Representatives of the Berks Fly Tyers were on hand at the Berks County Heritage Center in the beautiful area adjacent to the covered bridge on Saturday, June 20.
The surroundings were a fitting backdrop for long-time member of the club, Jack Tucker of Mohnton, to confirm that one reason that the club exists is to “preserve tradition.”
Club President, Bill Quigg, Shillington, has been involved with the group for about seven years. He said that the members gather to share a lot of different techniques in tying flies. Quigg shared the little-known fact that the first documentation about fly tying was in 496 A.D. in Macedonia when a visitor from Rome learned of the Macedonia Red tie.
The Fly Tyers want to keep the art of fly tying in “front of the public”, stated Tucker. To that end, the club does free presentations and classes to a multitude of audiences including 4H Clubs, Cub and Boy Scout Troops, and church organizations, while also offering a 6-week fly tying course.
Both Tucker and Quigg confirm that fly tying, as well as fly fishing, are activities that can be enjoyed by both young and old, and as Tucker described, there is “more action in fly fishing” than just watching a bobber. Tucker began fly fishing when he was eight years old and Quigg learned his love of the sport when his grandmother took him on weekly trips to fish in the Little Lehigh when he was young. Quigg spoke proudly of how he saved the flies he used with his grandmother and the last fishing license he enjoyed with her from 1973.
Tucker stated that children “generally speaking, do a better job at tying flies”, making both fly tying and fly fishing good choices for family activities. Father and son team, John and Kevin Gemmell of Wernersville, practiced casting a fly rod near the other club members. Also 25-year veteran of the Berks Fly Tyers, Richard Schappell of Hamburg, gave advice and guidance as John Gemmell learned the art of casting.
Schappell stated that the father and son activity was appropriate for Father’s Day weekend, and John Gemmell discussed his relationship with his son. “We do things together”, he said of the bond with his son, a ninth grader at Conrad Weiser.
The Berks Fly Tyers meet on the first and third Thursdays of every month at the Berks Agricultural Center, 1238 County Welfare Road, Leesport, from 7 to 9 p.m. Meetings are mainly instructional sessions on fly tying and membership is 15.00 per year with no equipment necessary. For more information, call Club President Bill Quigg at 610-750-1097. Upcoming for the club is a partnership with Cabela’s for fly fishing and fly casting introductory courses, with fly tying demonstrations by the Fly Tyers on Saturday, Sept. 19 at the Red Bridge Recreation Center. Contact 610-374-2944 for more information.