On the Water Log, December 19, 2009
While I have been waiting for the rivers to drop back into good fly fishing shape, I have been tying a few flies. I am trying to tie at least a Spey fly, a shank fly, and a soft hackle every day. The other day, I had the opportunity to watch my friend, Dick Wentworth, tie his great friend, Syd Glasso’s Sol Duc. It was a tremendous honor, made even more so by the fact that he told me he had never tied in front of anyone before. I learned a lot, including a few tricks and wrinkles that I have never heard before. But the best part was simply seeing how, with deft hands and sharp eye, he was able to transform inanimate objects into something that possesses grace and rhythm and seems almost alive. It also catches fish.