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The art . . . of the classic wet fly: Antique patterns stage a comeback(Charleston Gazette, The (WV) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 5--BENTON, Pa. -- Through glasses, bifocals and magnifying lenses, seven men study intently the tiny works of art their hands have created. Each piece is an exercise in mixed media: A steel hook, an inch or two of thread, a scrap of tinsel, a tuft of fur and a few feather fibers. Some might end up in frames or shadow boxes, but chances are most of them will end up stuck in someone's tattered old fishing hat. The colorful little objets d'art are classic wet flies, and until the mid-1950s they were "the" way to catch trout. An industry-wide switch to less gaudy imitations nearly relegated them to history's dustbin, but a single recent book chapter brought them flashing back into anglers' consciousness. Call it Newton's Third Law of Nostalgia: "For every innovation, there's an equal and opposite retro movement." In ever-increasing numbers, modern fly fishermen are learning the merits of tying and fishing the very same flies their grandfathers might have used. The renaissance's guru and high priest, Don Bastian, triggered the trend almost single-handedly. "I'm pleased to see people getting interested in them," said Bastian, a professional fly tier from Cogan Station, Pa. "And I'm humbled that my fascination with them helped to pique other people's interest." Bastian began tying classic wets in 1964, when he was 12 years old. "I was fishing for bluegills with my father and my brother," he recalled. "We saw some wet flies in Dad's tackle box, and I asked him if we could try them. I tied a Yellow Sally onto my line and ended up catching several fish." Bastian acquired Ray Bergman's 1938 book, "Trout," and began tying the brightly hued flies depicted in the book's color plates. "And I fished them, too," he said. "In fact, most of the fly fishing I did in my formative years was with classic wets, streamers and bucktails." Like most anglers of his generation, he gradually drifted away from the classics and began to fish with flies that more closely imitated trout-stream insects. When he started tying professionally in 1979, he concentrated almost exclusively on modern, cutting-edge patterns. Then, in 1994, he started tying the old classic wets as something different to sell at fishing shows. "Shortly after that, they got 'discovered,' " Bastian said. Paul Schmookler, an author who writes about the artistic side of fly tying and fishing, had written a large-format book called "Rare and Unusual Fly Tying Materials." He asked Bastian if he could use a few of the tier's classic wet flies to illustrate a second volume. "Paul put a page of my flies in 'Rare and Unusual Vol. II,' and almost immediately recruited me to work on another project called 'Forgotten Flies,'" Bastian recalled. "He wanted to do a chapter in the book titled 'Ray Bergman and the Wet Fly,' and he asked me to tie 499 of the Bergman patterns so that he could photograph them in full color." The book, published in 2000, sold out its entire printing and became a collector's item. "Still, that was just 6,500 copies," Bastian said. "The flies didn't become widely known until after Paul and [co-author] Ingrid [Sils] posted some of the photos on their Web site." Bastian's classic wets struck a nostalgic chord with many who saw them. "A lot of guys tell me that they've looked through their grandfathers' old fly boxes, and that these are the pattern they found inside them," he said. As interest in classic wets grew, so did the demand for Bastian to do tying demonstrations and workshops. The clamor eventually forced him to create an instructional DVD, "Tying Classic Wet Flies," that has sold thousands of copies since its 2004 debut. Bastian's flies have been featured in nationally published magazines, and there's even been talk of a book deal. Asked to explain the fascination people have with the nearly forgotten patterns, he paused a long second before answering. "I think it's the inherent beauty of the patterns that draws people to them," he said. "Then a sense of history kicks in. People start wondering how flies like the Rich Widow, the Parmachene Belle or the Sassy Cat got those colorful names. "I think mostly, though, the flies help people to remember a simpler time -- a time before iPods and cell phones -- when you could go out fishing for 10 days and the only way to reach you was by Pony Express. I think a lot of folks would like to revisit that time." To contact staff writer John McCoy, use e-mail or call 348-1231. |