Patience and Craftsmanship: The Art of NE Fly Tying

How does the appreciation of traditional New England craftsmanship, particularly fly tying, reflect the values of patience, skill, and connection to nature?

This project encourages exploration of: • The artistry and precision of fly tying as a craft • The significance of outdoor craftsmanship in New England • How these skills foster a deeper relationship with the natural world

Day 1: Fly Tying in New England. Do we have the patience? Can we become craftsmen? What connections can we make with nature?

Day 1

Local Knowledge: Learning from a Guide Randy, a local guide, came in to teach the group about the ecosystems and types of food sources represented in local fly tying. He brought an abundance of materials, from guides and books to his personal kits. After a morning of online exploration on our own, trying to figure out the tools and the basics, we were all ears and grateful for Randy's expertise. We circled around, listening, watching, and learning.

The Demonstration: Tying a Wooly Bugger Randy went step by step on how to tie a Wooly Bugger. You can see his vise, thread, and hook as he starts the demonstration.

Understanding the Ecosystem Some of Randy's basics he keeps in his kit. Through his instruction, we really began to understand the types of flies, the life cycle, the layers of the water, and so much more—connecting deeply to the local ecosystems.

The First Attempt Then it was our turn. You can see the vise holding the hook and the thread in the bobbin tool. The tail is started, and next is the body and the hackles. Not sure whose setup this was, but it's looking great so far.

The Masterpieces: Day 1 Results A finished Wooly Bugger with a black marabou tail, green chenille body, and tan hackles. All of us were able to make our own versions by the end of the day. This is G's masterpiece.

J's Day 1 products—not bad. We have had plenty of time to practice and try what we like.The Creative Process It’s a balance between skill and creativity, trying new materials and new techniques, all while keeping focus. The music helps with the mood, and everyone has their own little work areas for the week.

Starting the Day

Entering Day 2, we had some idea of how to get started. Most of the group had left some work unfinished at the end of Day 1, so we jumped right in.

Day 2

Going Freestyle Some of us did a little freestyle work, and some like C used Randy's video suggestions to help guide him. Check out Fly Fish Food if you would like to get started.

Learning from a Friend Here is some of M's kit and a streamer he was practicing. M has been a big help to the group as he and his grandfather tie flies and fish together.

Mastering the Tools Here's V working with his thread and bobbin. We have learned the nuances of using different thread.

A Local Legend Joins Us In the afternoon, our very own Mr. Dana Bates joined us. Dana is an avid outdoorsman, hunting, fishing, and gathering. Dana has worked for New Hampton School Facilities Team for 36 years—a man of many talents. Dana brought in his kit (seen behind him). He has been fly fishing this area for 60 years and was sharing his local knowledge of ponds and sourcing material. We were able to try deer tail hair, hairs from a coyote foot, and even hair from the tail of a squirrel his wife grabbed off the side of the road for him. He cured them so they will last for years. A little goes a long way. We tried pheasant feathers and more, all tucked away in an old briefcase his grandfather shared with him.

Dana's Wisdom: Simple and Effective Here are some of Dana's flies he uses regularly in the area. We learned that keeping things simple and knowing what works in your local area is key. He showed us a few ways to alter each pattern just a bit. Sometimes just changing from a size 12 to a 16 hook, or adding a longer tail, or a more full body will take you from just fishing to catching. Having different versions of the same fly and keeping them simple and organized was his secret.

Stories from the Outdoors The group really enjoyed asking all about Dana's hunting and fishing stories. From bow hunting to salmon fishing, how to dress and cook his catches, and curing the hides—they had questions about it all. Thanks, Dana, for sharing your lifetime of local outdoorsman experience with us today.

Learning from the Best: A Day Sarah Redman, day three of our adventure was a masterclass in the art of fly fishing, led by the incredibly talented Sarah Redman. Sarah is a true wealth of knowledge, and her deep understanding of the environment, from the currents and riverbanks to the seasonal hatches and what the fish are eating was immediately apparent. She kicked off our day by sharing two of her favorite patterns with us: her personal take on the classic Wooly Bugger and a unique foam beetle. It was the perfect start to a day dedicated to the craft.

Day 3

What has been one of the most fascinating parts of this journey is watching the different approaches our guests take to the same goal. Sarah, who is entirely self-taught, embodies the philosophy we’ve heard from everyone: "Do what works for you." Watching her work at the vise, it’s clear that confidence and personal style are just as important as the materials on the hook.

In the afternoon we transitioned from the tying bench to casting . Sarah generously brought out her personal collection of rods and reels for us to use. Her confidence in her own skill made it incredibly easy for us beginners to grasp the basics. We were so grateful to her for sharing her gear, especially since she’s a woman of many talents, she even crafted the beautiful basket she carries everything in.

Beyond her own equipment Sarah took the time to explain the nuances of her sport. We learned about the different flexes of rods, how length affects your cast, and the various types of fly lines. It was a comprehensive look at the tools of the trade.

The personal connection to the sport became even more poignant when others in the group shared heirlooms from home. J brought in a pristine 1930s bamboo rod that once belonged to his great-grandfather. and M brought in the rod he currently uses, which originally belonged to his grandfather.

