Foreward

It was Christmas in the mid 1980’s when I opened a gift from my wife. First out of the box was a package of feathers, then some smaller packages of colored fur, a few spools of thread, a couple boxes of fishing hooks, scissors and some tools, that I had no idea what they were. In the bottom of the box was obviously some kind of vise that clamped to a table. The next package was Poul Jorgenson’s Trout Flys Pattern book.  What the heck is all this stuff I asked her? Janet, my wife, said you need a hobby. She had stopped at a local fishing shop expecting to buy me a fishing rod to take up fishing. (You need to know I had never fished in my life.) Well in the corner of the shop was a small fly tying section. She felt at home. To her it looked like the shelves of her favorite craft shop. She asked questions about what fishing had to do with all the pretty colored fur and feathers. She was intrigued and fascinated after getting her first introduction to fly tying and fly fishing and thought it was just the hobby I needed.

 Little did she know way back then what she unleashed. I took to it immediately. It was such fun and so relaxing to sit at the vise and make little bugs. I soon found out about the Main Line Fly-Tyers Club and joined. My first tying class was taught by Dave Baker. Then, more advanced classes taught by Sam Vigorita. I tied flys and went to meetings for about a year when it hit me that following spring. I still don’t own a fishing rod, yet alone a fly rod. So that spring I bought my first fly rod and starting catching fish with the little bugs I’d been tying for a year.

 In those early formative years I took many more classes from Sam. He is an outstanding teacher. Sam is always willing to show and share, not just tying techniques, but invaluable fishing tips, and that little special variation to the standard pattern that gives it an ‘edge’ over the recipe in a book. This ‘edge’ to his patterns has been learned by him after many hundreds of hours on the stream as well as standing in the gas station parking lot at night under the bright lights picking the mayflys, caddis and spinners off the pumps and walls of the garage to study them for color, size and shape.

 For close to 30 years now, I’ve been his scribe, taking notes during his classes, jotting down more notes after spending time on the water with him. Secretly peeking into his fly boxes to see just what he carries. And he does carry a lot of flys. Without stretching the truth, he must carry a thousand flys when he’s on the water.  Even though he always shared his on-stream tactics and fly patterns with stream buddies and the 1000’s of pupils he taught, he was always reluctant to document it in print. I’d been after him for 5 years at least to publish some of his patterns so they don’t get lost. Finally, I got the OK to do it for him. Finally I was able to convince him that more than verbal history from one fly-tyer/fisher to another was needed to preserve the knowledge he has accumulated after a life time of fly fishing and fly tying.

 The result is this book of patterns with an “Edge”.  Thanks Sam for all the help you’ve given me and all the others fly tyers and fly fishers.  

The Patriot Series by Michael Ebner

My work as the scribe on this book is dedicated to:

Lt. Adam Dyer (1980-2007) Aviator, USN

Husband of Kaitlin, my loving daughter

 

 Fly design, tyes and instructions by Sam Vigorita. Narrative by Michael Ebner

© Copyright 2007. This page can not be reproduced without written permission from Sam Vigorita or Michael Ebner