Man in a small boat holding his caught fish

Paul Beel, Terre Haute IN

Favorite flies: Paul specializes in modern streamers for smallmouth and largemouth bass and trout. Ties classic Michigan dry flies for trout and flies for bluegill.

Find Paul @: www.frankenfly.com, www.instagram.com/frankenfly/, www.facebook.com/frankenfly

About Paul: Paul leads our Pro Tyer team and is owner, writer and fly tyer of FrankenFly, a website and fly tying business. He pursued his passion of fishing after watching his grandfather create homemade lures as a kid. He felt he could continue in his grandfather's footsteps as a fly tyer. Paul is an Orvis Fly Designer and is a pro for Taylor Fly Fishing, Semper Fly Rods, Partridge of Redditch, Wade Deep and Deer Creek. He also produces his own line of dubbing, FrankenDub Monster, FrankenDub Nymph and FrankenDub All Purpose, available here at J. Stockard.

Brandon Bailes, Athens AL

Favorite flies: Brandon specializes in 2 areas - deerhair bass bugs and downsized small water flies (mostly streamers and deerhair bugs).

Find Brandon @: www.instagram.com/panther_branch_bugs/

About Brandon: Brandon has been fly fishing since he was a kid. His grandfather took him fishing at a very young age, exploring small warmwater streams by their home. He began tying as an adult. He always loved building and creating things so it was a natural progression for him. He still spends the majority of his fishing time exploring and fishing small streams. Brandon is an Orvis Fly Designer and on the following pro teams: Flymen Fishing Co., Dropjaw Flies and Allen Flyfishing.

Fisherman with fishing pole and small fish near a stream
Fisherman using fly tying tools and fishing gear to catch a green and orange spotted fish

Matthew Beers, Circleville NY

Favorite flies: Matthew is mostly known for tying traditional style Catskill flies. He enjoys tying Catskill dry flies or Catskill down wing wets as well as traditional slip wing wets.

Find Matthew @: www.instagram.com/catskill_flyfisher/

About Matthew: Matthew was born and raised in the Catskills, the birthplace of American dry fly fishing. Over the years he's had the opportunity to rub elbows with many legendary Catskill fly fishers and tyers. He's been fishing since childhood and transitioned to fly fishing and fly tying well over a decade ago. He started with making crank baits for bass in his 20’s and then moved to tying flies for bass, then trout. 90% of his tying and fishing is stalking salmonids and occasionally chasing large and smallmouth bass. He is on the Pro Staff of Sideling Hill Hackle.

Nome Buckman, Portland ME

Favorite flies: Nome is a self-proclaimed streamer junkie, but loves the personal challenge of tying anything and will fish with flies that work. She is fascinated by regional and local flies.

Find Nome @: ReelNorthLLC.com, www.instagram.com/nomebuckman/

About Nome: Nome has been fly fishing since 2000 and tying since 2003. Carrie Stevens featherwing flies are what got her started, along with the infinite creativity that tying one's own flies allows. She moved to the Midwest 5 years ago and has just recently moved back to her fishing roots, the East Coast. Nome was the Angler of the Year in 2014 (WI Women Fish). A few of her flies made it into the book, Tying Heritage Featherwing Streamers by Sharon E. Wright. She has published unique flies tied with milkweed and other plant based materials in Dun Magazine, where she is a contributing editor.

Fisherwoman holding a fish
Man kneeling in stream with fishing gear and holding a caught fish

John Collins, Stewartsville NJ

Favorite flies: Trout, caddis nymphs and parachute dry flies. Plus sculpins and streamers that utilize rabbit strips. For steelhead: bright colored nymphs and Intruder style swinging flies.

Find John @: https://www.instagram.com/ELECTRIC_TYER/

About John: A lifelong resident of New Jersey, John got into trout fishing at about the age of five but he was in his mid-twenties before he got hooked on the long rod and has never looked back. He’s now been lashing materials to hooks for a better part of 35 years. As a tyer, John started out in the “Catskill tradition”, but with all the new materials available now, he has taken creative liberties tying with other methods, in pursuit of trout and salmon, as well as warm and saltwater species. John fishes throughout NJ, the Catskill region of NY and eastern PA. He is also a pro team member for Regal, Nature’s Spirt, Solarez UV Resins, Flymen Fishing Company and Anglers Sport Group. He is always researching the stream bottom and stomach samples from fish that he lands. This drives John to come up with patterns that will effectively catch fish on a regular basis. John’s motto is “Flies that catch fish, not just fishermen”.