Mr. Tyson showed us a couple of rods and reels he inherited from his father-in-law. It was a powerful reminder that this is a sport built on tradition and family.

Before we could even think about casting, we had to tackle the first challenge: teamwork. Threading the line was a delicate operation, as the thin, light leader has a tendency to let the heavier fly line fall back through. After a bit of collaborative effort, we finally got it and were ready to try our hands.

Our first lesson was the roll cast. The key is to keep the rod upright and close to your body, let the line fall behind you to form the shape of a letter "D," and then flick it forward. This technique was perfect for us, as it doesn't require a lot of room, allowing everyone to practice simultaneously. Sarah explained that this is the go-to cast when you're surrounded by trees and need a precise, tight loop.

Later, we moved on to the larger, traditional fly cast. This was significantly more challenging, requiring perfect timing and a lot of open space, as the line needs room to travel both behind and in front of you. We could only have two people casting at a time, and getting the timing right was tricky. The photos don't quite capture the action, as we had to stand so far back that the thin line is nearly invisible. But despite the difficulty, everyone gave it their all. By the end of the session, we all had a foundational understanding of how to get that line out onto the water. It was a day of patience, learning, and immense gratitude for the knowledge and generosity of our teacher, Sarah Redman.

Excursion to Bass Pro Shop to pick up supplies. Now that we know some other techniques and materials we need and like to work with.

Day 4

Here are some mass produced flies people can buy at the shop. We heard from our experts that these typically don't hold up very well and as you can see at 2.50 a piece that could become frustrating for a fisherman.

Browsing also gave us some ideas of other flies we could try. Several of the boys purchased things like a fly kit box, a rod, fly box, foam, a tool kit, material kit, squirrel tail, some spin casting lures, and snacks.

Mr. Tyson and Ms. McClure found this book that gives step by step instructions for all the basic flies.

There is a giant fish tank in the back of the store with several species of fish. C got this great pic of a striped bass.

In the afternoon we had a competition

We had a picture of a wooly bugger and competed to see who could make the best one. This is the most common fly of the week and the one we had the most practice with. The one with the giant green tail is C's The bottom left is M's, one of the black ones is J's. The middle is the example.

We practiced streamers with Dana and here is our competition ones. The middle was the example. The big one on the left is C's, the bottom right is P's, M's is the one with the wonky wing,

Here is our try of the caddis fly and terrestrials. J's is the tiny nymph at the top, G and C did the two beetles, M did a true caddis fly, and V did the one with the big wing.

As the week comes to a close we were able to evaluate our strengths and weaknesses on which flys and components we do best and where we need more time to get better. G: his wooly bugger from day 2 was his best and his mosquito V: his fist wooly bugger was his best and still needs to work on the saddle hackles C: best work was a streamer with Dana J: best one was the little dry fly Randy showed us and still needs to work on remembering the order of the steps M: day 3 wooly bugger was his best and learned some patience with the hackle P: my best was all my wooly buggers and my worst was the beetle Mr. T: enjoyed practicing casting and continues to struggle with many skills Ms. M: best one was the caddis fly on day 4 and enjoyed working on the small hooks but continue to struggle with not covering the eye of the hook.

Day 5

Symposium Preparation

M and J worked on making a list of tools and descriptions that will go on our poster board.

P and G are hard at work compliling our week's worth of work on the Venn diagram comparing Craftsmanship, Nature, and Skills. We will present this at the symposium.

Laying out the visuals Tools, Ecosystem, Examples of flies and each student's reflections for the week.

IN CONCLUSION We Learned: what a nymph is, what a wet fly is, what is an emerger, the different rules and laws of fishing in NH, the life cycle of the bugs, roll casting, traditional casting, The 3 C (cuisine, cover, current), how to use a bobbin and threader, the experiences of our guest through their stories, how to use a whip finisher, how to use hackle pliers, what is marabou, what is chenille, we used feather, coyote fur, buck tail, squirrel tail, pheasant feathers, peacock herl, used regal vices, 90% of trout diet is subsurface, we learned what a may a stone a caddis and a terrestrial are, we learned all the patterns of flies, we learned a half hitch, conservation and the importance of a fishing license, wrap hackle, the mass production of flies and child labor involved, the different flexes or weights of fly poles, how to assemble a pole, floating line vs sinking line, the size and profile of the fly is what matters most, what is flash, different seasons need different flys, and more......

Credits:

Created with images by LUGOSTOCK - "A closeup image of a freshly tied fly (fishing lure)." • sljubisa - "Fishing hook with feather icon.,Graphic fly fishing icon or logo" • Michael - "Fishing fly tying materials and tools on a wooden table" • Dennis Donohue - "White-tailed Deer Buck in Southern Texas" • Cliff - "Upstream Dry Trout fly fishing Fly Pattern Elk Hair Caddis" • shaiith - "Old fishing equipment with rod and lures.,Fishing preparation" • CsaboPhoto - "Sparks fly out of the grinder during use.,A knife is sharpened on the grinder."