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Interviews & Articles |
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If you read "Fly Tyer" magazine you may remember that wonderful realistic stonefly on the cover of the spring 2004 issue. The photo literally jumps off of the cover. I could just imagine my wife dropping the magazine to the floor with a shriek. The Stonefly pictured on the cover really did look like a real insect impaled on a hook. Which brings to mind the US Customs story but we'll get to that later. Though most of us could never imagine fishing such a fly it was pure art to behold and no wonder at all that the fly ended up as the cover photo of the magazine. I recently met Paul via the internet and began corresponding and sharing fly fishing and tying information. I have found Paul to be one of the most kind, talented, and articulate artist's I have ever met (albeit not in person) I encourage all of you to visit his website and say hi at www.paulwhillock.com You'll notice I said "artist" while Paul is a fly fisherman, fly tyer and upcoming writer. Above all Paul's work is pure art as you will see. - An interview by Bill Pitts Introducing Paul Whillock...
Hello, my name is Paul M. H. Whillock and I am a realistic Fly Tyer from Solihull, England.
I relentlessly pursue the methods that will help me to tie a perfect Realistic Fly. I live a very ‘Yin – Yang’ type of life and so; I remain mindful of the fact that the primary reason I tie flies is to help me catch fish thus: to create balance and harmony in my tying, I apply as much thought to developing fishing flies as I do to creating Art Flies. My realistic fishing flies are used primarily in upland Rivers and Lakes. It may sound quite anti-social of me but, I adore going fishing and not seeing another fisherman all day!
I never actually stop tying!! Even when I am away from my vise, my mind is still conjuring up ways of creating an abdomen or wingbud!! My wife considers it to be a kind of mental illness though I have no desire to search for a cure.
After my flies were confiscated by US Customs in 2003, I decided to re-tie the Stonefly nymph that had apparently caused all the trouble, I only did this because so many people were asking what the fly looked like? After I flew home I tied the Nymph again and presented it at the same show the following year. The Editor of Fly Tyer Magazine had originally run the story of my confiscated flies but, though the story made Fly Tyer magazine and even some local Newspapers; no one had actually seen the Nymph so; when I displayed it the following year, it got a lot of attention for that reason alone! The Editor took one look at the Nymph and told me he was going to use it as the front page image, I remember thinking to myself: “Yeh Right” but, true to his word, the Nymph did make the front cover of Fly Tyer magazine.
My first fly looked like I had stuck a hook stuck through a ball of Cat yak fur!! It really was bad, I still have it actually: a 2 inch section of Squirrel tail (still attached to the spinal column) tied to the back of a size 2 sea trout hook! I cringe just thinking about it!
My 2 favorite realistic flies are: The P.H Mayfly Dun and the Perlodes Stonefly Nymph. The former would take an accomplished tyer around 10 minutes to tie whilst the Stonefly Nymph clocks in at around 30 minutes to tie. Both flies take me much longer to tie because I talk too much!!
I think that Synthetic Raffene is an incredible and much underrated material. It was used widely used ‘post war’ but due to the avalanche of modern materials arriving on the fly tying scene today, it is not currently “In Vogue” (far from it actually) however, if I were given the choice of only 3 materials to tie flies and Nymphs I would have to choose: Raffene, Hares Ear and a good quality Grizzly Neck.
Like any material, ‘Japanese Nymph Legs’ do have their limits, they are perhaps not suited to tiny Ant or Baetid patterns but, as regular Beetle, Spider, Sedge or Stonefly legs etc. they take some beating! They are easy to use and remain good value for money!
As a fly fisherman, I keep a diary of my fishing trips which records many of the day’s details such as weather conditions, river levels, successful flies etc. As a fly tyer I do pretty much the same thing; I record things to paper (or these days to a folder in my laptop) whenever I attempt a new fly; I source a preserved example of the natural and then draw and measure every part of that bug. By the time I am finished, there are sketches of legs, gill structures, abdominal dimensions etc and, as a result, I have reams of illustrations and measurements of different Flies and Nymphs.
