I’ve finally wrapped up participation in my very first fly swap. Well, almost. I didn’t make it to the post office to ship them but they’re done. The goal was to create two flats flies. I ended up tying a shrimp and “dirty fly” pattern. Each person ties seven flies and we end up with a nice collection at the end of the swap.

When I jumped into the fray I know the shrimp was one pattern I wanted to tie. I tried several crab patterns but just couldn’t get into the groove. It took me quite a while to decide what to do next. I think I made the right choice. I hope the others agree.

This project has been several weeks in the making. It actually proved very therapeutic in getting my mind off of a difficult situation the family has been facing. It also afforded me the opportunity to test some “production” tying techniques. I have a long way to go but foresee a fun road getting there.