Q: Who or what in fly dressing first inspired you to tie realistic patterns?
A: Looking back over the journey so far, and from where I now find myself, I see my direction has been shaped by a great many factors and/or people.
Initially, I had approached a local fly shop many (many, many!) years ago to find out exactly how one tied a fly. I took with me a squirrel tail nymph which I had devised myself. The shop owner was a fly tyer of some experience and also one who was equally skilled in the art of tactical criticism. Upon viewing my nymph, he saw that I was completely lost in terms of what to do. To put things into perspective, my Squirrel-tailed Nymph was literally a section of tail fur (including the spine) tied directly to a Size 2 Salmon double hook.
He promptly set up a vice and proceeded to tutor me on the finer points of tying a simple Pheasant-tailed nymph. After serving one or two customers, he then suggested that I watch carefully before guiding me through the art of tying a simple Black Gnat. Afterwards, he provided me with a small packet containing samples of each material required to tie both flies, together with an old magazine which detailed some step-by-step patterns, and then presented the packet to me.
His sterling advice coupled with his parting words, were: “Practice until you can tie these patterns with your eyes closed.” Those were wise words and certainly put me in good stead for the future.
Ironically, it would be the magazine's front cover image that would have an equal influence on my tying as it showed a spectacular, fully dressed Salmon fly – something I always dreamed of tying myself. I referred to that image for many years and always tried to imagine just how proud the tyer must have felt to see his fly on the cover.
I practiced tying the two flies until I was able to tie them to an acceptable standard and had already caught a few trout with both patterns, and this new found confidence inspired a desire to progress onto something more challenging. Sadly though, I could not afford any of the materials needed to tie the salmon fly and so decided instead to spend what little money I did have on buying materials to tie alternative trout fly patterns.
As a child I was besieged by various allergies; some were dermatological whilst others were respiratory related reactions. To find out that I was allergic to certain fly tying materials such as deer hair etc. was quite a blow. First of all my financial situation had stood in the way of Salmon fly tying and now, some genetic defect seemed determined to halt my new found hobby of fly tying.
Being of determined mind, I short–listed all materials that could be used safely without fear of setting off an allergic attack. The lists comprised a range of modern synthetic materials and, as a blessing, even a few natural materials such as porcupine guard hairs, etc.
So it was that I began fly tying with a fairly limited deck of cards, so to speak. Little by little though, I figured out how to use each of them and over time, medical science came to my rescue by offering various treatments which would lessen the effects of at least some of my remaining allergies.
I was reading more magazines now and had seen work by Randall Kauffmann, Bill Blackstone and Bob Mead. Their patterns encouraged me to try out realistic fly tying and within a month or so I was hooked!
Q: When you decided to focus on realism, what was the first insect you tied?
A: I was interested in tying a number of insects at that point, with Mayfly and Stonefly species holding a particular fascination. However, Beetles were found in abundance on a local stream that I fished, though many of the anglers I had spoken to would all return similar verdicts of poor beetle pattern success rate. I knew many of these guys to be competent fly anglers and so became intrigued with why the beetle should be such a useless pattern. Curiously, and even to this day, no single explanation has been discovered that would answer that particular angling conundrum, although I did find that foam beetle patterns did work quite well and, up until that point, it seems these had never been used on that stretch of club water.
My revised Foam Beetle pattern incorporated bunches of cock Pheasant centre tail to simulate the legs, which in turn caused the pattern to sit much higher in the meniscus than previous patterns. My success rate improved and members of the angling club soon began tying their own versions. That pattern became quite in vogue although I am sure every trout in the stretch cursed me for its introduction.
Q: What is the most difficult project that you have undertaken in realistic tying?
A: I had tied realistically for many years and in the end began selling some of the patterns simply because no fly box on earth could have housed so many individual flies. Without fear of exaggeration, there were thousands of flies! I began selling them directly to local clubs and fly shops with the intention of purchasing fresh materials with any revenue that I made. One popular pattern, the Perlodes Nymph, would always sell out first and in the end I was actually taking orders for these! Flattered as I was that people were buying my patterns, I recalled the initial advice given to me by the shop owner and continued to practice even the flies which I knew how to tie.
From customer feedback I became aware of the fact that some of my flies would never see water and were, in fact, destined for display cases and shadow boxes. A situation I had not experienced before. At the vice, this situation necessitated the balancing of possible achieved realism with actual required realism; i.e., how much effort did it take to create a successful trout fly?
Whilst tying those early orders I set myself a few simple rules and goals, which were: If they were destined to be fished with, then they should be a facsimile of the original successful pattern; though, if the fly was part of an order destined for a display or shadow box, then each subsequent pattern that I tied should be more realistic than the previous attempt.
In the case of the Perlodes Nymph, I had already tied this pattern many thousands of times and was soon struggling to improve upon the overall level of achieved realism that I could regularly include. I guess it was around that time that I had the option of taking things "up a gear" or to remain stationary. Although not a project in the true sense, the decision to take my realistic fly tying to the so-called "next" level was certainly one of the most difficult tasks I have undertaken thus far, as there was little or no information available that could assist my decisions.
