The Ethical Fly Tyer: Where do our fly tying materials come from?

My fly tying material archives are teeming with colourful and exotic fly tying materials. They have been accumulated throughout the years and have been systematized with great care. A lot of the materials are synthetic, but quite a few of them are natural. This, for instance, is the case with the many hackle capes and the marabou and CDC feathers. It is also the case with a lot of the dubbing materials that I use so frequently, as well as all the pieces of skin that I cherish – skins that stem from animals like polar fox, elk, moose, goat, mink, opossum, racoon, kangaroo, and hares. In an old archive, where a large collection of classic salmon fly tying materials are stowed away, golden pheasant-, kingfisher-, and guinea fowl skins are stored. This archive also contains feathers from parrots, Amherst pheasants, macaw, wood duck, ostrich, Eurasian Jay, turkey, and jungle cock – just to name those that come to my mind first.

By RASMUS OVESEN

Two similar flies? Well one is tied exclusively with synthetic fly tying materials while the other is tied with naturals.

AS A KID it was fascinating to go explore the fly tying shops and squander away all my pocket money. With their textures, glows, colours and unlimited applications, the fly tying materials constituted a creative treasure trove - with a small attached hope that the resulting flies would later induce some heady strikes.

The materials were picked frantically from the display walls and brought back home – and I never differentiated between synthetic and natural materials. It was just fly tying, and all my efforts at the fly tying desk never gave rise to any speculations other than those evolving around compositions, proportions, and choice of colours.

IN MY CASE, the first ethical landslide in terms of tying flies happened when a Greenpeace campaign made me aware that some Greenland hunters apparently hunted and killed extremely stressed and frightened seals with clubs – and in some instances skinned them alive. Suddenly, I couldn’t tie salmon flies involving a body section of seal dubbing, without thinking about how that dubbing had ended up in my local fly tying shop. Had it involved doubtful slaughtering and skinning methods, and were the seals really threatened like Greenpeace seemed to be suggesting?

If there’s one thing life has taught me, it is to be sceptical of all radicalized representations of the truth - if it even makes sense talking about such a thing in finite terms. But even though I couldn’t know for sure, where my own fly tying materials were stemming from - and whether or not Greenpeace’s claims were trustworthy - I was no longer capable of buying natural fly tying materials without speculating on how they had been made, and whether or not the production of them could be legitimized in light of their intended use. Were my flies really so important, that unnecessary blood had to be spilt?

AS THE YEARS PASSED, more and more of my fly tying materials drew attention to themselves – either because the animals they stemmed from were threatened or because rumours suggested they were being hunted and killed inhumanely. This, for instance, was the case with my polar bear skin, my (certified) jungle cock, and not least my pieces of dried up eel skin flanks: all of them stemming from endangered species. It was also the case with the polar fox tails that I was using so frequently. They came from animals that quite often are caught using horrific scissor traps – traps that cause the animals unnecessary stress and suffering before being killed. Also, I couldn’t ignore all the many classical fly tying materials I had accumulated. They mainly consisted of exotic bird skins from the very heart of the rainforest, and I could hardly bare the thought of how they had ended up in my archives.

Generally, it became painfully obvious that there was a lot, I didn’t know about my fly tying materials. It worried my – and it continues to do so. For instance, I still don’t know whether or not some animals are being hunted solely for the purpose of producing fly tying materials, and if the hunting methods are questionable.

I have no idea whether the production of genetically engineered hackles is ethically sound. And I have no real clue as to whether or not the use of certain classic fly tying materials creates an artificial demand for threatened species of birds in the tropics…

FLY FISHERMEN AND FLY TYERS are typically deeply engaged individuals with an acute appreciation of the subtle beauty that exist in Nature and in its overwhelming diversity. Moreover, most of us are environmentally conscious to the point where we get involved in conservational causes, stock enhancement efforts - and not least animal welfare. However, when it comes to fly tying materials, it is difficult to know when to react and act.

I have started to use more and more synthetic materials, and when I do buy natural materials, I make sure that I am 100% certain that they come from non-threatened animals that have been killed and handled soundly. (In this regard it helps having friends that are avid hunters). Moreover, I have started to ask the retailers and the producers of the fly tying materials some critical answers – not just to become a bit wiser myself, but also to let the market players know that they have responsibilities in terms of animal welfare and conservation. Whether or not you should do the same isn’t for me to assess. But under all circumstances, it is healthy to be a little critical and sceptical in terms of things that aren’t characterized by complete transparency. So keep this in mind the next time you sit down at your fly tying desk or pop your head in at your local fly tying shop. Awareness starts with curiosity!

USE SYNTHETIC ALTERNATIVES.

There are lots of fly tying materials that make sense avoiding. For instance, there are so many different synthetic dubbing materials on the market nowadays, that it hardly makes any sense buying natural ones. As an example, SLF Dubbing is the perfect seal substitute, and it also doubles nicely as hare’s ear dubbing. The same thing goes for a lot of wing materials. Polar Aire and Poly Bear are just two examples that perfectly imitate the long, glossy fibres of a real polar bear. In much the same way, polar fox wings can easily be substituted with synthetic Polar Fibres without diminishing the effectiveness of the resulting flies.

Generally, there are lots of synthetic alternatives to existing natural materials, and they are easy to get a hold of and fairly inexpensive. Even synthetic jungle cock feathers of great quality can be had nowadays – for instance the ProSportfisher Pro Jungle Cock HD. It is a photo-realistic feather printed on small plastic sheets, and besides being more durable than the natural feathers, they are also cheaper.

BE CAREFUL WITH…

Especially as a salmon fly tyer, you’re dealing with a lot of exotic materials that stem from endangered or threatened animals – especially birds. Cites, which is an organisation based on an international treaty from 1973 for the protection of critically endangered species, works to stop illegal trade with animals, furs, skins, and the likes. They certify quite a few salmon fly tying materials, meaning that – when you buy, for instance, a Cites approved cape - you can be absolutely sure that the materials are sustainable. This is the case with birds such as; jungle cock, Indian crow, Guinea Vulturine, Satyr Tragopan, Argus, and Palawan – just to mention a few. On the official Cites Organisation website, you can find the full list over threatened or endangered animals.