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Fly Tying Group
Demonstration Fly Tying
By Al & Gretchen Beatty
What qualities do you look for in a demonstration fly tier? You may not realize it but you make decisions in that regard often.
Let’s pretend for a moment that you are attending a fly-tying exposition; the kind many clubs, councils, and chapters organize as part of their fundraising activities. You wander by the many tables with fly tiers demonstrating their particular expertise. You stop at a table, observe for a few minutes, and finally pull up a chair to sit down. Why did you sit down at that particular table after passing by several others?
After more than forty years combined experience as fly tying demonstrators we are ninety nine percent sure we have the answer. A really good fly tying demonstrator shows their audience how good each of them can be when they return home to use what they have learned at the show. It’s our belief there is only one rule to fly-tying demonstration, “It’s your job as a demonstrator to show your audience how good they can be, NOT how good you are!” How well you do that will determine how many people “pull up a chair” to spend time at your table. Just look around a room filled with demonstration tiers. Some will have no one observing them and others will have their “customers” (the public) stacked three deep. You might say, “That guy is famous, that’s why he has a large crowd.” Let us pose a question, “How do you think he got famous?” We will bet he is skilled at showing people how good they can be not only through his demonstrations but also via print media and in some cases, television.
Good verbal communication skills are a must. You may be thinking, “Well, that leaves me out!” This does not have to be the case; those skills can be learned. Just look at two of us for a moment.
When Gretchen graduated from college she went into the classroom as an English teacher. She honed her skills quickly while communicating her subject matter all day every day. On the other hand Al didn’t develop those skills climbing telephone poles and splicing cable. He still remembers his first demonstration almost thirty years ago. Al was so nervous he couldn’t sleep for several nights before the show. By the time “he was on deck” Al was a basket case. He was sweating, couldn’t talk, and broke his thread constantly. At that time he had been tying commercial for almost twenty years and was a very skilled tier. The key word in that last sentence is “tier.” He may have been a great tier but was a lousy communicator; but it is a skill that can be learned and he did. Even today we both agree that Al is the better tier and Gretchen is the better communicator but we are willing to learn from each other. As a result we are both excellent demonstrators because we help each other strengthen our weak areas.
In the last several paragraphs we’ve shared with you our vision of the qualities in a good “demo” tier. Over the years we’ve learned some “nuts and bolts” type things that really make your job as a demonstrator easier. We list them here in no particular order with the intension they may save you some of the frustration we encountered learning them:
Tools – We set up separate tying kits for the demonstrations we do. The tools therein are identical to those we use at our workstations at home. Working with a tool you are not totally familiar with in front of a crowd is a mistake. For those of you who will take your tool set from home, we recommend making a check list so you don’t forget anything. Be sure to bring two extra extension cords, extra light bulbs, duct tape, zip ties, and a multiple connection electrical strip. It’s always good to be prepared. Speaking of that: Bring a vise with a c-clamp AND a pedestal base; the same goes for your light. For those of you who have participated in a few demos, let us ask this question, “How many times have you arrived at a tying demo or show only to find the tables are next to impossible to attach a vise or light?” We certainly have and that’s not the only thing that can go wrong. Al suffers with a bad back and those miserable metal folding chairs often provided at show venues can be a real pain in the back; literally. We always make sure to have a few Ibuprofen tablets in our first aid kit tucked in our tying bag. “First aid kit,” you may ask? Yes, we’ve learned over the years to be prepared and that includes items for personal safety.
Clothing – Think of two things when preparing for a tying demo; your comfort and your customer’s ability to see. Regarding your customer (the viewing public): Wear a solid colored shirt so the people observing your demonstration can see your offering. Just lay a checkered shirt on your tying table, place a fly in the vise, and view the setup from about four feet. You’ll quickly see what we mean when you view that setup from your customer’s perspective; the fly really gets lost in the checkered pattern.
Your comfort is another important consideration. We follow the same rule for a tying demo that we did when we were guiding customers on the Yellowstone River; dress in layers and be prepared for anything. Case in point: Last year we were demonstrating at a show in a large convention center. There were about fifty tables of tiers with Al situated near the middle of the room and Gretchen on an outside wall near a door. The number of people in the room had the overall temperature trending towards very warm so the show organizers propped the door open to cool down the room. Bottom line: Al was “suffocating from the heat” and was glad the door was open while Gretchen was “freezing to death” and wanted the door closed! To get through the day Al took off a couple of layers of clothing down to a short sleeve shirt and Gretchen slipped a long sleeve shirt and a down vest over her blouse. We both were comfortable because we were prepared and made the appropriate adjustments.
