Each Wednesday throughout the winter Mike Schultz, the man behind Schultz Outfitters, puts on a Bar Flies event. Each event is held utilizing the whole second floor of the Dexter Pub in Dexter Michigan and Mike gets talented tiers from all over the Midwest to come in and teach a few of their paterns to whoever wants to come out and pay the cheap $20 door fee. This week was my week.
The Dexter Pub is a friendly place with a pretty solid menu and plenty of beverages. As you come up the stairs you are greeted by a neon trout...so you know you are in the right place!
Once everyone came in and socialized for a bit we got the event underway. Sitting at a table up front the camera shoots over your shoulder and the video play on a big flat screen overhead, so it is easy for everyone to see and tie along. This was my second time participating in Bar Flies and this time I picked the Red October and the Junk Yard Dog as the patterns of choice for the evening.
With a few dozen people trying to tie along adn spread out across the room it is an entertaining mix of tying flies and cat herding. It is a really fun group of guys and they do pretty well knocking out the patterns and enjoying themselves in the process.
My brother John made the drive over from Detroit for the event and brought along his friend Rob. Rob has never tied a fly in his life but he dove right in and knocked it out of the park. With some help from Katie he was able to keep up, learn a bunch of techniques, and complete his first two flies...both articulated meaty ones. He was an instant convert. As I understand it he is at my brothers house tonight using the materials that I sent them home with, putting down a few Yuengs I brought them, and tying more bugs!!
These are the flies from the night; the Red October and the Junk Yard Dog. The fly up top is the original version of the pattern and the one on bottom is how they are now tied. I think that the Senyo Laser Dub for the head gives the front hook a little bit of sparkle and polishes off the pattern.
I have not been out in far longer than I care to admit so I have been living vicariously through my friends and customers. This solid piece of fish porn came from the Kelly Neuman crew out on the White in Arkansas. This is another with that made a meal of the Glow Double Deceiver. That has been a solid producer out there this season as well as some northern Michigan haunts.
The next few days will be spent tying as many flies as I possibly can and shipping them all over the place. I will of course get some pictures first, so the next time you come back here there should be some piles of flies for your viewing pleasure!
-mike schmidt
that looks like a fun time I wish bars did that around here.
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