Howell’s Reed in demand for creative lures
March 19th, 2008, 7:06 pm Hobbies Ideas
It irks me to have to buy fishing flies, and it’s not just because I’m terminally Scottish. It’s because there’s a lot more satisfaction in catching fish on flies I’ve tied myself than on store-bought versions.
I got to thinking about that the other day as I watched Jim Reed tie hair frogs, mice and poppers at the Midwest Fly Show in Warren.
Reed, the fire chief in Howell, went to the Federation of Fly Fishers national fly championships a couple of years ago with the idea of seeing how he might measure up against the best of the best. He came home with an amazing five first-place awards and a hugely enhanced reputation among fly anglers and tyers.
The recognition has made Reed a popular attraction at fly shows and clubs around the country. But what I like best about his work is that while most of his fly lures could be put on a wall as works of art, they are all eminently successful fish catchers.
“This is just a hobby for me,” Reed said. “I fish all over. I go to Montana and Idaho every year, and I’ve been to places like Alaska and Saskatchewan. I do some competitive tying and demonstrations at shows and clubs. The best thing about it is all the beautiful places I get to go.”
Reed is best known for using deer and elk hair to create the big lures that catch big trout, bass and pike. They range from mouse lures so realistic you expect them to squeak to psychedelic poppers to whimsical creations like a deer-hair bat.
We’re still about six weeks away from the opening of the trout season on our inland streams, and if you’ve ever thought you’d like to try tying flies, that’s plenty of time to whip up a few dozen that will work well on opening day.
There are a lot of places to learn how to do it. Stores like Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s often have classes because they know you’re likely to buy the fly-tying materials you need from them.
Reed will be demonstrating some of his techniques March 29 at Hank’s Fly Fishing Unlimited in Lake Orion, where Dan Catau, another expert tyer, starts new classes every few days for everyone from beginners to experts.
“We even tailor classes in the morning for retirees,” said Catau, known among Michigan fly anglers for his Hexagenia mayfly and crayfish patterns.
My advice for every would-be tyer is to attend a class rather than trying to do it on your own with one of those starter kits you see in outdoors shops. There’s enough technique in the craft that in one night you can learn things that would take you weeks, months or even years to figure out on your own.
A class also will help you decide which kind of tyer you want to be — someone like me who’s interested only in how well the result fools fish, or someone who has fun modeling bugs that look so realistic they make people shiver.
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