Dave Klausmeyer, Fly Tying’s Impresario

Fly Tier editor David Klausmeyer tells about the early days of the leading magazine of fly tying and gives advice on what it takes to have your fly patterns published. Along the way, he discusses the looming threat of bird flu, the rise of synthetic materials, and his own favorite flies.

Podcast Excerpt: “Even in trout flies we’re going to see more and more and more synthetic materials being used. Even in terms of saltwater [the suppliers] are telling me that most of the good saltwater saddles have always been imported, and Tom Schmuecker, who owns Wapsi, the largest fly tying materials distributor in the world, has been identifying some domestic sources, and he says prices are going to be going up a little bit. [Because of bird flu], there is just a very limited supply of product available. A number of years ago, synthetic materials came on the scene, and there were so many articles and a couple of books about them. Now, they’re becoming the lifeblood of fly tying.”

Podcast music by permission of Old Medicine Crow Show.