Full-dressed salmon flies were indeed meant to catch fish, then as well as now. Later, at the turn of the century, American tyers created a more durable fly which was easier to tie and required less of the exotic and hard to find (not to mention expensive) materials. What resulted were the hair-wing patterns. Now, the goal of today's full-dressed salmon fly tying is not only to duplicate existing classic patterns but also to create new directions in the evolution of the salmon fly.

Successful surgeons are not the only ones to become involved with tying the salmon fly. Some more ordinary and humble people such as manual workers like myself share a passion for their beauty and are searching for fly tying "perfection", all the while knowing that "perfection" can never really be attained.

As a chef I am confronted daily with this drive for perfection and with the never-ending challenge of creating again and again the same food dish. A simple dish such as a Tournedos of Beef with Bernaise, which was created by Victor Hugo more than a hundred years ago, was (and still is) meant simply to be eaten. I do know of an extremely large number of chefs including some of the most talented and respected culinary figures in this world (Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse, Roger Verge... to name just a few) who are spending a tremendous amount of time, energy and money to recreate a dish that will never be "casual or sloppy" but definitely elegant. Why, then, are all these people so eager to use new techniques to change the look of an item that is only meant to be eaten? Let's just say that is due to what we call Evolution!

I have one of Megan Boyd's flies on my desk. It is strictly to the point; i.e. a very well designed, sleek and effective fishing fly, dressed by someone who has mastered her tying techniques. There is nothing casual or "sloppily elegant" about it. Let's not start to attribute a trait of character or personality to the style of a salmon fly dresser who devoted her entire life to tie her flies with such grace and art.

I know at least one tyer who is always searching for a better fly and I know that some of his customers are purchasing his flies for the sole purpose of fishing. At the same time he dresses salmon flies that are meant to be framed with the same love, precision and care as his fishing flies.

We are not all tying the most perfect (or should I say "better than yours") fly. Some of us are only trying to master techniques and understand the relationship between materials as they are combined into a unit. As the only perfect thing on Earth, Nature gave us an ample basket of materials to choose from, making sure that we will never encounter the exact same item twice. We have to be flexible enough to create unique pieces that will always be different from each other and MOVE ON...

The salmon fly evolved from century to century. I wonder what Kelson thought of flies from the 17th or 18th centuries or even the flies of his own time? I am sure he viewed them as a point of departure for new directions. Salmon flies continually change and evolve, this is natural and to be expected. Art was created by people who wanted to expand themselves and evolve from the common, practical use of things to a higher plane, and such is and should be the same with salmon fly tying.