HOW 'BOUT SOME FEET ?
Perhaps Some Snowshoes
rampant neighborhood creativity
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| Called "BIG FOOT" By It's Creator This Little Monster Is Yet To Catch A Fish - But It Is "RAD." Just use a little glue and twist some body hackle together - Bingo: feet. |
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.. In mobile homes that are three decades old they labor. On the kitchen tables, after dinner, they ply their trade. In broken down rental spaces where only Spanish is spoken they produce expressive creations. They make do with rudimentary tools. They use materials from local dead critters brought home from the hunt - or the cat.
.. They have been shunned by the establishment. They don't tie the "right" patterns, in the "right" way, using the "right" methods or materials. Sometimes they appreciate the humor in their own endeavors. They laugh at the possibilities embedded in their pastime. It's a hobby and it's serious only in that it gives serious pleasure and enjoyment. For these folks the act of tying is an end in itself.
.. Of course they fish. Of course they catch fish. Of course they use their creations. But they use commercial flies, borrowed flies, and others people's flies, as well. They float nymphs and they sink dry flies. They explore and experiment. They fish flies with sticks because they don't own a proper fly rod. They cast a bubble with flies attached. The whole endeavor is an adventure.
.. We applaud their efforts. We encourage them to explore beyond the accepted norms of fly tying. Some of the creations are pure trash - they know it and move on. Some are "one-off" explorations. Some, on occasion, are acceptable to their eye and to the fish.
.. Thousands upon thousands of fly tying folks go through this same exploratory experience. Eventually most strive to produce flies that catch fish, (and appeal to their own idiosyncratic or social sense.)
.. The idiosyncrasies of our neighbors are many and varied. Among the influences that affect their tying style are: they are Montana natives, they see the visiting hoards of gear-festooned fishers, they fish as often as they can, they practice religions other than that of the fly, they choose to follow a vision defined by their local experiences - devoid of external commercial or even aesthetic values.
.. Bless their hearts they are merrily exploring a discipline with little influence from the establishment. They do pay homage by cruising the aisles of all the fly shops - they don't buy much. They receive various treatments at each. They then stay up late, (after the dishes,) and "FIDDLE WITH FLIES."
.. Wish we were young, fresh, creative, and experimental, again.
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| The Mylar Muddler Tarantula Diver -- Or some such. |