Show Angling Enthusiasts Show Rookie How Flow Tie Lures to J. J ax a at t rf 1 r a ii b v 3 W 4 4 f Mrs Paul Staples left and Mr and Mrs Herb Herbert ert B. B Simpson hard at work making artificial flies flics Very easy they say but reporter who tried to get a story from them on how to tic tie flies doesn't agree A FLY IN THE OINTMENT Chastened Scribe Finds Fly Tying Isn't Al All Its It's Cracked Up to o Be By WINTHROP CADY Memo to the Sports Editor Dear John I apologize for all those things I 1 said said but but you didn't hear hear and and andall all all those things I thought when you asked me to get a story on fly tying What a silly assignment I thought A bunch of guys gUS putting putting put put- ting In their time playing with thread fur and feathers instead of fishing Furthermore one of the best parts of At x t the fishing season season season sea sea- son are those hours spent hanging hangIng hangIng hang hang- ing over a sporting sporting- goods store counter arguing with the salesman salesman salesman sales sales- man on the relative merits of each fly in his assortment and telling of how you almost caught a big one one on a fly that looks something like that one only the hackle was a little darker Well Ive I've been wrong before And this wont won't be the last time either Rounded Up Gang GangI I rounded up Mildred Midred and Herbert Herbert Herbert Her Her- bert Simpson Alice and Paul Staples all accomplished fisher fisher- men and tying fly enthusiasts to show me how its it's done so I could write a little story We all gathered in the Simpsons' Simpsons home around the kitchen table and they proceeded to demonstrate demonstrate demon demon- strate how to tie a good lure First thing Herb proudly showed off his equipment which Included among other odds and ends some skunk fur chicken feathers of several col colors colors col- col ors duck feathers deer and elk 4 i v t o Danger Win ln at Work fur polar bear fur a l dozen spools of thread of assorted colors colors colors col col- col- col ors some tinsel a double handful handful handful hand hand- ful of rubber bands manicure scissors a ball of wax a sm small vise some wire hundreds of ot fish fishhooks fishhooks fishhooks hooks and some som rolls of fuzzy wrapping body-wrapping material 0 I mentally added all fly tiers as a body on the screwball list Gets the Point As the evening progressed they showed me how to put a hook in the vise with the point down how to wax the wrapping thread and start It on the body by wrapping It over the loose end laid along the shank for several several several sev sev- eral turns and then secure it with a hitch half-hitch near the back end of the shank Then they explained you ou tie on the tle tail tail tail-a a couple of ot tiny pieces of feather feather feather-by by winding the wrapping thread over it a afew afew afew few times and securing it with another half After that its it's a cinch to start the body material in the same way w and wind the wrapping thread up to the front of the shank to get it out of ot the way of the body material which comes next Hackle Is b Next Then they put on the hackle which is nothing fancier th than thana n na a feather pulled out of a chickens chicken's chickens chicken's chickens chicken's chick chick- ens en's neck fastening it In the same way With a pair of hackle pliers they grabbed the end of the tle feather only feather only the upper two- two thirds had been used and arid wound it around the shank up near the eye eje They fastened the end of the hackle with a fancy loop knot and there was as fine a gray hackle fly as Ive I've ever seen Simple I thought so I tried it For the second time I was wrong Mrs Simpson finished a good- good looking fly in five minutes For Formy Formy Formy my hour half-hour of ot pains I got wax all over my hands and clothes colored bright-colored feathers all over me a couple of dozen wounds on my hands and a fly 1 that looked as though it had been chewed by a hungry shark Then Mrs Simpson made a fly In the same same- manner as the hackle but with a rubber band for a body A rubber bug she the called it Rub Rubber r Buggy Much simpler I thought sitting sitting sitting sit sit- ting down to try it For the third time I was wrong Ive I've decided decided decided de de- de- de to fish this summer without without without with with- out any rubber bugs although the Simpsons and the Staples as assured assured assured as- as me it is an effective lure Upshot of the whole affair was that next day I purchased a vise some ome fur and feathers I 1 found out too that leaning over a sporting goods store counter discussing discussing discussing dis dis- cussing the relative m merits of each particular chicken neck and type of hook is an excellent substitute substitute substitute sub sub- for haggling over which type of fly is most effective e But I believe wed we'd better wait walt until next nut year jear for that story Herb and Paul insist Its It's a simple simple sim aim pie matter to tie a a. good fly but Judging from progress made In Inthe Inthe inthe the J last Jt two days daa it if probably will take me that long Ions to learn enough to write about ita it a |