Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 15, 1990 TAG: 9007150016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Avid collectors buy and trade the flies, which are made from feathers, fur and other materials to resemble fish-tempting insects.
At this year's High Rollers auction in Marlborough, Mass., a collector paid $6,000 for 24 flies made in 1941 by James Leisenring, an American who developed fly-fishing techniques. A single salmon fly tied by the British fly-fishing author T.E. Pryce-Tannatt sold for $500.
These rare flies are sold mounted in sealed cases and with authenticating documents.
Fly collecting has grown in popularity in the past five years, says Ted Knott, a collector in Ancaster, Ont.
A retired education consultant, Knott, 54, was on a six-man team representing Canada at the World Fly-Fishing Championship in Finland last year.
Knott said more than 250 enthusiasts attended the High Rollers auction in February. They shopped for high-priced fishing memorabilia that featured flies, first edition books on fly-tying and signed posters of flies.
The auction is held annually for the big spenders by American promoter Richard Oliver.
Fly collecting is an offshoot of the collectors' market in old fishing reels, rods and lures. Auctions can resemble a feeding frenzy. One metal minnow sold for $20,350 at an Oliver auction in 1988.
Knott shows a visitor a mounted fly called a black ranger valued at $75 that follows a pre-1940 salmon-fly pattern. The size of a thumb, the fly was made from 16 different feathers, including golden pheasant, scarlet ibis, guinea hen and rooster.
Knott said he expects prices for flies to continue rising.
Well-known tiers - such as Lefty Creh of Maryland, the husband-and-wife team of Bonnie and Rene Harrop of Idaho and George Grant of Montana - specialize in certain types of techniques and old patterns. These tiers sell framed sets to what Knott calls "the coffee-table crowd."
In this esoteric world, collectors value the faithfulness of the tier to certain techniques and the materials they use.
by CNB