Mother Nature is the supreme artist. Therefore, I look at the function she originally intended a material to perform in order to judge its suitability for my intended use. The basis of fly tying is the selection and preparation of materials. A feather from a bird that is water-oriented, for example, is naturally waterproof and suitable for a dry fly. On the other hand, wool is inappropriate, because sheep would sink if they wound up in the water. Principles in the selection and preparation of materials make up the focus of the classes I have been teaching for forty years. Many of my teaching techniques originated in the early 1960s, when I taught hospitalized Vietnam War veterans how to tie flies. I had to make the subject interesting and clear for men who neither knew what a fly was nor were likely ever to leave that hospital. Picking the most challenging fly–the dry fly–I divided it into parts, from making quill wings to handling calf tail and spinning deer hair. Since then I have applied these same methods to teach thousands of students. My motivation to teach is an expression of gratitude to all those who took their time to educate me.

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