Tying demo at Royal Treatment Fly Fishing 4/15/2017

I was honored to be invited to be the featured fly tyer at Royal Treat Fly Fishing on 4/15/2017. I came prepared to tie three flies. Two would be deer hair divers, and one would be a deer hair popper. My intent was to demonstrate how to add stripes to one diver; then demonstrate how to add dots to the other diver. The popper was going to be a joint project with the audience calling the shots.

With Easter coming the following day, there was a little concern on my part regarding if there would be much of an audience at all. As it turned out, there was great group of attendees. When I give a demonstration, I look for input from the audience. I usually let the audience decide which color(s) should go into the bug. This group did not disappoint. The first fly I tied was a chartreuse diver with florescent blue stripes. When the fly was completed, I gave it to the person that provided the most input. The look on her face when I presented her with the diver was priceless. She had no idea she would be bringing a fly home with her.

   After tying the first diver, my plans went awry. Someone suggested I tie a blended deer hair fly. I tend to shy away from blended deer hair bugs. They take me a lot of extra time; and I tend to waste a lot of deer hair when tying them. Since my primary goal when demonstrating is to teach, I guess I would be tying a blended deer hair bass bug. It was decided that I/we would use yellow, green, and fuschia. As much as I shy away from blending deer hair, I absolutely love the final results. I attempted to use orange eyes to finish off the popper, but it just did not pop (pun intended). We eventually decided on white eyes. It was the correct decision.After attaching legs, we named the fly the Easter Egg Popper. Joel, the shop owner, took a great photo of the fly with some Easter cooking as a background.

A special thank you to the staff at Royal Treatment Fly Fishing for letting me share my tying skills at their shop. I would also like to thank the attendees for their input and good natured banter. You are what makes what I do so much fun. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.