William Lovelace - Favorite Flies

Bill Lovelace, one of the major supporters of Salmonfly.Net,  has surpassed the number of flies submitted by any contributor. With this issue, he has now contributed over 120 flies! I asked him before the last issue to submit some flies for Pink Salmon, knowing that the Pinks were running this year and thinking about doing an article on Pink Salmon fishing. He accommodated with this series of flies. We never got them in in time for the issue's publication, so rather than hold onto them for another two years and the next Pink run, they are included here in the "favorite flies" issue.

About the Pink fly submissions, Bill wrote:

Here are the flies that I tied for your article on Pink Salmon. Use them however you would like-this year or next. The Clouser, Blonde, Comet and Spey show how a fly pattern especially one that has become a style of tying can readily be changed by a tyer to target specific fish.

About the Favorite Flies Issue Bill wrote,

Favorite flies probably come from our experiences on the water as well as from other tyers. Hands down if I had only one fly it would have to be a Green Butt Skunk. A strong favorite started by fond memories of first casting a steelhead fly on the North Umpqua that was doubly reinforced by the pleasure of talking fishing a few times with Dan Callaghan at Steamboat. For the rest of my life I will treasure his fly and photography every time I look at my copy of the North Umpqua Foundation's fundraising print of wild steelhead in the Bend Creek pool of Steamboat Creek.

William Lovelace Green Butt Skunk Series

As far as a favorites issue I must say that many tyers have a few favorite styles as well as their own favorite flies. In my case for fishing I value simplicity. Thus my fly boxes are heavy with easy to tie and easy to vary styles that have proven themselves over time and many waters. Comets, Spades, Blondes, and Clousers are probably at the top of my list. In my opinion if you aren't losing flies you aren't really fishing. Easy to tie flies equate to easy to lose flies that allow you to push your fishing to the limits. Longer casts, difficult winds or lies, and rocks all take their toll on the flybox. Besides it is always fun to have a few extra flies to give away at streamside to fellow anglers. The variety of traditional flies are endless and a pleasure to tie just for the art of tying. Speys and Atlantics are flies that I need to take time to practice if for no other reason but to improve my skills at the vise and have a link to long gone fishers of waters in other times and places.

To see the flies in Bill's Spade,  Blonde, and Clouser series and other William Lovelace flies, visit

The Flies Of William Lovelace

"What Can I Say About These Blondes"

"A Day on Puget Sound, Sea-Run Cutthroat, and Salt Water Flies"