Realistic tied flies.

I spent over an hour looking at this artists work on his website.  I don't fly fish, but I have the utmost respect for art, personal creativity and attention to detail.   Absolutely amazing work.

http://www.grahamowengallery.com/fishing/more-fly-tying.html

Wow I really loved the flies.  Thanks.  Andy

Wow! That guy is one heckuva fine artist. Thanks for that!

In my tying, I could never even approach that kind of detail and precision. I'm actually kind of bumble-fingered and "challenged" when it comes to whipping up bugs.

However, you can't fish those flies! You might lose 'em if ya did. It would take me hours of frustration to attempt to create even one of those masterpieces, and then just a few seconds to lose it.

My own tying is just the opposite. I go for the "impressionistic" approach. I just try to "get 'er done." I lose a lot of flies. Maybe that's why I tie 'em so ugly. Most of my flies find their resting place in trees and submerged woody debris. Some will fasten themselves to the rocks on the steep beach behind me. A gust of wind will send a few flying out of my open box.

Once, I lost an entire streamer/leech/woolybugger box overboard with about 50 flies in it. It leaped out of my canoe when I wasn't looking. And sunk before I could grab it. I shouldn't have left it sitting open on the thwart for those few seconds. My fishing buddy had some kind of impromptu spaz attack and rocked the canoe. Imagine losing 50 of Graham Owen's masterpieces!

Lake fishing a couple of weeks ago, I lost a fly to a hard strike, and then trolled without another hit for 15  or 20 minutes before I realized something must be wrong and checked to find a bare leader . If I had been using one of Graham Owen's flies, that trout would have been guilty of grand larceny!

Those pics of the real Dragonfly trying to eat one of his housefly imitations, and another real Dragonfly trying to mate with a fake one have me thinking of trying to flyfish for Dragonflies. Would need some lighter gear for that!

He says that most of his better flies don't see fishing action, instead they are sold as props to various companies.  He does use his other tied flies personally for fishing and knows they work well well.

That is some amazing artwork.  Even the flies he ties for actual fishing are amazing.

very cool, a real artist!  Reminds me of the folks that really get into restoring and tricking out old classic cars.  They get them dialed in so custom that they no longer use them as a mode of transport but instead they function as a mobile display of their skill and craft.

Thanks for posting this. Very impressive! All of us fly tyers can learn something from a guy like this.

Years ago I took a fly tying class from a guy who was into realism. A lot of the folks in the class got a bit frustrated that the flies took a long time to tie, and in some cases weren't very durable. I enjoyed the class, and picked up a lot of techniques and tricks to incorporate into my simple, impressionistic patterns.

Tom

I was browsing some of this guys adventures on his website and noticed that he is good friends with Jim Teeny.  Years ago, my dad got a coupon for camping a few nights for a serious discount at Mt Hood RV Resort.  He and I picked a totally random weekend to go check it out.  Turns out, Jim was there that weekend to put on a fly fishing clinic on the river behind the resort. 

HOLY CRAP that guy can fish!   He had a little headset mic on that would shoot his voice behind him somehow as he faced the river in front of everyone.  He would show how and what fly to use for a particular cast and ripple in the river.  Waved the magic wand a few times, and plopped the fly right were he said he would.  Bam fish on!   C&R'd several fish in just a short stretch of the river.  It almost appeared that he planted trained fish to hit his fly on command.