James Daly

Posted on April 17, 2008

Greetings! My name is James Daly. My wife Kayce, daughter Piper, son Finnegan and I live in NorthWest Pennsylvania, in the United States of America. I am a avid fly fisherman, primarily targeting Trout and Smallmouth Bass in the spring and summer, then transitioning to Lake Erie Steelhead and Salmon in the fall and winter. I do have another addiction that is sometimes hard to satisfy and that is Striped Bass and Bluefish hunting on Cape Cod in New England waters. I don’t get to do that as much as I would like, but I’ve got a lifetime to scratch that itch. I started tying flies when I was 24 years old as a way to “save the money” that I would spend on shop tied flies. Boy was I in for a ride! It has since taken me in several different directions, as it seems this sport does to most people. Mike Laskowski (the owner of our local fly shop Oil Creek Outfitters) has been a major influence on me as an angler and tier. When I first stumbled into his shop when I was 25 asking for advice on what to tie, he pulled out some classic salmon flies that he had tied a number of years ago and said something to the effect of “Some day you may be good enough to tie these”. I was hooked as soon as I saw them, but didn’t know where to begin. After a couple years of Dry Flies, Saltwater flies and anything else that came to mind I finally took the plunge two years ago after visiting, then, The FlytyingForum.com. There are too many influential tiers that frequent this website to list. John McLain, Matt Inman, Dave Gotzmer, Royce Stearns, Charles Vestal and Dave Carne have been huge influences for me, not only as sounding boards, but also as material knowledge and technique sources. I have always been of the mindset that it is better to be well rounded then to focus on one particular thing. This may be attributed to an attention disorder, but I would like to think that it isn’t such. This has led me to try a myriad different styles from Atlantic Salmon Flies to Spey/Dee flies, Streamers, Marbury Bass/Lake flies and recently Classic Wet Flies. I guess that you could say I am a “Classic Fly Junkie”, loving all aspects of the old standards. I especially like to tie “In Hand”, feeling that this style gives the most accurate representation of what the old flies were intended and giving the completed fly “life”. Long Nguyen and Martin Bach have been my most influential tiers in this aspect. It was Martin’s influence that made me drop the tools and pick up the Gossamer and Wax. Long has been my best critic, lending advise and inspiration on an almost daily basis.

Thanks, Long!! But, I think what sets this craft apart from others is the comradery and willingness to share information freely that makes it so special. I have made many friends while doing this, many that I have never met face to face. I look forward to being able to meet them in person and to making many more along the journey.

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