When people ask how I got into fly tying, I have to start way back. I grew up in a family that did a whole lot of fishing. As a matter of fact, I think we spent every weekend camping and fishing somewhere. We did spend some time at home in the spring and fall, when the ice wasn't thick enough to fish on. (That's when we worked on the boat trailer.) Our fishing trips took us over quite a bit of northern Wisconsin. We spent a good deal of time up on Lake Superior, still one of my favorite places. I don't remember how old I was, but I remember this 10# lake trout. It was my first really big fish. (OK, my last really big fish as well...) I started tying when I was about 12. We were big walleye fishermen, and my dad used a lot of "Canadian Jig Fly" patterns. I got a Herter's book, a Thompson Model A, and got to work. We eventually poured and painted our own jig heads, and I wound up selling lots of jigs to dad's fishing buddies. Even though we only fly fished for bluegills, I still tied a lot of the traditional flies. I thought this represented the more challenging part of the hobby. I wound up tying dry flies, bass poppers, and bluegill bugs in addition to the normal jig production. When I went off to college, I took my vise with me. I never tied a ton of flies, but I always fell back on it as a general hobby, even though I didn't fish. When I was in my late 30's I pulled out one of Dad's old bamboo fly rods, and started fishing the local NH trout streams. I had a blast. In 2000 my wife Gisela and I moved to Nottingham, England in support of my job at Markem Corporation. I joined the Fly Dresser's Guild and learned a lot from my English friends. In 2001 I was awarded the Fly Tyer of the Year award by the Nottingham chapter. This was awarded based on a year's worth of tying in a double-blind contest. Here I'm receiving the traveling trophy from Mick Huffer, an English tyer, author, and celebrity fisherman. In addition to the FDG, I also tied with a group that tied weekly led by Wendy Gibson. A nationally renowned tyer, Wendy was the first person I knew who was a serious salmon fly tyer. She did a lot of work for framing and craft fairs as well as general fishing flies. We stayed in England for two years, and when I came back I was determined to discover something that would replace the social fly tying I liked so much in the UK. As luck would have it, someone was re-forming the Monadnock Chapter of Trout Unlimited. I joined right up, and have been heavily involved ever since. In 2005-2006 I was awarded a grant by the NH Council for the Arts. This allowed me to complete an apprenticeship with master tyer Bob Wyatt, in Concord, NH. I spent 120 hours with Bob learning the intricacies of full dress Atlantic Salmon flies. Faced with an ever-growing collection of salmon flies, I began selling them in frames and domes. I now sell directly, through the Sharon Art Center in Peterborough, and at several resorts and lodges. Even though I was self-taught for almost my whole life, my experiences with the FDG, Wendy Gibson, and Bob Wyatt turned me around completely. In recent years I have taken a lot of classes. These were mostly at the now-defunct Hunter's Angling in New Boston, NH. I had the opportunity to take weekend workshops with the likes of Dick Talleur, A.K. Best, Warren Duncan, Ellis Hatch, and others. I enjoyed my classes in England and at Hunter's so much that I began offering fly tying classes through our Trout Unlimited chapter. I enjoy this immensely, and think it's a very small way to pay back for all of the enjoyment I've had over the years.