I can’t say that John Gierach books got me into fly-fishing, but I know those books got me into writing. And one of the best features in his writing was the dynamic between Gierach his fishing partner, A.K. Best.
I’ve read a couple of Best’s books on fly-tying and can appreciate the attention to realism and proportion (not to mention borderline fanatacism) that he practices in tying and selecting materials. He’s got an 0ld-school attitude about tying and fly-fishing and he’s a great foil to the headhunting, yuppie crowd.
The Cleveland Plain-Dealer’s D’Arcy Egan caught up with Best recently ahead of an appearance in theMidwest. Here are a few nuggets:
“I do a lot of writing and photography, and tie about 500 dozen flies each year,” said Best.
Yes, that’s about 6,000 flies each year. It took me a week to tie six poppers.
So many fly fishers test their talent with light tackle. They cast wispy ought-weight fly rods and spider web leaders with teensy-tiny flies.
Best doesn’t carry anything lighter than a 5-weight fly rod. He wants to quickly land and release his trout, not tire them to death.
“You don’t go deer hunting with a .22 rifle,” he said. “Fish enough and some day you’re going to hook a trophy – and maybe land it, if you have the right equipment.”
Optimism, with a tinge of fogeyism.
“Fly tiers leave a lot of stuff out, trying to match an insect perfectly.
“But they don’t. Most every mayfly has a darker thorax than abdomen, but most flies don’t reflect that. And they don’t tie the wings long enough. Mayflies don’t read proportion charts. Their wings are going to be as long as nature wants them.”
His flies do look more realistic than, say, a classic Catskill pattern. His are also harder to tie and his penchant for quill bodies — which look great but are a royal pain to use and prepare — is downright evil to beginner and even intermediate tyers. That said, I learned a hell of a lot about organizing time and materials before I even put a hook in the vise from his Production Fly Tying book. His more recent tying book about his favorite flies is a classic that I am still learning from.
A.K. is a classic mad scientist fly-tyer.
Posted by gjhaze 
