I just reread the article “Tying flies, then and now” (River Reporter, February 20-26). I too began tying flies many years ago.  I attended Beech Mountain Boy Scout during the summers of 1955 and ‘56.  Mom sent me to camp with a few bucks to spend at the camp store.  With that money, I bought a fly-tying kit one year and a wooden-plug carving kit the next.  I have been tying flies and crafting all sorts of wood and metal lures ever since.  

(Note:  I still have the cheap but functional vise that came with that Boy Scout fly-tying kit and use it once in awhile, just to refresh old memories.)

Once I began creating flies and lures, I quickly abandoned traditional patterns recommended by the experts, and instead built both flies and lures according to what I thought would catch fish.  My youngest (age 12) grandson and I continue to do that today:  create a fly or lure based on what we have observed in local streams. It works for us! (My grandson caught his first trout on a fly he had tied at age 10, using a fly rod that I had built for him. A treasured memory.)

Only a couple of weeks, and we will be back at it!

Thanks to the River Reporter—keep up your good work! 

Lloyd Barnhart
West Sand Lake, NY