...and Steve Farrar. Last night I sat in on MOF and listened to Steve explain the history of SF Blends, him and fly fishing, and how he ties simple flies. I have watched him and been coached by him for several hours over the years starting back in the 1990's when he used to visit The Fly Hatch or we worked the booth at TFFS where he would tie at Choinard's booth.
So I've watched Steve at the shows, the Atlantic Saltwater meetings, and 1:1 at his home. He's always ready to help another brother out. In fact, if you'd like to see him at work just do a quick search on You Tube or check out the ASWF website, and HERE you can see hims tie up a MV Baitfish, one of his original creations.
Steve is one of those no-eyes guys, which I am not, and I have tied tons each way over the years. Again, the statement can be true that eyes are more for the tyer than for the fish. But what Farrar does tie in is a contrasting throat color, usually red, that I don't see many doing these days.
So last night it was a nice hour long conversation about all that is him and SF Blends. It was all going good until I sniffed a little tariffs/imports/"current President" bait which Stevie didn't bite on. I have to say I could tell it wasn't just a supply chain question.
Steve talked about his flounder fly, which is sick, and I have fished before and caught a bass on. Funny, he has never fished one, or of course, caught a fish on. But between the tie and the tungsten along the bottom these things swim beautifully, and easily give you that "puff" when they touch the bottom. Try one of these while sight fishing and and you'll see how crazy good they are.
So after suffering through a remote ZOOM class this morning I got motivated to spend some time reconnecting with SF Blends. I forgot, over time and with Squimpish Flies materials, how much I like tying with Steve's blends. First I had to find one of those "purchased too many blend" bins and recall how I tied with them. It all came back to me pretty good and I just tied with the blends but added some saddle hackle inside and finished them with some faux jungle cock eyes.
Above is what I came up with. That fly hasn't been groomed, combed, wet, Plasti-Dipped, or trimmed. That's the way it sat in my vice after a quick 5 minute tie. While I could have been a tad more creative with contrasting colors along the sides I'm confident this will get eaten by something someday.
I still have a container of Plasti-Dip which Steve talked about last night. He was the one that introduced me to it and in using the bottles which are coated inside to prevent the dip from coagulating. Orvis sells them, but not the coated versions. I also took his advice about using
tungsten powder mixed with acrylics to weight down crab flies. While dumbbell eyes are good, this weight on the bottom really allows them to sink, and glide, along the bottom. If you try it the only advice I could give, and something Steve always told me when tying, "Less is more". Too much tungsten and they get a little difficult to cast and are splashy.
SF Blends are available just about everywhere. Fly shops first, if you have one within a short drive, or you order them from a shop online. I won't talk about the other options. Remember, Steve starting blending synthetic fibers and flash, and you can mix the different colors before you tie them in. Add some hackles inside for a Flatwing style and some bulk along the hook, or keep them sparse and let the silhouette and the tail action of the fly get noticed. Don't forget to add a little dark or peacock herl along the back to really make the fly noticed in the water. Also, Steve was big in using colored markers for some of the detail, like his flounder fly, which is tied using all white blends and then colored.