I tied my first fly when I was in grade school in the 60’s. I was given a beginning fly tying kit for a birthday present and made some horrific attempts at trout flies that soon decorated the trees that lined the banks of the Issaquah Creek. I wish I could say that I kept it up. However, I didn’t return to the fly tying bench until I was in my 30’s. By then I was 3 decades into an obsession of chasing steelhead and discovered the thrill of “the big tug” with a fly and fly rod. My uncle, Don Dashnea, was the first to provide lessons and encouragement and my focus was on steelhead hair wing flies. I drug my grade-school aged son and daughter to fly tying lessons, read books, watched videos, and kept tying. My friend Rocky Hammond – a world class salmon fly tyer – encouraged me to become a better tyer and join the NWASFG. My quest to tie beautiful steelhead and Atlantic salmon flies continues.