Featured Fly Tyer - Rocky Phillips
We are thrilled to announce our December Fly Tyer of the month: Rocky Phillips aka @rockyp41
Rocky only started tying in September 2020. "My first fly was a SMP fly for crappie. I started tying because I wanted to tie my own crappie jigs; I had no intentions to tie flies for trout much less salmon flies. My inspiration came from watching tyers like Barry Ord Clarke and Davie Mcphail manipulate materials to imitate bugs."
Rocky's flies are skillfully crafted and the captures he shares on Instagram are stunning. "I enjoy fly tying more than fishing, because I feel I am better at it..haha. I do however love to be out on the water all day trying to trick a fish to bite." - We do agree that Rocky is very good at tying, and his "Artful Dodger" caught our eye.
"In fly tying I am always challenging myself to get better," Rocky shared. "I love to push myself on new techniques and styles of flies. I have a true passion for classic patterns. The history of these classics is what keeps pushing me to tie more and more of them. I have challenged myself to tie all of the flies in Ray Bergman's book Trout. It is not a challenge I expect to complete anytime soon, just a challenge I can always fall back on to tie.
When I tied the Artful Dodger, I immediately fell in love with it, because of its color combo. The Claret floss Body and gold tinsel just pops to me. The recipe called for a brown Wing so I used the brown shade from a golden pheasant wing. I was able to get the wing set and the flow of the fly came together."
Rocky has a daily ritual with coffee, as most of us do. "I have to have my coffee before I fish and just about anything else. It's definitely at my tying bench when I tie in the mornings. I like to grind my coffee and brew it in my coffee pot. When camping though, campfire coffee is the best."
We also asked Rocky to share some Conservation Groups that he is passionate about. "I like to support Texas Parks and Wildlife, Fly Fishers international and Project Healing Waters." We really do appreciate that our community always have an answer to this question!
Rocky, we love to follow along and enjoy the beauty you share through your flies. We raise our mug to you!