Being prepared, flexible, and ready to adapt can save you a lot of angst. Quite frankly the situation can be less than great and how you react to it can effect your reputation. Do you want to be considered a “pain in the neck” or a “real professional?” We well remember tying in tents at a show in England. It had rained the night before those tents were set up. The ground was saturated causing our folding chairs to sink into the soft earth. When we had sunk far enough to have to raise our hands above our heads to reach the vise we just stood up, pulled the chair out of the mud, and continued with our demonstration. A couple of tiers (no names mentioned) demanded different accommodations and got them. You know, for some reason those two were not invited back the next year. We wonder why!
Your Customer – In this section we want to share a few tips and tricks our customers tell us they find helpful. We usually tie our patterns with a contrasting color of thread. Tan dubbing with chartreuse thread allows the viewing public to readily see the relationship between the two materials. How those materials work with (or against) each other is often the difference between a well-tied fly and one of lesser quality. Just be sure to explain why you selected the thread color you did to avoid confusing your customers.
Hook size is a very important part of a successful fly-tying demonstration. We don’t care if you fish the fly in size 22 you never demonstrate how to tie it using a hook that small. Remember your customer is at least three feet or further from your vise so size your flies accordingly; we seldom use a hook smaller than size 14. Just be certain to narrate to the size difference to avoid any confusion.
Two-way communication with your audience is very important. We try to engage people passing by our table with, “Hi. How are you today?” Some people indicate they are fine and keep on walking. Very often though they stop to see what we are doing. Our standard follow up question is, “Do you tie flies?” From there we take the conversation in the direction needed based on the customer’s answer. No matter what the customer’s skill level may be, we make certain to explain what we are demonstrating in minute detail. Things like where you place materials, fingers, the hand, and how much pressure you put on the thread are important to your customer even though they may seem too remedial to mention.
What to demonstrate – Often this decision is made based on the purpose of the demonstration. We break down fly-tying demo’s into these categories; club, shop, show, booth, and video theater. Each has a different purpose so we structure our presentation to fit the situation.
A club demo – We think this type of demo is the most fun because it is usually focused on education allowing us to demonstrate a diverse group of techniques and patterns. We’ve had clubs bring us into an auditorium for a day of demonstrating on a wide screen, projection television. This type of demo requires a lot of preparation so we are not repeating patterns during our several hours “on camera.” In this case we prepare packets for each pattern to keep us organized. Other club demo’s are like the one we did last week; tie whatever we want in the hour before the meeting starts. In another situation where we are the featured speakers we tie flies that best support our slide show.
Shop demo – Your purpose here is to sell product and in the process educate the customer on two levels; techniques and the products to support them. We make certain we are demonstrating patterns using materials available in the store. In other words we don’t demonstrate tying a dry fly using Cree hackle when we know the store has none and probably can’t get it from their supplier; a grizzly, brown mix would be a much better choice.
Show demo – We have traveled to many shows and over the years have learned it is better to go prepared to tie only a few flies rather than every pattern known to man. At these shows we make it a point to know who else is there and what they are demonstrating. If we get a request to tie a pattern for which we don’t have the materials then we can send the customer to another demonstrator who can serve their needs. Our job at a show is education and it doesn’t make any difference to us which demonstrator answers a question; only that is gets answered.
Booth demo – Here our purpose is to support the vendor that has hired us to be in his or her booth. They provide the direction and we follow their lead. When we are the vendor we get to make the decisions and do so based on our reason for attending the show.
Video theater – In this case the show promoters have scheduled us to appear in their theater during a one-hour time slot following a predetermined subject; rotary tying or hair wing dry flies are two of our favorites. We think it’s important to show up a few minutes early so we are ready to clip on our microphone and go to work at the appointed hour. We always stop our presentation ten minutes before the hour ends so the next tier has time to prepare.
We’ve shared with you what we believe are a few of the qualities of a good demonstration fly tier. They are definitely not everything you need to know but can be a base on which to build. We think the most important point we want to really emphasize is that you as a demonstrator explain in detail the function or technique you are presenting. Your audience will appreciate you for it.
