One week away! The International Fly Tying Symposium

Where did the time go? It’s almost here: the International Fly Tying Symposium, Nov 11 & 12 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Somerset, NJ. come see Tim Cammisa, Barry Orde Clarke, Bob Clouser, Joe Cordeiro, Pat and Forest Dorsey, Tim Flagler, Ben Furimsky, Cheech Pierce, Tom Rosenbauer, John Shaner, and even me, plus dozens of other talented people tying up a storm, demoing patterns, giving seminars, and teaching classes. What a tremendous opportunity to rub elbows with and learn from some of the best fly tyers on the planet!

Watch me tie classic wet flies and soft hackles like these — or come see me speak — or take my wet fly tying class — or, better yet, all of the above.

On Saturday, November 11 at noon, come to my seminar, Tying and Fishing Wet Flies. The seminar is included in the price of your admission ticket. Then, take my tying class, Soft Hackles, Winged, and Wingless Wets at 1pm. You need to register for the class, and you can do that here.

Don’t forget the vendors! Lots of good stuff to be had, and you better get to the soft hackle and ducktail bins before I do. See you there — and please come say hello.

Want to up your fly fishing game? Then come to these seminars! They’re all included in the price of your ticket.

Building a more Erie tribs-appropriate fly box

Here’s where I ended up after this past April:

There are a few holes on the bug side that I’d normally fill with small, simple black stones for the Ontario tribs. The egg side is a little too large and loud, especially for the current low water. Time to fill some corks!
Clockwise from lower left: sz 14 Electric Caddis and Yerger Miracle nymphs; Winger’s Mallard Minnow and Jeff Blood’s White Death, sz 10; egg/apricot supreme Blood Dots sz 14; various implements of Squirmy Wormy destruction; Kopczyk’s Super Fruit, and Murray’s Go-To and Mini-Bug, all sz 14. I got most of these patterns from John Nagy’s Steelhead Guide, the definitive work on Erie tribs steelhead. Let’s see where they fit in
Ready to go! I replaced the top egg row, which was mostly Estaz eggs, with more muted fare. The Blood Dots are a proven favorite. I love that you can fish a tandem rig in OH and PA, and I’m looking forward to giving the steelhead a choice. Steak? Or eggs? Both?…