrie Stevens streamers in about 2006. He developed his streamer tying skill studying under Mike Martinek, among others. Peter’s website www.petersimonsonflydresser.com contains a pattern library of about 180 unnamed, unknown, and unusual streamer patterns of Carrie G. Stevens, each accompanied by his rendition of the pattern. Peter has tied at The Fly Fishing Show and the International Fly Tying Symposium for over a dozen years, at other well-known shows, as well as at smaller shows and at museum events. His work appears in magazines, books, and other websites. Peter is a retired signal processing systems engineer, and when he’s not tying, he enjoys fly-fishing, kayaking, and hiking. A favorite is fishing for brook trout and big land-locked salmon from pocket water and deep pools in the upper Connecticut River of New Hampshire and from the Rangeley region of Maine. Peter has two grown sons, and lives with his wife Lynne in New Hampshire, where they have been pouring money into a small farmhouse for over 40 years.

Mike Stewart: Mike is a custom fly tyer and instructor. He started fishing in 1959 on the Canadian border in Vermont. He is a freshwater and saltwater fly tyer / fisherman who has been tying since 1982 when he taught himself to tie. Mike teaches fly tying out of his home in North Granby, CT and throughout New England and New York.

Robert Streeter: Rob just retired as the Outdoor Correspondent for the Albany, New York Times Union Newspaper. His articles covered all aspects of the outdoors including hunting, fishing, camping, paddling, and conservation.
Rob also writes for a variety of national and even overseas magazines on fly fishing, bowhunting, and the outdoors. His favorite outdoor activities are traditional bowhunting, fly fishing, and fly tying.

Dan Thomas: I was born and raised in a small town called Carbondale located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, along the Lackawanna River and began fishing with my father at the age of three, at the various rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams that surround our area. Some of which include the Lackawaxen, Lackawanna, Susquehanna and Delaware rivers. It wasn’t until the summer of 2008 that I discovered what is now, my sheer addiction to say the least; fly fishing. It all began one afternoon, while fishing a local damn. I was rummaging through my gear when I came across a plastic container full of miscellaneous hooks, sinkers, lures, and other tackle which my father had given to me. Among these was a small cardboard box containing about 5 or 6 old dry flies. I carefully studied and admired each one in amazement. I was intrigued at the fact that someone had created these things by hand. I was reluctant at first to feed such works of art to a fish, but I had to try one out. I rigged my spinning rod with a float bubble and cast my first fly. It wasn’t but a minute later, I caught my first fish on this beautifully tied Adams. The very next day I purchased my first fly rod. For the first month or so, I purchased flies from my local Orvis dealer, as I believed I didn’t possess the patience needed to tie flies myself. It wasn’t until my father had given me an old unopened fly tying kit that he had found in his basement that I actually attempted fly tying for the first time. Now, armed with a crude rusty wing nut style vise, the obsession had begun. My current employment with the Rail Road has me traveling throughout parts of Pennsylvania, Vermont, and New York, to the Canadian border. Each year I am afforded the opportunity to fish the many great rivers along the way including, the Delaware, Hudson, Susquehanna, Battenkill, Ausable, Saranac, and Chazy, as well as Lakes George, and Champlain to name a few. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with flies for these wonderful waters and enjoy even more getting to try them out.

John Turvey:

Lisa Weiner: Some of my earliest memories are of fishing with my Dad. I would sit on the bank and look thru his fly box. I thought the flies were some of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I started tying flies in the winter of 2011. My Husband gave me a beginner kit, as I had been asking to learn. Ispent every spare minute tying on a t.v. tray in our living room. I think I drove our kids nuts. Around the same time, I learnedspey casting and I am now a partner at Spey Casting North East, where I enjoy teaching two handed casting.This seemed natural, as I wanted to chase steelhead and salmon. Tying these flies is as much of a challenge as the fish themselves. But I love learning and helping others to improve their skills. The highlight of my tying career was being invited to tie at Atlantic Salmon Fly International 2018 in Miramichi, Canada. I met so many great people that have influenced my tying and love of the sport. I hope to give back to this wonderful community, that has given me so much.

Bill Wilbur: I’ve been making flies for over 55 years, from midge trout flies to sailfish and marlin flies. But my specialty is Atlantic salmon flies. My greatest pattern design for Atlantic salmon has been the “Green Machine” Probable my next greatest pattern would be the “Pearl Herron” spey fly. I’ve tied flies for Ducks Unlimited, Basin Mills, Miramichi Salmon Association and North Atlantic Salmon Fund. From the North Atlantic Salmon Fund I received a certificate of Master Fly Tyer.

Leslie Wrixon:

More: TBA