The Flies of Bob Frandsen

After you examine some of these samples of the flies of Bob Frandsen, I am sure that you will agree with me that he is an extremely talented tyer and deserves to be recognized. I can understand that Bob feels a bit isolated as a tyer from Australia, because he is our first contributor from the country "down under", but I hope that he will continue to contribute more samples of his fine work in the future. Perhaps it will encourage more Classic Atlantic Salmon Fly Tyers from his part of the world and open the door to more recognition for Bob's exceptional talent. You can read about what Bob has to say about himself below but don't forget to take a look at his flies. Bob also has many of his skillfully tied Atlantic Salmon and  Steelhead flies on the site, Kossiedun.Com.Au - Fly Tyer's Journey. It is would be well worth your time to visit this fascinating site to see Bob's work and the work of many other fine tyers.

G`day, I am a resident of a small town near the Gippsland Lakes which are an extensive estuarine system in East Gippsland in the South/East corner of Australia in the state of Victoria. I'm also close to good trout and Australian bass fishing. I was born in 1937 and grew up in suburban Melbourne and I first became interested in fly tying at about age 13. At this time I was catching and selling Yabbies (crawfish) for bait to a tackle shop in the city of Melbourne. The manager of the store (a Lance Wedlick who later became well known as a fishing writer) fostered my interest in flies and by the time I turned 15 he had me tying for the trade. During this period I saw my first "Classic" which stirred my interest. However, although I have tied trout, bass and saltwater for the trade over the last 50 years or so i didn't become serious about the "Classics" until about 6-7 years ago when I met my very good friends John and Joy Webb of Tambo Fine Feathers who breed Peafowl, Pheasants and Guinea fowl etc for the fly tying and millinery trades.

As there is no culture of salmon and fly fishing here in Australia it has been very difficult to find any information on the subject. However with an assured feather supply and a copy of Veniards Fly Dressers' Guide a lot of luck and lots of trial and error and recently lots of reference to the WEB things slowly sorted themselves out. Over the years my fly fishing has been mainly for trout in the summer and a bit of deer hunting in the winter months. The last few years I've had an interest in Estuary species such as Bream, Perch and Flathead etc. Lately I have slowed down a little on both the fly fishing and the hunting, but the fly tying urge is as strong as ever. I am at present dressing and framing the Classics and supplying a couple of tackle shops with trout flies. Although the Classics are my main interest I'm a sucker for any nice looking fly. Steelhead patterns and Scandinavian types are, I feel special in their own right as are Hairwings. My email is bobfly@tadaust.org.au if anyone would like to contact me to swap ideas, info, etc, and as there are no organizations of any sort in this field here down under. I often feel like that lone voice lost in the wilderness. It would be great to chat with someone who has the same interests. A thank you to Steve for allowing me on here.

Bob Frandsen