Thursday, January 26, 2012

January Freshwater Fly of the Month: Dave the Fly Guy's Foam Flies


January Freshwater Fly of the Month: 
Dave the Fly Guy's Foam Flies

As I was searching for my next Freshwater Fly of the Month in my local Cabelas Sporting Goods Store, I ran into a problem: Fishing Enthusiast was growing too quickly and demanding so many flies each month that Cabelas couldn't keep up! I approached one of the employees of the store with my problem: Can they order them in bulk?  Where can I get hundreds of flies made every month?  The gentleman I spoke to pulled me to the side and said, "Take my card. Call me tomorrow when I'm not at work." 

So I did.  It turns out that this employee, Dave, was a world class fly tyer on the side - what a stroke of luck! Dave ties flies for fly fishermen, lodges, and fishing stores all across the country, right from his basement.  He ties hundreds of variations of flies, and tests each and every one of them on his own fishing trips, only selling the best ones. Dave mentioned to me that with years of practice, he considers fly tying to be similar to the martial arts - your hands become so fluid and the motion becomes so natural that when he gets going, it is poetry in motion.  With his state of the art machinery, Dave can tie as many as 60 flies per hour - one every minute!

This particular fly is one of Dave's favorites.  The foam flies are designed to sit right on top of the water as you lightly make the fly dance on the top of the water, attracting fish not only with the light and fluid motion, but also the eyes that are glued on (the little noise making eye is a bonus to attract based on sound).  Pay special attention to the base of the fly - see how the string is tied so it doesn't go diagonal throughout?  That is one of Dave's specialties that you won't anywhere else.  In Dave's eyes, if you throw this baby out there and haven't caught something in your first 3 times, then you may never catch anything.  A bold prediction, but worth a try! 

Let me know how you like the flies so I can pass the good word on to Dave!

www.FishingEnthusiast.com

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