John and Katie Demuth, Kingsport, TN

Favorite flies: John and Katie's favorite flies to tie are Caddis, Stimulator, parachutes, soft-hackle nymphs and quill bodied flies.

Find Demuth Fly Fishing @: www.instagram.com/demuth_flyfishing/

About John and Katie: John has fished all his life, but when he met Katie he found they both had an interest in fly fishing and so, together, they jumped into fly fishing head first and have never looked back. They feed off each other’s passion and their skills are always evolving. Katie’s focus on photographing the flies along with John's passion for fly tying has created a great team. They tie / photograph daily and are always looking for ways to improve their art. John loves fishing the rivers of East Tennessee. He has always enjoyed the outdoors and earned the honor of Eagle Scout growing up. He later served in the United States Marine Corps in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition to fly fishing and tying, Katie is also an accomplished photographer. Growing up, she spent her summers living on the river in Pitman Center, TN. She later served in the Unites States Army before settling in Kingsport with John.

Man and woman working at a desk with fly tying materials
Man at a desk working with fly tying supplies

Scott Fisher, Washington, NJ

Favorite flies: Scott is at heart a Catskill dry fly tyer, since he lives two hours from the Catskills.

Find Scott @: FisherFlyWorks on Etsy, www.Facebook.com/Fisherflyworks, Instagram:@TroutJouster, scottfisher.weebly.com/

About Scott: Scott has been fly fishing and tying for over 10+ years. Like many fly fishers, he was previously an avid spin fisherman until one day a friend brought a fly rod along on a fishing trip. Scott says he didn’t think much of it until his buddy cast out his line, his fly landed on the water surface and a fish exploded onto his fly moments later. Scott bought a fly rod the very next day! Fly tying came shortly after. Scott is an experienced artist and has the advantage of a trained eye and knowledge of sculpting. Fly tying was another opportunity to create, and he fell in love with it and its direct connection to fly fishing. Two passions all in one. Recently, Scott did Live Facebook videos demonstrating fly tying techniques to a following that eventually grew to a few thousand people. He loved making connections and developed a passion for helping people learn the beautiful art of fly tying!

Brita Fordice, Bremerton WA

Favorite flies: Shrimp, squid and baitfish!

Find Brita @: www.instagram.com/seafly907/ 

About Brita: Brita was taught to fly fish at the age of 8 by her father and grandfather at their cabin on the banks of the Stillaguamish River in Washington. She taught herself to tie within two years of learning to fish and was addicted from the start. She loved fishing but she was limited by how little independence she had at that age and couldn’t go out fishing by herself. Tying allowed her to do something related to fishing on her own. She fished constantly throughout her childhood and when she met a cute fly fisher at age 17, she went ‘nuts’ about it. From that point on, her life revolved around fly fishing, even after the boy was long gone. Brita is currently a Lagartan pro and American Museum of Fly Fishing Ambassador. She was an Umpqua Signature Fly Designer in 2016. She now works for FARBANK (Sage, Rio, Redington) and is a fly fishing guide on Pugent Sound and the Hood Canal.

Young Woman using glue for fly tying
Man at a desk using scissors and fly tying materials

Adam Harman, Kernersville NC

Favorite flies: Adam is focused on nymphs but ties dries, streamers, terrestrials and more.

Find Adam @: www.facebook.com/blueridgecustomflies/, www.instagram.com/blueridgecustomflies/

About Adam: Adam has been fishing most of his life but didn't truly take up fly-fishing until he was 25. A few years later in 2008, he began tying his own flies and never looked back. For Adam, fly tying is not just a business or hobby, it's an art and passion. Adam is on the following Pro Teams: Flymen Fishing Company, Dr. Slick and Hazard FF. He has been commercially tying for over 2 years.

Joe Jackson, Martinsville, IN

Favorite flies: Joe is best known for his Deerhair bassbugs, and elaborate deerhair art.

Find Joe @: www.sgtbassfisher.com, Joe @ Facebook, Instagram @sgt.bassfisher 

About Joe: Raised in a small town located in southern Indiana, a love of fishing, hunting and wildlife was instilled in Joe at a young age. After 14 years in the Army he found Project Healing Waters and his curiosity in fly fishing and tying bloomed into a love and obsession. He started tying in November 2015, placed second in Project Healing Waters National Fly Tying Contest in 2017. Joe received the Everett Drake Fly Tying Award in 2018. Joe predominately ties flies for small and largemouth bass, with a focus on Deerhair bugs. His realistic art flies like the hummingbird, pheasant, Grinch, kingfisher and others have been sent across the globe. Joe currently lives with his wife and 4 children, all of whom share his love of fly fishing/tying. He believes the most important thing anyone in this industry can do is to get kids out on the water and behind a vice.

