National Fly Tying Contest Brings Out the Best in Project Healing Waters Participants

David Bagley of the Greater Kansas City Program of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing displays the flies that earned him Honorable Mention in last year’s National Fly Tying Contest.

It’s summer, and anyone with a fishing rod prefers to spend as much of this time as possible within casting distance of water. That is true for the participants in the Greater Kansas City Program of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing. At the same time, however, they will also focus their attention on PHWFF’s National Fly Tying Competition.

This is the fifth year of the competition. Our program’s Kevin Gabert won the first contest in 2013, and David Bagley earned Honorable Mention in last year’s challenge, so Kansas City participants feel like they have a reputation to uphold. Our success is not only a measure of the dedication of our membership, but also a tribute to the support we receive from sponsors and volunteers, such as the Kansas City Chapter of the Missouri Trout Fishers Association, and Mike George, himself an international award-winning fly tyer.

The contest will run through Sept. 15, with five national finalists to be announced in early October. The five finalists will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to participate in the International Fly Tying Symposium in November. At the conclusion of the Symposium, the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winners will be announced, along with two honorable mention winners. Judging will be done by a panel of experts, including PHWFF volunteer leadership and celebrity and professional fly tiers.

Symposium participants in previous years have included notables such as Bob Clouser, Lefty Kreh and Gary Borger. The Project Healing Waters semifinalists will be able to meet and learn from the legends, as well as to tie flies and discuss the Healing Waters program. In addition, the first-place winner will receive a Project Healing Waters Regal vise and fly tying tool kit; the second-place winner will receive a Project Healing Waters Regal vise; the third-place winner will receive a Project Healing Waters fly tying tool kit.

Participants will submit four identical flies of the same pattern, which can be either a well-known pattern or a creation of their own design. Flies may be submitted from the following categories: Dry Flies, Nymphs, Streamers, Warm Water Flies, or Salt Water Flies.

Flies will be judged on the following criteria:

·         Color Harmony

·         Scale and Proportion

·         Use of Materials

·         Technique

·         Proper Use of Thread

·         Overall Style of the Fly

The International Fly Tying Symposium is scheduled for Nov. 11-12 in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Hotel in Lancaster, PA. Previously, the event had been held in Somerset, NJ, but was moved this year following the closing of the Garden State Exhibit Center there. 

A participant in the Greater Kansas City program of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Kevin Gabert demonstrates the technique of spinning deer hair in fly construction. Kevin won the PHWFF National Fly Tying Contest in 2013.