Fly Tying Contest

What great Fly Tying Classes in both Beginner and Advanced this

year!  As of Monday, March 17, 2025, we have completed the Fly Tying Classes for the Spring.    HOWEVER...this year brought us a very special event on the closing day!     We had a contest to use the skills learned and create our own fly.     BVFT Club truly appreciates the efforts of our Fly Tying Class Leaders:   Gary Henderson and Jim Herschey (Advanced) and Gary Rowland and Ron Blackwelder (Beginners.)    There were many of you who were involved in leading classes, and your willingness to participate and help made the difference for sure.

The "Contest" involved those in attendance to choose a Dry Fly or Wet Fly, and Gary Henderson, Ron Blackwelder, Jerry Felts, and Jim Herschey (maybe others?) went to great lengths to put together a packet of fly tying materials for the fly of choice.   The contest started on even ground with two categories:  Beginner & Advanced.

After a long deliberation, and a flip of the coin for best overall, the following results were shared:

BEGINNER CLASS:

1st Place                          Frank Spino

2nd Place                         Patrick Hess

3rd Place                         Scott Hawes

ADVANCED CLASS:

1st Place                   Mack Bean

2nd Place                  Terry Wilson

3rd Place                   Alan Peterson

BEST OVERALL:       Mack Bean

CONGRATULATIONS!

Each winner was given an opportunity to choose from great prizes that had been gathered, and we are thankful for those who put time and talent to use to donate the items.     It really was a great event for the Bella Vista Fly Tyers, and the effort and spirit of our club was very evident.      

Thank you again to all who participated and who gave their time to organize this event!   We hope it becomes a tradition...

Pictures by Karen Anderson Info added to pictures: Paul Bickford