My first fishing endeavor, when I was a lad of 5 years old, was with my father who had a real passion for fishing. In this era, fly-fishing was very elitist and very secretive. These elitists now realize that they were doing more harm than good to their fellow fisherman.

I am a self-taught fly angler and fly tier. As much as I tried to ask for help and to learn all these secrets, it seems that everyone was very secretive of what they knew and would not help me. I got my revenge a few years later. I was so hurt by this stupid behavior that I went out of my way to help newcomers and anyone else who needed my help. I would have no secrets.

I have seen at fly tying shows, tiers that were hiding their work and only showing the finished products. My pleasure was to show all the secrets and intricacies of fly tying. Accomplished fly tiers would throw their flies at me, dare me to reproduce the same fly, and I would do it correctly and swiftly. All of this silliness ended when I started winning several national fly tying competitions.

Like many tiers I was always lacking quality materials. It was a common sight in the village to see me chasing after roosters with a fishing net. I often raided the local chicken coops in my area in search of tying material. Because of this my fellow countrymen did not always appreciate my tying skills.

In April of 1996 I joined the Ragot Company and headed up their fly fishing division. This company was established in 1933 and as of 1991 is owned by the Rapala Group. The co-founder of the company, Andre Ragot, was a passionate fly fisherman and started his company with only six fly patterns. In the beginning he was assisted only by a seamstress but soon the reputation of his flies were so great that he had to hire a dozen fly tiers just to keep up with sales. All the original tiers tied all the flies without the aid of a vice, using only thread, and scissors and hackle pliers. Now we employ approximately 75 people and flies are only a small portion of our overall sales.

My administrative responsibilities include buying, sorting, packaging and distribution of flies and materials. Due to my job, I have been able to accumulate most of my material needs and have had the opportunity to meet other people in the industry at the same time.

In closing I would like to say that when I set down at the vice I have no idea what the finished classic style salmon fly will look like as I never tie the same pattern twice. You can truly say my salmon flies are one of a kind. I think I do this because I tie so many fishing flies over and over again and I find it quite monotonous so when I am tying just for myself I see the hook as a clean canvas and I tend to tie the unknown.

Thanks,

Jean Paul