I was literally making it up as I went along.
Q: With the growing number of realistic tiers skyrocketing over the past couple years, have you noticed any new"trends" in the realistic world that were not around say three, four, five or more years ago?
A: I have not seen too many new trends as yet; there are a few but most of the time it is simply the cycle of older, perhaps unexplored trends that are simply being revisited by inventive fly tiers. I think this situation occurs constantly throughout the world of fly tying.
Realistic & Art fly tying has certainly gained in popularity over the years. Most art flies may be destined to live out their lives in a shadow box or picture frame but they are of huge importance to realistic fly tying! Many of the ideas required to create an art fly in the first place, are ideas which can be simplified or altered slightly in order to create a fresh new realistic fly tying idea; e.g., on one occasion, I sat looking at a beautiful fly tied by Bill Blackstone, and was immediately inspired to experiment with a new thorax technique, which came about as a direct result of that meeting with Bill.
I class myself as being extremely fortunate to have met Bob Mead, and we have become great friends over the years. Quite often we find ourselves tying next to each other at fly shows and this provides me with a wonderful opportunity to view Bob's work up close. On many occasions I go away from our meetings thinking, Geez, I am going to try that out!! These are prime instances of me just exploring what others have already done though I would like to think that in doing so, I may have put forward a few new ideas myself.
Q: Any advice or tips for people interested in tying realistics?
A: Creative souls will always attempt to 'break the mould', ‘step outside the envelope’ . . . call it what you will but whilst I wholeheartedly applaud anyone trying to be unique, I also believe that from the outset it is vitally important that we both adhere to, and also observe certain golden rules. I say this so that we do not step too far away from fly tying and too close to model making as there is but a fine line dividing the two realms!
I have often said that "flies are tied together whilst models are glued together!" If a newcomer to realistic fly tying is told that ‘anything goes’ . . . ‘use whatever means necessary’ or ‘push the boundaries’ then unless they understand those basic golden rules governing realistic/art fly tying, the wrong message may be sent out.
The underbody of a fly, even whilst it may remain unseen for the rest of its life, must be tied to the hook shank with any external body coverings also being tied to this underbody. If we use glue indiscriminately other than for the purpose of providing a sound coating on another material, then rather than becoming better realistic fly tiers we are actually becoming great realistic liars!
Choosing materials is a never ending research program; there is always something new out there and finding “it” may certainly be part of the fun in fly tying. Anyone who has been tying for a number of years will have, no doubt, amassed a wealth of regular/alternative materials and on the whole, this collection will help us to tie almost any fly we choose.
Over the years I have noticed little change in my material box and whilst there are one or two rare exceptions, on the whole I still use basically the same stuff as I did 4 or 5 years ago. I guess the real change comes in personal development and fly tying opinion. For instance, if we are looking to become better realistic fly tiers then by practicing the art, our abilities and understanding will improve, and this will inevitably show in the flies we produce.
I have commented before on the fact that I am the world’s greatest critic of my own work and this causes me to be extremely surgical in some respects. If something about my fly looks OK or achieves adequate levels of visual realism, then it will be duly noted in my fly tying journal so as to be referenced at a later date. However, that particular facet of the fly pattern will be immediately removed from the current equation, and I begin once more by experimenting with alternative materials and tying methods in order to achieve either a greater level of realism, or perhaps a more fishable variant. This has helped me to mimic natural insects insomuch as my patterns can only evolve and never devolve!
Q: When tying a time-consuming fly, do you ever take a break and tie a few fishing flies before coming back to the realistic vise?
A: I have quite clear, regimented sessions where I will either be tying an art fly, realistic flies or stocking up my regular flies. There are a number of reasons why I break from a complex fly periodically; sometimes this may be down to frustration or maybe just to gain perspective. In the case of frustration I use the Limited Edition Hopper from the Flies as Art book as an example; this particular pattern was based on the migratory Locust; of which, I had sourced a good, preserved example to work from. I was immediately struck by how large the adult insects are and this granted me free licence to really include a lot of detail in the pattern.
I had tied the abdomen, though struggled with this area considerably. On the natural, the upper abdominal segments fold over the lower segments but meet along the sides of the insect to create a kind of lateral overlap – quite similar to some Mayfly, actually. I had managed to recreate the entire abdomen using raffene and micro-foam and so continued with this choice of materials for much of the forward body. The problem was that with all the Japanese Nymph leg shafts, four wings, multiple sections of foam and raffene sticking out all over the place, it was actually quite difficult to see what one was supposed to be doing!
Periodically, I would take the fly out of the vice to closely inspect what I had created so far and now recall tying that hopper during summertime. With the fly tying room windows wide open and whilst checking my progress, I admit that on more than one occasion I found myself tempted to hurl the fly out of the window!
