Woolly Buggers and the Fly Tying Mystique

Fly tier Bill Pfeiffer expresses the koan-like paradox of fly tying: “‘There’s this mystical aspect, but it’s not that mystical of a thing,’ he said.” He’s referring to the fact that many of the most effective flies — like the woolly bugger — are not hard to tie and don’t always imitate anything. Alex Strickland in the Montana Kaiman.