I am sometimes asked as an artist (well, let’s call me what I am—an illustrator who sometimes dabbles with paint) whose art I personally like. I have a long list, and much of it has nothing to do with fly fishing in any way. But, when it comes to angling art, I do have my [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Dahlberg Diver. If you grew up where I did, you eventually had one of these tied to the end of your line/bite tippet (assuming you wanted to take a shot at northern pike). Notes: Wanted to experiment a bit with a cross between ink-and-brush and pen-and-ink. Added some watercolor to spice up [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Crazy Charlie. Went the retro pop-art route for this one (did Warhol ever do a fly?). Knew well ahead of time where I was going with it, and just took my time getting there. Beat the 30 minute mark, and didn’t have to rush to do it. Notes: This began as a [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Hornberg (this isn’t your daddy’s Hornberg). I know: When one envisions a Hornberg (I grew up not far from where it was created), once tends to see this lovely dry/wet fly with jungle cock cheeks and flowing, mallard-flank wings. A nostalgic fly from a nostalgic era, perhaps. With my current state of [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Sakasa Kebari (Reverse Hackle) for Tenkara-style fishing. To my eye, a pattern of elegant simplicity and beauty. Was doing some editing in the section on dapping in the upcoming Fishing the Film book, and got to thinking about the Japanese Tenkara angling approach. E-mailed Jeff about doing an “artist’s choice” of a Tenkara [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Serendipity. Seemed like this fly went together much like the day that preceded it: A lot of thinking things were going alright, then discovering that nothing worked out exactly as planned. Not that it means it was bad, just not at the level that I had really wanted. It just feels like [...]

FF&W Tees are in short supply right now, but I’ll be re-ordering this coming week. On tap will be the usual spread, plus the long-sold-out 3XL size. If you want the coastal green tee with the trout on it, now would be a good time to order (if your size is in stock), since I’ll [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Brassie (gold beadhead). I grew up fishing Brassies, and they were a staple midge pattern for me in spring creeks all over the Rocky Mountain West. The flies I fished as a kid (well, the flies I still often fish) were/are simpler than this. They use the same skinny wire body, but [...]

At last, the final few drawings for Fishing the Film should be done today. I have been inserting the drawings into layout as I go (and doing captions at the same time), so that means that the book should be ready to go to the printers within a week or so. That pleases me to [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Leadwing Coachman. This pattern caught my father his first trout back in the day (when GB was 11). A lot happened after that! Actually the Leadwing Coachman features prominently in the first story in the upcoming Fishing the Film book, and is the second illustration in Chapter One. I drew several Leadwings [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Loop Wing Dun. One of my all-time favorite patterns for spring creek trout (or any trout looking for small mayflies, actually). This fly has done the trick all over the world for me, and it is a permanent resident of my boxes. Notes: It may be 11pm, but at least I wasn’t [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Chironomid (giant lake midge, in this case). Notes: Five minutes after 11 (pm). Asleep on the couch. Kel wakes me up with “Hey, did you do your fly for today?” So, here it is (at 11:31pm). Update: Went with what I know by heart—a big lake chironomid pupa. Got it done and [...]