Flies
Neophytes learn to tie one on
Chicken feathers, polar bear
fur and deer hair were stacked
neatly on the side of the work
table as 10-year-old Brett Vin
son tried to decide which fly to
tie.
Brett finally chose an “Im
proved Governor,” but his
father George joked that it may
end up an “original creation."
The Vinsons were two of the
participants at last Saturday’s
Fly Fishing Festival at South
Eugene High School. The
McKenzie Fly Fishers club
sponsored the annual event.
George Vinson was one of
several McKenzie Fly Fishers
demonstrating the art of fly-ty
ing. By his side was a tray of
exotic flies ranging from dark
brown to pink and gold which he
had made.
“Lot of fellows keep things
simple and can tie a fly for two or
three cents," Vinson said. “But
you can get into some exotic
things. This neck of jungle cock
is from India. They’re used to
imitate the (fly’s) eyes.”
Vinson proudly held up an
other patch of feathers.
"Here is the Plymouth Rock
chicken I got in Hong Kong. It
seems to be the most expensive.
It costs about $50 (a patch)."
Fly tieing is an art that anyone
can learn, with a little patience,
hooks and some feathers and
fur.
Some of the more unusual
materials are unavailable, such
as the jungle cock which is ex
tinct.
Skip Hosfield said most peo
ple tie flies for practical pur
poses, but others take it farther
until “it becomes an art form, a
greater interest than fishing it
self.”
Brett drew a small crowd as
he mounted a hook in a vise.
He picked a piece of golden
pheasant feather for the tail and
secured it at the end of the hook
with a strand of black thread.
Then red yarn was wrapped
around the shaft of the hook for
the body, which was later
striped with several rounds of
silver ribbing.
The hackle, a small fuzzy
black chicken feather, was at
tached to the neck of the fly.
Brett then cut an inch of polar
bear hair for the wings, tied the
finishing knot near the eye of
the hook, and applied a coat of
head cement over the knot.
Through the whole process,
every addition had been held
down with the original strand of
thread.
With a few shortcut tips from
his father, Brett completed the
fly in a little more than five min
utes. Brett gazed proudly at the
finished product as his father
congratulated him.
"It’s a beauty,” George said.
Continued on Page 6B
Cunningham not
Oregon AD yet,
says search team
The chairer of the athletic
director search committee
hopes the media’s strong
speculation of Gary Cun
ningham as the likely choice
won’t scare off other potential
applicants.
“It is very important that
candidates realize that we are
conducting a wide-open
search, no matter what
speculations are being printed
in the Oregon media," said
Michael Ellis, committee chairer
and head of the University phy
sical education department.
Cunningham, athletic director
at Oregon College of Education
and former basketball coach at
UCLA, has not yet applied for
the position vacated by John
Caine on April 1.
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