Man sitting working on fly tying and using fly tying supplies
Fisherman squatting in a shallow stream while holding a brown and orange fish

Tim O'Neill, Hockessin DE

Favorite flies: Tim ties flies for various species and locals - trout, smallmouth, largemouth, steelhead, salt water, ponds, lakes, rivers etc.

Find Tim @: www.oneillsflyfishing.com, www.instagram.com/oneillsflyfishing/, www.facebook.com/oneillsflyfishing/

About Tim: Tim has been fly fishing for close to 30 years. He reeled in his first fish - a 10" rainbow - at the age of nine. He remembers staring at the vivid colors of green, purple and silver and being in awe at the sight of his trophy. He is still drawn to the beauty of all types of fish. He is a machinist by trade and he fabricates most of the parts for the NOR-Vise for which he is also the East Coast sales rep. Tim is a member of the Flymen Fishing Company and Loon Outdoors Pro Teams.

John Satkowski, Toledo OH

Favorite flies: Streamers are his favorite to tie and fish, but he tries to be as versatile as possible. He also enjoys tying and creating topwater/waker type hybrid patterns.

Find John @: https://www.facebook.com/john.satkowskiwww.instagram.com/johnsatkowski/

About John: John has been fly fishing for 18 years and tying flies for 16 years. He started tying as a kid on a low budget vise from Cabela's and was able to tie ‘bad’ Adams dries. He now has eight patterns available from Rainy’s. John is a pro tyer for Flymen Fishing Co. and commercial tyer for Rainy’s Flies.

Fisherman with fishing pole and small fish
Man with sunglasses sitting in a boat while holding a caught fish

Paul "Paulie" Shurtleff, Springville UT

Favorite flies: Paul specializes in tying trout flies (dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, streamers and attractors with an emphasis in tying dry flies) but also ties flies for pike and bass as well.

Find Paul @: www.instagram.com/insectinside/, www.facebook.com/pauliescustomflies

About Paul: Paul has 30+ years of experience behind the vise and on the water. He grew up in a family full of outdoorsmen and has been active with outdoor activities his whole life. His older brother (12 years his senior) was the fly tyer and fly fisherman in his family. He took Paul “under his wing” and taught him most of what he knows. He was a huge influence and got Paul started tying flies and fly fishing at a young age. Paul is very proud to have some of his fly patterns published in the book, “Americas Favorite Flies” and has featured articles in the magazines “Southwest Fly Fishing” and “Northwest Fly Fishing” and in "Fly Tyer" magazine as well. Paul also ties flies in regional fly tying and fly fishing shows annually (including IFTD) and was named as the UT Fly Tyer of the Year in 2017. He also volunteers for PHWFF (Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing) as an on the water guide and classroom fly tying instructor. Paul is also a Pro Team Tyer for Semperfli, Moonlit Fly Fishing, Dragontail Tenkara, Nirvana On The Fly, Rock Bottom Fishing Gear and Jim's Fly Co.. When he’s not fly fishing, fly tying or working, Paul enjoys spending time with his daughter, going on drives in his sports car and playing his electric bass guitar.

Luke Stacy, Virginia Beach, VA

Favorite Flies: Luke’s favorite flies to tie are “hair and hackle” dry flies including stimulators, elk hair caddis and other various caddis/stonefly imitations using different materials

Find Luke @: www.instagram.com/ekulstacy/

About Luke: Luke has fished his whole life but began fly fishing and fly tying just under two years ago. Luke grew up making regular camp trips to the George Washington National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and had always been intrigued with the elusiveness of the native trout residing in the creeks. Shortly after picking up fly fishing Luke caught his first native brook trout from out of a creek right next to his camp site and was instantly “hooked” on fly fishing. Originally Luke started tying his own flies to be self-sufficient but Luke quickly realized how therapeutic fly tying was for him. From there Luke recognized that fly tying was an art and dedicated a majority of his time to become a better tier. Luke aims to tie a fly a day and likes using new materials and techniques to tie with. Luke enjoys sharing his knowledge with other tiers and gets inspired by other’s work.

Fisherman holding smallspotted fish with fishing net
Man working on fly tying at a desk with fly tying tools

Erik Svend Svendsen, Provo, UT

Erik's favorite flies: Erik mainly ties for trout, but he really likes tying new patterns. He has a goal of #tyingoneflyaday where every day he tries to tie a fly pattern he never tried before.

