Fly Tying Odds and Ends

I have a few fly tying odds and ends I want to share with you in today’s post. I’ll begin with the Zoom class I taught last week for my Central Oregon Fly Tyer’s Guild. I shared the Quigley Cripple, Quigley Film Critic and a new fly, a Compara Cripple.

I decided to tie these flies again and recorded a shorter video highlighting the information about mayflies on the water that I shared during my presentation. In the video, you’ll see the images I discussed and a demonstration of how I tie each fly.

Secondly, I received my Buz Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award plaque recently from the FFI Board of Directors and thought I’d share the REAL one with you. In addition, I appreciate all the kind words and congratulations from those of you who read my post about receiving the Buz Buszek Fly Tying Award. Thank you for taking the time to reach out! I’ll restate more about the Award towards the bottom of this post.

I just returned from Roseburg, Oregon, where I spent Saturday demonstrating several fly patterns at the Southern Oregon Fishing Expo, including the Norm Wood Special and Clark’s Lady Stone. I enjoyed talking with several RiverKeeper Flies followers. I appreciate you taking the time to stop by with either congratulations or offering comments about how you value my website. It means the world to me.

I have another Zoom fly tying session on November 13. I’ll be discussing and demonstrating flies by John Atherton on BT’s Fly Tying Friday. Leave a Comment below if you are interested and I’ll send Al Beatty a note to include you in his emails with the links.

I’ve been intrigued about Atherton’s dry flies since reading about him in Mike Valla’s The Founding Flies  book. These Catskill-style flies have been favorites to tie and I’ve featured them in my Throw Back Thursday Flies.

Here are some links the six dry flies:

We are headed back to Patagonia and I’d like to take a few flies with me. Here are the flies I took last year.

I don’t plan on taking all of those for 2027. I’ll begin by tying the favorite dry fly I’ve used in Patagonia, Swisher’s PMX Royal. The other flies that have worked well are a Fat Albert (black or tan) and Card’s Cicada.

A Frenchie nymph has worked really well too. You can tell how shredded the fly is in this image. The Pheasant Tail body has been destroyed.

That list should keep me busy for a few weeks. The weather has really changed and my beloved dry fly fishing might be mostly over for this year.

I’ll close by repeating some of the post I wrote about receiving the 2026 Buz Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award:

Last week at FlyFest, Fly Fishers International announced I was the recipient of the 2026 Buz Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award, their highest honor for fly tying, recognizing a lifetime of excellence in tying, innovation, education, and preserving the craft.

A friend of mine wrote:

“Over the years you have continually represented fly patterns but featured historical relevance, fishing techniques, fly dressing techniques, and much more; certainly to include professional photography. Many people have years of fly fishing or fly tying experience, but when that experience intersects with fly fishing/fly tying knowledge, it is at that intersection when the art form occurs. Through your website, teaching, and passion for fly fishing/tying, you clearly are highly respected for all of the essence of this Award.”

I am proud, but humbled to receive this recognition.

I’ve known about this award since I became a member of Federation of Fly Fishers (its old name) many years ago. In fact, I’ve written in previous Throwback Thursday Fly posts to celebrate Wayne “Buz” Buszek and the flies he developed, the Float-N-Fool, the Kings River Caddis, the Old Gray Mare, and Western Coachman.

When I learned I was nominated for the award a few months ago, I reviewed the criteria to be a recipient of the award. The following is from Fly Fishers International website:

The award “…is presented to individuals who have demonstrated highest skills in fly tying and made significant contributions to the preservation of the artform of fly tying.

This award is named in honor of Wayne “Buz” Buszek who developed a retail business during the mid-1900s where he established a standard of excellence for fly tying materials and more importantly the many excellent fly patterns he developed that include the Western Coachman and Old Gray Mare that continue to inspire the highest skills in fly tying today. The award, likewise, is presented to individuals who have demonstrated highest skills in fly tying and made significant contributions to the preservation of the artform of fly tying.”

…Here is my response upon learning my name was being considered for the FFI award:

I’m still at a loss for words from our brief discussion when you relayed your plan to nominate me for the Buz Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award. I must say you really caught me off guard! I am truly humbled and honored to be considered for this award.

My fly tying journey has been over 50 years in the making. I started RiverKeeper Flies website 12 years ago on March 5. In fact, I just published a celebration post you might enjoy reading – RiverKeeper Flies Turned 12 Years Old.

As I read your note, I paused to think about your phrase “it is at that intersection when the art form occurs”. I’d really never thought about my work in that light.

Riverkeeper Flies started simply as a way to document my many fly pattern sheets. Over time, it has broadened to share what I love about fly tying and fly fishing, including more fly patterns, their history through my Throw Back Thursday Flies posts, techniques, and capturing images of insects through my photography. I never imagined it would resonate with so many fly tyers and fly fishers the way it has.

To be considered for an award that values not just the fly tying craft, but the preservation and spirit of the art form, is incredibly special. I’m sincerely honored and grateful.

As I stated above, I am proud, but humbled to receive this recognition.

Enjoy…go fish!