Fish, Flies & Water » Old School

Poly Caddis (v2.0)

JB — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:00:14 +0000

GB’s early 1970s synthetic take-off of the Elk Hair Caddis is one of my own go-to patterns. It not only looks right and fishes right, but the synthetic aspect allows enormous color/texture variation. And as any red-blooded fly-tying geek knows, being able to mess around with colors and textures is one of the best things about [...]

The Eclectic Angler’s Eclectic Gift Ideas

JB — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:11:17 +0000

Want to change-up your holiday fly-fishing gift-giving this year? Do the fly fishers you know seem to have everything they need/want already? Then it appears that you’re in luck, since the Eclectic Angler specializes in fly-fishing gifts that are definitely not mainstream. I myself have a build-it-yourself reel kit from the EA (itself a very [...]

Down & Dirty Mouse (an Old-School GB Fly)

JB — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:07:22 +0000

After posting that little pic yesterday with the blurb about brookies and mice, I got an email asking about mouse flies. Here’s a simple pattern—little more than a few tails and some lashed-on hair—that works. No excessive trimming, no ears, no eyes, no whiskers. Nothing wrong with eyes, ears and whiskers mind you, just that [...]

(Not So) Random Fly Tying Book – “Noll Guide to Trout Flies”

JB — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:06:06 +0000

Just thought that a few FF&W readers might enjoy a look back at one of the books that influenced GB so deeply in his youth. This is actually a later version of the book after it transitioned to the Noll name. It was originally a Family Circle book, which is the version that my father [...]

A Special Gift (Bunyan Bug)

JB — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:11:59 +0000

One of my clients at last week’s fly-casting clinics in Grants Pass, Oregon, presented me with a rather nice gift: A vintage Bunyan Bug tied by Norman Means himself. This is the “poster pattern” from Norman Maclean’s, A River Runs Through It, and is a fly that, to me, speaks of “old school” Montana like no [...]

Random Photo – Retro Flies

JB — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:00:53 +0000

Just a pile of flies that I dumped out on my desk recently and felt were worth a quick pic. Once I imported the photo, I went a bit old-school and tacked on a couple of retro-feeling filters. The end result brings my mind’s eye back to those cold, youthful Wisconsin winters of the 1970s [...]

Tyin’ with GB

JB — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:05:19 +0000

GB is busy tying the 39274957287456 flies he’s going to include in the upcoming Long Flies book (actually, I think it’s only 80 or so, but they have to be right), so I figured that a post on tying with GB was in order. One of the most memorable things about the frequent outings that my father [...]

GB’s Hendrickson Array

JB — Sun, 29 May 2011 16:19:54 +0000

For those interested, there’s a nice triple-play of fly tying by GB over at his blog. While the bit-by-bit recipes are focused on the Hendrickson, the core fly designs are applicable across a rather large spectrum of the mayfly world. Get them here: Red-Brown Nymph – Parachute Floating Nymph – Yarn Wing Dun (with a [...]

Art Archive – DTF Mayfly Adult

JB — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:12:08 +0000

Continuing the FF&W Art Archive series with another image from the book, Designing Trout Flies. This one is from page 45. The collection of numbers correspond to colored pencils that I used for the “presentation” edition of the book. That edition was quite a beauty: handmade wood boxes (with burled panels), leather covers, all of the [...]

Sylvester Nemes Dies

JB — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Got word from GB yesterday that Sylvester Nemes died earlier this month. GB knew Sylvester for many years, and I always enjoyed seeing and talking with Sylvester at shows and other gatherings. The Bozeman Chronicle has a short note on his passing here. Since Sylvester was a champion of the soft-hackle fly, I think that a [...]

GB in Alaska – An Eighties Flashback!

JB — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 05:37:23 +0000

This showed up the other day, a long-lost promotional photo of my father that was sent to me via my friends at The Fly Shop. The pic is still in great shape, and looks pretty much exactly as it would have when it was sent out in the 1980s. That makes GB is this shot [...]

Arnold Richardson Dies

JB — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:11:35 +0000

Got word this morning that A River Runs Through It cast member Arnold Richardson died earlier this month. Arnold played “old Norman” in the film, and his gentle casting stroke, trembling hands and old-school knot tying lent a sense of vulnerability and longing to his character. The Helena Independent Record has a very nice and [...]

Building an Eclectic Reel

JB — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 14:30:20 +0000

As some of you may know, reels are my favorite piece of fly-fishing gear. So, when I saw that I could order the above reel as a kit from The Eclectic Angler, I couldn’t resist (couldn’t resist the $60 asking price, either). Also got a copy of the below book to go along with it: I will [...]

The Hardy Lightweights

JB — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:00:41 +0000

Adding to the review of The Lost World of Mr. Hardy from yesterday, here’s a little old-school remembrance that I wrote for a Japanese magazine some years ago… – – – – – – – – – - My first great reel was a Hardy Princess, given to me on my thirteenth birthday in anticipation [...]