SECTION # 1: AN Entomological overview of that particular insect, there will be an extensive text description of the bug and its habitat and, a bunch of high quality entomological photographs showing the natural insect. SECTION # 2: Step By Step fly tying explanation of the same ‘Art Fly’ version of that insect. This section will use a mixture of high quality line drawings and photographic close ups. There will be chapters on material selection, vise and tools choice, material suppliers and much more. SECTION # 3: Step by step approach to tie a simplified realistic fishing version of the same insect. This will be presented in photographic form / text form
To view any of my flies, just come along to either the NJ Symposium or, the Marlborough or Somerset fly shows. There are a few others that I will be attending but these 3 are certainties. Alternatively, keep checking my website: www.paulwhillock.com, the images on the site at the moment are only the basic shots but, in time I will add a ton of new high-res images and detailed tying information. Quite often, my flies are sold within a year to fly Collectors but, there are always a number of new realistic art flies that accompany me to a show. . . . .there is always something to see.
I am flattered and also honored that you would consider using me as the first subject!! Thank you!!
All photos and art used by permission courtesy of Paul Whillock. Fly's and illustrations by Paul Whillock. Contents © 2005 by Bill Pitts. Flies
as Art A
bio of Paul M. H. Whillock As
a young boy, I was fascinated by insects; I would catch them in glass
jars, study their body parts and then attempt to draw them. My Mother
still has the first sketch that I made of a beetle. As a young man, I soon
became interested in fly fishing and kept a diary of each fishing trip
documenting weather conditions, water temperature and local fly hatches
etc. I guess it is in my nature to record details, later on I always like
to look back on past occurrences and reflect upon what I have done. One
evening whilst reading through my diary, I realized the flies I had
purchased from a mail order catalogue did not match the Mayflies that were
hatching on my local river also; the flies were of very poor quality, this
was the necessary spark that ignited the desire to tie my own flies.
The
local fly shop owner was a kind and helpful fellow who sold me a
beginner’s fly tying outfit which contained a number of fly tying
materials, a bobbin, 2 spools of tying thread and a fly tying vice. As I
left the shop, the owner handed me an old fly tying magazine stating there
were many useful fly patterns inside that I should practice tying! I
forget the exact cost of that old magazine but to me it had great value.
It was inspirational in many ways as it contained one or two incredible
pictures of natural Mayfly but more inspiring than this was the front
page; it had a beautifully tied Classic Salmonfly as its front cover
image. I often studied that picture and thought how proud the fly Tyer
must have been to see his or her fly on the cover. My
first flies were very traditional in style; hackled collars with neat
tails and wings. Whilst they worked well on my local waters I found myself
constantly altering the traditional recipes slightly, I added legs,
antennae and even small wing buds. As usual, I would document these ideas
in my diary and used the diagrams for reference at the next fly tying
session. Our
own libraries are always well stocked with good books that explain every
aspect of fly tying however, whilst I had read many of these books and
agreed with 50% of their content, I chose to produce my own personal
library of entomological diagrams, sketches and writings rather than
accept what had already been written by others. I wanted to learn from my
own mistakes and make a completely fresh start, I took the original
precepts of fly tying and stripped away everything that was not essential
thus allowing me the freedom to create flies from techniques that were
unhindered by needless traditional luggage. The foundation of my fly tying
style is one that is based upon pure simplicity; nothing is added to a
Realistic Fishing Fly or an Art Fly unless it is absolutely necessary. By
studying the Natural insect closely; I would develop my techniques
further. Midway
through my diary, there is an entry dated: July 18th 1991. I
found myself fishing the River Usk in Wales whereupon I had soon begun
catching small Trout. Unhooking one of the fish; I noticed an insect
lodged in the corner of its mouth; a stonefly Nymph and, later on I
learned this was Perlodes
microcephala, the large British Stonefly. This small, Black and Yellow
creature was quickly retrieved from the Trout’s jaws and placed in a
small jar ready to be studied later when I returned home. I had recently
purchased a microscope and, the Stonefly would be the first subject for me
to study. The findings proved to be another turning point in my approach
to realistic fly tying. After studying that Nymph and illustrating each
body part, I realised that my fishing flies did not truly imitate the
natural insect which were smaller, much slimmer and also more translucent!
