Tying Flies and Working on Projects

I’ve been tying flies and working on projects for March 2022. I’ll be teaching two Zoom fly tying classes and offering a presentation to Central Oregon Flyfishers.

Paradise Flies | www.johnkreft.com

This is the time of year I spend more time at the vise. The image above are a few flies I’m tying for a good customer. There are a dozen Green Drake Sparkle Duns and half a dozen Arrick’s Parachute Ant fly patterns.

Many fly fishers are dreaming about fishing this spring and summer and checking their fly boxes to see if they need more flies. If they tie, they are busy filling those empty slots found in fly boxes after last year’s fishing trips. If not, I might get an email asking to tie a few flies for them.

If you ordered flies from me in past years, it’s time to prepare your order. Check the empty slots in your own fly boxes and create a list of flies needed to replace them. Not a customer yet? Send me an email by selecting Contact on the menu at the top of every page. My customer order list is short now, but I anticipate extended wait times as my fishing and traveling pick up by May and June.

I’m known for the wide variety of flies I tie and decided to share some of those flies in the upcoming Zoom classes.

On March 4, I’m scheduled to teach a couple of flies for BT’s Fly Tying Friday. I decided to highlight some foam fly patterns; a variant of the Braided Butt Damsel and a Morrish October Caddis.

Here are the details to participate in any of the BT’s Fly Tying Friday sessions at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. The link will work every Friday night.


Time: Fridays at 06:00 PM Mountain Time

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83351591625?pwd=UUhnV2xaVmZlUzRra3psVk42UzFwZz09

Meeting ID: 833 5159 1625
Passcode: 461432


On Thursday, March 10, I’ll be tying my version of McPhail’s Golden Stone Nymph and Silvey’s Caddis Pupa for the Central Oregon Fly Tyer’s Guild Zoom fly tying class. I thought I’d change it up a bit and surprise people with some sub-surface fly patterns!

Here are the details for Central Oregon Fly Tyer’s Guild’s Zoom classes. They are scheduled every Thursday night through April 14.


Time: Thursdays at 05:00 PM Pacific Time

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89020388944?pwd=am02SThsVWVyKytvWGhFbFo5Y0JsUT09

Meeting ID: 890 2038 8944 Passcode: 917550


Here are two links where I tie my RiverKeeper Soft Hackle Cripple fly. One is recorded during a BT’s Fly Tying Friday last October 2021 (I begin my presentation at the 14:07 mark); the other from my RiverKeeper Flies YouTube channel.

On March 16, I’m scheduled to make a presentation to Central Oregon Flyfishers about selecting flies from a fly tyer’s perspective; namely how understanding the parts of a fly will help fly fishers purchase more effective flies at their local fly shop.

I’m making headway on the presentation and will share some of it in a later post here on RiverKeeper Flies.

Enjoy…go fish, stay safe!

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3 Comments

  1. The hackle is by far the most important part of this fly. I’ve been using this style for many years with great success, I was told about the duck & goose wing hackle by an old friend who has since passed, John Betts. Have enjoyed your patterns and stories for many years, thank you John.

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