Saturday, November 20, 2010

11.20.10 Visited the Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset


So after a do nothing on the beach morning I took a quick ride up to the Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset. As always it was a great show. There is a mix of tyers, vendors, and speakers, and private pay to play classes. It was nice to see some familiar faces out there doing good. Few things stood out for me while I walked around the show. 

Aaron Jasper, local buy from New Jersey continues his climb as an industry leader with his EuroNymphing lectures, ties, and soon to be released video. The trailer looked sick. Maybe one day he could quit his day job! (He's a teacher by trade.) Check out his website at www.flyfishingevolution.com

As always some amazing tyers. My favorite this year was Leon Piasecki who hails from Massachusetts. He was tying some really nice baitfish flies using a prodeuct called Devil N' Blends by Capt. Jan Devlin from Taunton, Massachusetts. The ties looked like a variation of what I have seen Steve Farrar and Bob Popovics tie.



And, even though I'm not big on pushing product that no one is paying me to push, the Fish Skull line from Flymen Fishing Company is super nice. I watched Rich Strolis tie some cool flies using the heads. They come in several colors and sizes and they are simple to use. Tie in your materials, create a thread head, apply some crazy glue, push on the skull (from the front of the hook!), and tie in the front and attach the enclosed eyes. It won the 2010 Dealers Choice Award at the 2010 International Fly Tackle Dealer Show in Denver this year.