When I was thirteen, my parents gave me a fly fishing outfit for my birthday. That year I spent a lot of time trying to fly-fish on our local trout stream. I caught nothing the whole summer. My dad, not being a fisherman, couldn't understand how I could keep going back day after day. One day, a friend of his at work suggested we visit Carl Coleman, who had a fly fishing store in the basement of his house. We went to Carl's and bought a fly tying kit, and Carl told us of a man who lived in my neighborhood named Lynn Holt who might help me tie some flies. That winter, Lynn graciously let me come over to his house on Wednesday nights to tie flies. My very first outing that next spring I caught my first trout. Lynn did not ask for anything for all the lessons he gave me, he did it for the love of the sport. He was passing on a gift that will last me a lifetime.
I've been fly fishing for 36 years now, and I can say that I am still as passionate about the sport as the day I started. I've expanded my horizons beyond my local trout stream, though, and I now feel as comfortable on the sand bars in Cape Cod and the Florida Keys. My passion for fly tying grows with every season. There are always new problems to solve, new materials to try, new fish to catch.
I hope that through this web site I can pass on the gift that was given to me so long ago.
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