Find Erik @: https://www.instagram.com/svenddiesel/, https://www.facebook.com/svend.diesel.9

A college girl friend introduced Erik to fly fishing and he was instantly hooked - to fly fishing that is. He fished for several years and then took a break. A few years ago, after a summer of diving into fly fishing seriously, he thought that the best way to understand the bugs and patterns would be to tie his own flies. He took a course in the summer of 2016 and was instantly addicted. For Erik, tying is an escape that focuses him on something so small and that only takes minutes from start to finish yet gives a real a sense of accomplishment. Tying has led to great friendships both on and off the water and helps Erik feel more involved in the sport even when he can’t fish as much as he’d like. When the occasion presents itself, Erik volunteers with the local Scout District, teaching the fishing merit badge and hosting fly tying night for the boys and leaders. He also occasionally works with troubled youth with a goal to get them ‘on the water’ whenever he can.

Son Tao, Fishers IN

Son's favorite flies: Son is mainly known for his dry flies. He has a fondness for Catskill patterns and stimulators.

Find Son @: www.facebook.com/sontaoflies/, www.instagram.com/son_tao/

About Son: Son is an active duty First Sergeant in the US Army. He got interested in fly tying to help deal with anxiety. Son started tying in 2016 and, one year later, he won the Fifth Annual Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing National Fly Tying Competition. Son has since become one of the most recognizable names on social media due to his flies, photography and catching salmonids all across the United States. In addition to his role here at J. Stockard, Son is an ambassador/pro team member for Whiting Farms, Semperfli, Abel Reels, Fishpond, Simms Fishing, Solarez Resins, Cortland, and Wapsi.

Fisherman holding green and purple fish
Fisherman holding an orange and yellow fish near a stream

Steve Yewchuck, Beacon NY

Steve's favorite flies: Steve loves tying anything from midges to large rodents. His specialty is designing and tying big flies for predator fish. But he also enjoys creating flies for smaller species, especially trout.

Find Steve @: www.instagram.com/steelhead_steve, https://www.facebook.com/steelhead.steve

About Steve: Steve has been fly fishing for 30+ years and fly tying since he was 13. He started fishing for brookies at a very young age, which lead into chasing other species throughout his life. Designing and tying his own flies to catch these fish has been a real love. After going to college for art and photography, Steve didn’t find work in his field, so he began guiding and selling flies. He has now been involved in the fly fishing industry for over 10 years. He helps promote and is an ambassador for Hatch Reels, Korkers Footwear, Livingston Rods, Rising Fish, Flymen Fishing Company and is a fly designer for Montana Fly Company.

Nathan Wight, Durham ME

Nathan's favorite flies: Although he ties a lot of Euro nymph flies, Nathan’s real passion is for large predator streamers and top water flies.

Find Nathan @: www.instagram.com/n.w.flyco/, www.facebook.com/n.w.flyco, www.northwoodsfly.com

About Nathan: Growing up in the western mountains of Maine, Nathan was surrounded by some of the best native brook trout and landlocked salmon in New England. Taught by his father, he quickly developed a passion for fly fishing and is 4th generation ME guide. With 30+ years of tying experience, he opened North Woods Fly Co. in 2015. Although he loves to tie classic Maine streamer flies, there is no pattern that he won’t tie or replicate for his clients. Nathan has fished throughout New England, parts of the US west, northern Canada and the Canadian Maritime’s. He is part of a program that brings casting, fishing and fly tying to Veterans in Maine and also teaches group and one-on-one tying lessons. He regularly ties at the Fly Fishing Shows in Marlboro MA and Edison NJ, most often in the HMH booth.

Man crouching over his yellow fish he caught

Our First Junior Pro

Boy at a desk working on crafting fly tying materials

Braden Miller, Glen Allen, Virginia

Favorite Flies: Braden’s favorite flies to tie include Blane Chocklett’s Game Changers, deer hair poppers, Bob Popovics Beast Fleyes, and a variety of streamers.

Find Braden @: Instagramwww.facebook.com

About Braden: Braden taught himself to tie flies by watching videos on YouTube and Instagram. He has been obsessed with fishing for as long as he can remember and has been fly fishing and tying since he was 8 years old (he is currently 14). Since venturing into this sport Braden has traveled across the country chasing after fish with his TFO fly rods and flies he tied himself. He regularly makes fly tying appearances at shows up and down the East Coast, including Icast in Orlando, the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival, the Fly Fishing Expo, Tie Fest and the International Fly Tying Symposium. Braden volunteers with Project Healing Waters and continues to dedicate his time to Trout in the Classroom at his middle school. Braden is also a junior ambassador for Temple Fork Outfitters, Norvise, Fly Life Company, District Angling, Fair Flies and Catch Cam Nets.