Being a humble Atlantic Salmon hairwing fly tyer and a second time subscriber, I hesitate to express my views, feeling somewhat out of place (rank?) and feeling like a queasy apprentice amongst the masters of the Art, just about ready to utter heresies.

Time is running short and "The Group" is in a situation where it will have to make some decisions before the year's end concerning The Salmon Flyer's continuation and even possibly about its future editorial mandate, contents and format. I would like to state what my personal interests are in order to make you understand why The Salmon Flyer is such a remarkably appealing and valuable document.

I have been blessed at birth by relative poximity and easy access to some of the finest Atlantic Salmon rivers. Needless to say that, early on, I became very partial to fly fishing. In my perception of the sport, an angler's pleasure is provided purely by the fact of being on a salmon river, his success is measured solely by the quality of his opponent's fighting capabilities, not by the pounds of meat nor by the number of kills. His ultimate personal satisfaction is knowing that a fly, which he struggles for hours to tie, has triggered Salmon Salar into hitting it.

Some of my countrymen compare this enticement for the King of fishes to that of big game bowhunting in the sense that it is a thorough outdoors sport (don't forget that I am talking about fly fishing on a budget in public waters!). Nevertheless, in time, Atlantic Salmon fly fishing becomes a passion..., a mistress..., an obsession..., an irreversible affliction that will cease only with one's death.

For some of us anglers, tying our own flies is economic realism; it starts off as a necessity, then evolves into a means to prolong the fishing season's pleasure and also to survive the boredom and harshness of a long winter. Still, even as "amateur" tyers, we do feel critical about our attempts and our minor accomplishments and we do strive and struggle for perfection even though we are only tying a moose hair "Akroyd" or a hairwing "Moonlight". After awhile, fly tying starts to be a serious affliction in its own right. Whether actually fishing on a river or reading about salmon flies, we do eventually comes across the classic Atlantic Salmon flies which tickle our imagination and, in the end, inevitably coerce us into trying to tie them.

Unfortunately, of the old British masters books which some of you so candidly quote as reference works, I have yet to even see their actual covers. It is not that I don't care for reading them; on the contrary, I would gladly settle for xeroxed copies. These books just do not circulate within my circle of friends and even if they did, I could not afford to buy them. Do not misunderstand me, I am not desperately poor (in reality, I am a college teacher), the fact is that it would be an economic toss up between a book or the yearly fishing trip, and the trip would win every time (well, maybe not!).

Explicit tying data for the classics including useful tricks, techniques and approaches were not readily available to my until I stumbled upon a copy of The Salmon Flyer in Maine.

Many of you may not be aware that even though NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) is now in effect and even though we Canadians do get MTV, CNN and Arsenio, a lot of American and foreign fly tying publications and books old and new have not, even.to this day, reached us nor have they been advertised as existing on the market, at least not in this neck of the woods. Of course, renowned modern authors like Lee Wulff, Joseph Bates and Poul Jorgensen are available and do have a following. But there still remains an information void about specialized tying practices regarding the classics.

These limitations are mine to deal with and The Salmon Flyer, as it is actually published, fulfills most of my personal requirements, although, under the present formula, I do feel delinquent and powerless to gracefully contribute any pertinent and interesting articles to "The Group" for reasons previously explained. Therefore I am bound to remain a "silent" but completely happy subscriber.

Whatever decisions are taken by "The Group", several original and essential ingredients, which presently make up The Salmon Flyer, shold hopefully not be sacrificed nor jeapordized by over-commercialization. These are:

The environment of genuine comradarie existing amongst the contributors in respect of their readers.

The quality of "Tech Talk", meaning the level of preciseness, clarity and pertinence provided in the contributors' step-by-step presentations.

The "Flashbacks" or revisiting the Old Masters of the classics, the practices, patterns, tools and techniques.

These ingredients, if maintained at current standards, should sustain readership and provide an even wider reader base after the Flyer has been advertised.

Yet, a few questions still bother me:

How many hundreds/thousands of Classic Atlantic Salmon fly tyers (and lovers) are there presently across the world?

What proportion (percentage) out of the whole fly tying community at large do the classic tyers represent?

From which special interest groups do our current roster members originally come from?

I do not know the answers to the first two questions. As for the third, I can only assume that the majority of the membership is made up of (not necessarily listed in order of importance):

Professional fly tyers attracted by the challenge of the art.

Amateur fly tyers seduced by the beauty of the flies and the art.

Atlantic salmon fly fishermen turned amateur fly tyers.

(Warning: The above is an unscientific analysis!)

The following is nothing but a suggestion which can be totally disregarded if you do not like what you are about to read (I do want to retain my membership!). One does not decide lightly to attempt to tie the classics without being previously exposed to them and without being properly briefed about them. When first inquiring, some people will actually (even unknowingly) discourage you before you even made your first attempt. Have you ever noticed that classic fly tyers (even if you are only a beginner!) may be perceived by other tyers as being too elitist (which is false, of course)? This is probably due to the fact that the classic tyers Flyer could widen it's scope just enough to allow certain entry level subjects to be discussed while still maintaining a commitment to the classics. These subjects could potentially seduce and entice timid fly tyers either to contribute or even to enlist.

Possible entry level subjects: Book reviews:

A form of buyer's guide about the old and new, the rich man's and poor man's books with unbiased and impartial comments describing their technical merits.

Simple classics:

Tying instructions and patterns designed for the novice and the aspiring. Simple joys and simple nightmares.

Acceptable substitutes and materials: Substitutes which can be handled and react the same as the real stuff for the purpose of practice tying.

Modern functional versions of the Classics:

Featherwing and hairwing versions, their evolution and description, regional patterns and local usages.

The more that Classic Atlantic Salmon flies are tied (even in their poorer versions), the more they will be seen, recognized, used and displayed, the more people will be interested in them either as tools or as jewels.

P.S. Teachers get the summer off and go fly fishing!

Pierre Pepin

After reading the last couple of Salmon Flyer editions, I felt I owed it to myself and other club members to air a few ideas which crossed my mind and raised some serious concerns.

I have been a member of the group for the past 3 years and look forward to each and every issue of our "little" magazine. Not only has it given me (and others) a chance to write; it has also answered numerous questions and adressed problems which I could not overcome on my own. Overall this magazine has been a great work by the many who have contributed and a great bunch of exceptional editions.

In our last issue the subject of the Flyer's future transition was brought up: the most consistant voice I keep hearing says: "bigger, brighter, glossier, more expensive, more professional! ".

I simply want to ask my fellow tyers: what was the original goal of the Flyer? An editorial - home you say? Paid staff? Editorial buy-out?

In conclusion I suggest we should take a look at where we are, where we were and decide if we are "good enough". I realize that this probably isn't a "politically correct" attitude, but feel the "group" has a need to know this point of view.

David Potts