I listed every relevant fly tying material that could be used and from
that list, I began creating a small, Stonefly Nymph which had flattened
10lb monofilament legs, almost colorless 1lb monofilament antennae, tails
and a lightly coloured white Raffene abdomen with Cul-De-Canard gills
around the thorax. The
wing buds, Pronotum and Head capsule were all created using thin strips of
plastic. I used white Raffene for the underbody and clear monofilament for
the legs, antennae and tails which I coloured very slightly using just a
hint of waterproof color. The color was added using Edding waterproof
pens; the results were encouraging!
All
creative fly tyers have a vision of what they hope to eventually achieve.
I was no different; originally I wanted to tie a fly that would fool a
Fish but then, having achieved that goal I wanted to tie a fly that would
fool a fisherman and not the fish!! Reading thru my diary once more, there
is an entry dated 29th January, 2002, a package containing my
flies was shipped to America for a show I was attending. En-route, US
Customs Officials opened the package containing my flies and immediately
impounded the entire shipment as they believed the package contained real
insects that were being illegally imported! Eventually though, after
numerous telephone calls; the Customs Officers agreed that most of the
packages contents were harmless Trout flies and subsequently released the
package that is, except for one small Stonefly Nymph which they were still
undecided on! The official statement was: “the
nymph has been preserved and is awaiting entomological investigation by a
government official” That Nymph was never released and remains in
custody to this day. I
strive to create balance and harmony throughout life, my fly tying is
governed by this rule too! Rather than just create a range of very
realistic ‘Art Flies’ that are destined to spend their lives in
(picture) frames, I continue to develop a range of realistic fishing flies
that will hopefully catch more fish than fishermen! One fly tying method
feeds inspiration to the other, whilst tying a realistic fishing fly, I
will perhaps recognize a new idea that can be used in my Art Flies and
conversely, many of the ideas used in my Art Flies can be simplified and
then used to create realistic fishing flies. An
Art Fly or Realistic Fishing Fly is the result of a series of complex fly
tying maneuvers that can only be made after first understanding the
natural insect and, understanding how to replicate each body part. By
looking at the entire fly I may see confusion; tiny leg hairs, complex
mouth parts and miniature gills etc but, by dividing the natural insect
into 6 manageable sections such as: the tails and antennae, abdomen,
thorax, wings or wing buds, legs and head and then focusing only on one
particular body part, I can simplify those complexities. The Archer shoots
an arrow and hits the target because he focuses only upon the task at hand
and has performed the same maneuver a thousand times. It is the same in
Realistic or Art Fly tying. I tied an abdomen a thousand times before I
understood how to tie an abdomen however; in the pursuit of
perfection……..I know I need to tie a thousand more!! There
are two basic guidelines that I must adhere to and they are; never glue
anything onto my flies and, to only use regular fly tying materials that
are available to any fly tyer via catalogues. I constantly force my fly
tying techniques to evolve rather than be bound by their limitations. One
of my targets is that each successive Art Fly should be at least a
fraction more realistic than the previous attempt! If a particular method
works well this time then next time I tie the same fly, I will attempt to
expand the technique and tie a more realistic version however, even after
100 hours of work, if it is not an improvement on the previous
fly………..I will slice it from the hook and begin again! What
really intrigues me is; how far can we take realistic fly tying? I guess
that boils down to the individual. Once again, I refer to my diary and see
that when first attempting to tie a realistic Stonefly Nymph, it took
around 2 hours. Nowadays, it takes at least 180 hours to complete one of
my Stonefly Nymphs. Conversely, my realistic fishing stonefly nymph known
as the “Perlodes Nymph” originally took over 6 hours to tie, it now
takes around 1 hour for me to complete!!
Used by permission courtesy of Paul Whillock. Contents © 2005 You can find more info about Paul and his wonderful fly's at the following links: Paul's website - www.paulwhillock.com Simplified realism an article by Paul - http://www.fish4ituk.co.uk/feature/paulwillock/paul.htm Paul on Hans Weilenmann's website - http://www.danica.com/flytier/pwhillock/pwhillock.htm The Balvenie Story to Tell - www.balvenie.com/story_to_tell/fishing/expert_story1.html
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Paul,
could you please give the reader a quick introduction to yourself?
