Mad Skillz

Yesterday I was reorganizing the "demo flies" tied during the Schultz Outfitters "Bar Flies" demo classes and noticed something interesting. My tying skills have improved considerably over the past year. Flies from the early classes last season look like crap compared to what I've been tying this year.

It shows up in so many places - feather placement, body proportions and balance, and most noticeably in the head finish. Wow do those old flies look SAD! By comparison, the heads on the new ones are tight and crisp (and don't look like they'll unravel after a single fish).

This motivated me to go back and have a look at some other flies I'd done. The pattern was the same with others. For example, my early examples of Sean's Half A$$ Stonefly look crude and kludgy. Though I have caught fish on them - but we'll chalk that up to luck. The new ones look sleek, and (God forbid) something like an actual stonefly!

One of the things that motivates me in my outdoor passions is the opportunity to improve my skill set. So, this new discovery was certainly a welcome surprise!

Some of this growth is the result of spending hours at the vise, but more of it is having access to some great instruction. I've been fortunate enough to learn from well-known tiers like April Vokey (above), Kevin Feenstra, and Greg Senyo. As well as up-and-comers like Mike Schultz, Jon Ray, Steve Martinez, Tommy Lynch, Eirik Vitso, Jay Daley, and Chris Hatcher.

By putting this all together, I really do feel like I've learned a TON! One of the best acknowledgements was a couple weeks back at Tommy's class, my Dad fell a couple of steps behind. I was able to lean over and catch him up. Tommy saw this and commented later on my growth as a tyer. Nice props from a serious tyer and fisherman.

-Sean-