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Swing both ways

3K views 21 replies 18 participants last post by  fshnazn 
#1 ·
No...I'm not talking sexual preferences or river right/river left...I'm talking flies.

Getting ready for a large mailing this weekend, I came across a fly I tied a few years ago when I was tying differently. Seeing it, gave me pause to consider how much my tying has evolved...How, at one point, it was only about catching fish in my home waters with the intent to save money. Things have changed several times since then and now.. catching is only one part of the equation...but certainly more than when I tied this one.

I hope you enjoy my early attempt at putting art just a few steps ahead of function. Now its the opposite.

dave
 

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#9 ·
There was a period of about 4 years when all of my flies either took 2-5 minutes (fishing) or 2-5 hours (display) with very little in between. The last six months or so I've been focusing on fishing patterns that hopefully look as good as they fish. This fly has never seen the water. Thanks for asking

dave
 
#10 ·
Before I went down the road to learning the classics...My mind wanted to go places my skills wouldn't let me. It opened so many doors and opportunities..AND as a result of having better skills...it takes me much less time to tie complex patterns and has given me freedom. As a result of all this, when it comes to tying..I neither run towards my strengths nor away from my weaknesses.

dave gotzmer
At the time, the thread from which this quote was pulled was a bit of a contentious one (at least at first), but as time went by this quote continued to resonate with me. Of course, seeing this current thread made me think of it once again. The work you have put into the art has paid off twofold. It seems the art just spills into your fishing flys, and boundries are not something you run into. An almost indistinguishable mix of art and function, to me, is the pinnacle of the craft, and you seem to be there.
 
#13 ·
What I see there is pure art !!

- How the wing is nestled into the tail without pause and continues to flow .
- The markings in the wing are aligned as if they were part of a player piano tick-chart .
- The Jay in the throat compliments the essence of the over-all fly .
- The detail within the components of the fly , such as the double wrapped ostrich herl butt .


Wonderful fly Dave .... thank-you :)











Mike
 
#18 ·
Lovely fly. And yes, I'd fish it. I recall a time some 13 years ago when fishing for winter steelhead on the Sauk and Skagit Rivers with my friend Bob Arnold (I really miss fishing with him since he quit steelhead fishing 10 years ago) that Bob told me I was nuts for tying on a married wing KATE to fish a run where both of us knew we often hung up and could lose our fly. I told him the fly was designed to fish, is a good fly for steelhead, and so what if I lost some of them to the river because then I had a reason to tie some more.
 
#22 ·
Thought I'd bump this entry back to the future! I was searching the archives for "mailing flies" and Dave's post came up.

Really enjoyed the fly and also the following posts by Black Zonky (quoting 24-7) and Gr8's analysis on what he encountered in Dave's art.

At times, when I peruse on here, certain posters magnetize my "left-click" finger to make sure I'm not missing anything. You fellows do not disappoint.

Adrian
 
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