FLY TYING IS AN ART FORM that is age-old, with roots steeped in history that date back to times when a simple offering was used to imitate the Hippouros fly on the Astraeus River in Macedonia…
Fly fishing goes all the way back to around 200 AD. First reference to it was written by Claudius Aelianus who was born around 170 AD. Early in his life he knew nothing of the sea. In his early writing On the Nature of Animals he writes about a certain way of catching fish supposedly invented by the Macedonians. A particular fish that runs through the Astraeus River in Macedonia happens to feed on flies that are peculiar to that region. These flies are not found anywhere else. Macedonians called this species of fly Hippouros, which seek their food over the river and are never very far away from the fish in the river. Because of this, it is relatively easy for the fish to jump out of the water, catching the flies in their mouths.
The above excerpt was taken from William Radcliffe’s Fishing From The Earliest Times, which was published in 1921, and is the one most often printed with no credit given to the original author. Radcliffe himself states that he adapted this translation from Lambert’s Angling Literature in England first published in 1881. Prior to this, there was a Latin translation that was printed in 1558. This printing, however, wasn’t discovered until 1834.
What transpired since these first days is the evolution to modern fly fishing, which has seen continued advancements with the publication of books such as The Compleat Angler, written by Izaak Walton in 1653, and many more. What we are witnessing today is a proliferation of patterns to pursue all manner of fish species in fresh and salt water.
With the ‘history lesson’ done, Inspired Spaces is pleased to launch the Fly Tying portfolio in Inspiration, featuring nine masters in the art of designing and/or tying flies. IS encourages you to visit the Partridge of Redditch and Lagartun LTD web sites, and plan return visits to Fly Tying as more tyers will be added to this portfolio.
This page introduces professional tyers who are members on the Partridge PRO-Team and Lagartun PRO-Staff teams, and members on the Lagartun PRO-Staff team. Each tyer excels at the art of fly tying, be it to pursue fish or as a masterful presentation to be admired in a shadowbox.
left to right… Will Bush, Dennis Gamboa, Scott Norris and Andre Stepanian
left to right… Kate Watson and Ryan White
left to right… Linda Bachand, Adrian Cortes, Brita Fordice, Nicole March and Gary Tanner
Please revisit the Fly Tying portfolio as it evolves to embrace fly tyers globally who are passionate about traditional patterns and/or designing and tying contemporary patterns to expand on the diverse array of flies that exist today.
Enjoy your explorations of… Fly Tying in INSPIRATION
For more info…
Richard Mayer
CEO, Inspiration
email me