I have also produced complex water colour and technical art drawings over the years, and from experience have found that on many occasions an hour or two, or even a complete day away from a piece, may provide one with valuable inspiration and, at times, the necessary perspective to successfully complete a task. Fly tying is no different for me.
Q: Do you focus on one insect until it is perfected before moving on to others?
A: In one sense, all of my flies developed with me over a period of many years. Recently, I had the opportunity to view some of my earlier stuff. I remembered the level of detail contained in those early flies was a struggle to achieve at the time but when compared to my current stock of flies, the detail is quite primitive.
I think there are times when we all gain enjoyment from tying a particular pattern and this favoritism changes over time. One year we may be into Mayfly, next year it will be Stonefly and so on. As a result, I have immersed myself into many different patterns though – and being the world’s greatest critic of my own work – I have never perfected a fly!
The 25 flies detailed in my book are the result of over fifteen years intensive research, trial and error and continued practice, with each one of the actual flies being presented in special limited-edition, black leather copy of the book. Whilst I am generally okay about selling my flies, I admit these 25 have become very special to me because of what they represent and as a result, it will be like giving away a huge portion of my fly tying ‘self’ when they are presented to various collectors later next month.
One of the flies – a Stonefly Nymph, is a copy of the fly that was (part of) the original shipment to become impounded by US Customs back in September 2001. I had retied this fly only because so many people at the shows kept asking me: “so what did it look like?” After it was tied, various editors enquired if some of my flies could be used in magazine articles. I was, of course, quite flattered by this and began keeping a scrapbook of each instance. So far I have seen my flies in American, Canadian, Japanese, Finnish, German, English and Chinese magazines. One morning as I walked downstairs, the mailman had delivered the day's post which contained a copy of Fly Tyer magazine. My Stonefly Nymph had been used as the front cover image and this took me back to that day as a kid, where I wondered how that Salmon fly tier must have felt . . . . . and for the record – it felt good!
Q: When designing a fishable realistic pattern, do you take the amount of time it will take to tie into consideration?
A: I created a theory some time ago which became known as the C.R.A.T.E or “Catch Rate And Tying Effort theory”.
This actually means that if fly “A” takes ten minutes to tie and catches plenty of fish, then it surely justifies its place in my fly box and also the effort required to tie it in the first place. Now, if realistic fly “B” takes 30 minutes or even an hour to tie, then I can only justify the tying time and its place in my fly box if it catches proportionately more fish. By applying the C.R.A.T.E theory to each of my flies, I will have a balanced and productive fly box in my pocket as the theory will have already asked: why am I using a realistic fly in the first place when a simple tie-up may suffice??
It is rather like working at an office which is situated only half a mile from my front door: Do I drive to work or do I walk to work? Of course, there are many factors to consider but you get my drift, no doubt?
Q: What type of illumination do you use to while tying and why?
A: I use daylight corrected bulbs in a double-gantry type set up. Each light is of the ‘flexi–neck’ type and able to swing out of the way when not required. I use the daylight corrected (blue) bulbs as they place less strain on my eyes and also allow me to introduce more accurate ranges of colour onto my flies. My eyes are quite sensitive to light and I have good low light acuity. Conversely, I struggle with bright light situations and so have my lights set quite far from the fly.
This is why I generally tie without the aid of a table-mounted light at many of the fly shows that I attend and equally, why I am usually the first guy to wear sunglasses whilst standing outside for a break.
Q: We hear that a DVD collection is in the works, can you share some of the ideas and patterns that will be featured?
A: There are four DVD’s currently planned, and each will be filmed at different venues around the world. The flies used are basically those found in the book, though I also have a few other patterns that will be introduced in order to demonstrate the adaptability and effectiveness of realistic fly patterns.
I have two outline plans for the first DVD’s and these will be filmed in England and America. The publishing company is keen to go with my ideas but, of course - I am a fly tier and not George Lucas, so their ideas and expertise in this area will hopefully create a well-rounded and polished set of films.
Q: What are some of your newer patterns in the works?
A: For the remaining year and the beginning of next year, I will be focusing on life cycles rather than individual flies. From a fly tying point of view, I find the whole act of insect emergence quite challenging to replicate at the vice and although in the past, I have tied a number of emerging stoneflies and dragonflies, it will be interesting to see what I can come up with these days, now that I have a better understanding of materials such as Raffene and ultra-thin plastic sheeting. The digital camera age, together with macro photography has brought to me (and everyone else) a whole new range of fly tying possibilities and these I am keen to explore.
I thank you all for listening and for the opportunity to present some of my thoughts in this interview.
Keep tying – keep trying
Paul Whillock.
You can learn more about Paul Whillock or order his new book Flies as Art on his website: http://www.paulwhillock.com
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Hatches Magazine Subscription
Price: $6.95 for each issue
The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.
Q: Any advice or tips for people interested in tying realistics?
