The boys talk so fast their voices meld together in a rush of chatter.
Then suddenly all three fall silent as their focus shifts to three small vises on the table.In companionable silence they work, winding string around the body of a tiny creation they — or a customer — can cast into a stream or lake in hopes of catching a trophy trout.
Tying fishing flies requires dexterity and precision.
The three boys are Chase Myatt, 11; Tyler Myatt, 9 (he turns 10 on Wednesday, March 10); and Ty Price, 10.
Together they have started a business called Eagle Creek Custom to provide hand-tied fishing flies.
The venture started several years ago with Chase.
“I’ve always been interested in making flies and lures to fish with,” he said.
He’d mainly used a spinning reel. Then he received a fly-tying kit as a Christmas present.
Once he had used those materials, he checked out a fly-tying kit from the Baker County Public Library.
Hooked on the hobby, he started gathering more materials and teaching himself how to tie different flies from books, a DVD, and YouTube videos.
His younger brother, Tyler, took notice. When his friend Ty came over, the two boys tried their hand at tying a fly.
“We basically just wrapped a feather on a hook,” Tyler said.
Finishing off a fishing fly.
Ty went home wanting to learn more, and found that his parents, Wes and Jocelyn Price, had a whole stock of fly-tying material from years ago.
“We had all the stuff in storage,” Jocelyn said.
Now all those supplies, plus more donated by others, is organized in the room Ty shares with his little brother, Case (who, at 5, likes to try his own hand at making flies like his brother).
The boys now have cases full of flies. They use a variety of synthetic materials as well as natural supplies such as deer and elk hair, peacock herl, pheasant tail feathers, turkey feathers, and rabbit hair.
They all have books with fly designs. Chase’s volume of the “Fly Tying Encyclopedia” has 1,000 patterns featuring the fly and necessary materials.
Tyler said he’s mastered eight designs.
“But I’m trying to expand to learn more,” he said.
Each of the three has a favorite fly: humpy (Chase); pheasant tail midge (Tyler); Royal Coachman bucktail (Ty).
None of them has a definite answer for how long a fly will last.
“Depends on how many fish you catch,” Chase said with a grin.
“Every time they hit, they do a bit of damage,” Ty added.
When asked if they save the damaged flies, Tyler smiled.
“Chase makes me,” he said.
“Those hooks are ten cents!” comes the reply from the older brother.
As for what happens after they land a fish, Chase and Ty both like to eat their catch.
“He catches them, we eat them,” Chase said, again with a smile toward his brother.
The time it takes these boys to tie a fly varies from as quick as a minute or two to more than seven minutes.
Their website was built with the help of Ty’s dad, Wes. It features 73 different flies — both dry (they float on the water surface) and wet (these sink).
Customers can even get in touch with the young entrepreneurs to request a custom order.
Eagle Creek Custom offers 73 types of fishing flies.
Credit: Source link
