"EMBRACE THE CRAZY" WE SPEAK TO GORDON VAN DER SPUY SAVS My parents realised that I wasn't a standard-issue child. Luckily they embraced the crazy so it all worked out in the end. I first met Gordon a few years back on an evening that, as far as this magazine is concerned, was fairly significant. With a few beers in hand I popped by Terry Andrews at his ‘Trout Talk Global Headquarters’ to collect some hardwoods that he’d tracked down for me. I burst through the door and into the middle of one of Gordon’s fly tying classes just as he was instructing his class to draw a mayfly nymph. I mumbled an apology and opened a beer as an excuse to stay and watch the man who was holding court wearing a pair of bright surfer's baggies, a shirt with a pattern seemingly designed to flush out latent epileptics and hair as wild as his hand gestures. I was introduced to him, Andrew Mather (who blinded me by not removing his weapons grade headlamp before looking up), and Ian Cox (who was in the corner tying a red eye damsel and not as much participating in the event as being present at it).
with him to chat about it. FFM: Where did the idea of a book come from? GVDS: I've had the idea for a book for a while. There's nothing new in it per se but I do approach the subject from a fresh angle. Form follows function. You should be focussing on what you need the fly to do when you're fishing it and then tie it to do that. Too many people tie by numbers as it were. It's limiting. I just feel life is short. If you're going to do something give it horns. Really go for it. If you fail you fail, so what? FFM: Tell me about how you selected patterns. Are they things that float your boat currently or are they patterns that incorporate techniques that you think every fly tyer should master first? Where does one even start?
Gordon’s approach in having his students identify and draw naturals before tying them impressed me and has stayed with me. Over the last few years our paths have periodically converged and my respect for him, what he does and how he does it continues to grow.
GVDS: The patterns were flies that appealed to me. They're all patterns that I have a personal story with. The idea has always been the ideas or concepts behind the patterns as opposed to just the patterns themselves. The patterns are merely a vehicle for the message.
He’s a difficult guy to sum up; as enigmatic as he is charismatic. With his first book on fly tying nearing completion we touched base
This isn’t a standard step-by-step book. It’s more about my philosophy surrounding how I go about tying flies.
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