FLYING IN THE FACE OF TRADITION : BLACKSTONE'S FLY-TYING EVOLVES INTO ARTWORK.

Byline: Brett Pauly Daily News Staff Writer

Bill Blackstone approaches his art as a witch would a brew.

A pinch of false fingernails. A splash of puff paint. A glob of epoxy. A dash of beetle shells. Toss in a silk flower leaf, a strip of plastic bacon wrapping and a slice of tourniquet.

Absolutely nothing in the mix would suggest materials for tying fishing flies, but from what traditionalists might deem an unimaginable selection spring some of the world's most realistic and infamous patterns.

These things are downright creepy. Those who don't know better might shudder at the site of a yellow jacket emerging from Blackstone's valise. Or the crane fly that appears as if it just landed. Or the katydid made from a silk ficus that looks like a bug trying to imitate a leaf.

``Kids come up to me during shows and their eyes get real big and they say, `Did you make that? Naw, naw, naw, that's a real bug, right?' And I say, `Yeah, it's real. I put a hook in it.' ''

Blackstone, honored by the Federation of Fly Fishers with the Buz Buszek Award - the supreme accolade for the art, turned the fly-tying community on its (hare's) ear years ago by straying from the accepted methods.

``I'm not sure the answer is `accepted,' '' blurted the 64-year-old Ojai resident with the veiny face resembling W.C. Fields, who Blackstone thought ``was the funniest man that ever drew breath.'' ``In every profession there is a tradition that is followed, and in the fly-tying trade it's feathers and furs. I mean, hare's ear has been around for ever and ever and ever. And here and there through history there have been people who have strayed from that path. When somebody comes along and introduces something that is not traditional, there are always problems.''

But Blackstone didn't care what others thought about his work. In fact, he didn't even care what the fish thought of his work when he created the body of a salmonfly nymph from a mold of manila folder filled with five-minute epoxy and covered it with neoprene tourniquet slices and mohair.

``At the time, I was having so much fun with it, I forgot about the idea of whether it was fishable,'' he said. ``I stayed outside of that parameter; that gave me a tremendous edge. It was probably one of the best things that happened to me.''

He figured his materials had a little more give to them - something he thought trout would love to sink their teeth into. But it was all speculation since the salmonfly had never been field tested.

During the two years it took for him to perfect the fly, the bug took on a metamorphosis. The underbody mold became flatter in the belly, rounder in the back. Turkey-breast feathers for legs. Pig hair for antennae. The long-shank, size No. 2 hook was bent to give it a more natural pose.

``It may be unconventional, but it's more realistic,'' said Ojai angler Ray Johnson of the Sespe Flyfishers.

Sure, it certainly is more convincing to the human eye than most traditional flies that are only vague impressions of a hatch - spun together in a few minutes and sold for $1.50 apiece. But could it fish? Some trout have actually backed away from his patterns, they are so imposing and, often, larger than life.

Turns out the salmonfly nymph fishes like crazy. ``On the Madison River in Montana and the Deschutes River in Oregon, it's a killer,'' Blackstone said. ``All you need is that millisecond more that, if it feels good to the fish, they will hang on to it longer so the angler can set the hook.''

The salmonfly is now his signature. Next was a pattern of an airborne adult. He even has a version of a nymph cracking out of its aquatic shell into the flying stage.

Funny thing is, Blackstone's flies don't hit the water much anymore. Instead, they are usually found mounted in frames on walls in admirers' homes. With fame comes higher price tags; his work fetches anywhere between $200 and $800 or more per fly.

He takes it all in stride. ``I'm in a group of people that I probably shouldn't be in. Yet it lets people know this guy can tie. You may not like what he does, but this guy can tie.''

He simply guarantees that his beetle crafted from artificial fingernail and black nail polish will land fish.

And he has a philanthropic take on the whole affair. Beside the patterns he keeps for himself - he's about the only one who can afford to fish with them - he gives his flies away to fishing and conservation clubs. They are auctioned off at fund-raising banquets.

It's a long way from his humble beginnings growing up in Ventura, where he learned to fly-fish on the banks of the Ventura and Santa Clara rivers. It was a time when runs of the steelhead were so plentiful that kids would use pitchforks to hunt the trout that became landlocked upstream. After his father died, he pestered a man from up the street to teach him the art - the art of tying a fly. Later, the craft helped him through college. He charged 30 cents for each pattern.

But he grew tired of the monotony.

``All people who tie a lot flies are mad, absolutely mad. Sitting doing anything by rote would drive you crazy,'' he said. ``When you have four dozen or eight dozen or eighty dozen flies to do, you need a little relief.''

To him, trying on the unorthodox for size was the best relief.

He's not one to be secretive about his techniques and scoffs at the folks who try to patent fly patterns. Over the years he has willingly shared his ideas and has watched as traditionalists have picked up on them. ``You see the stuff going into the pipeline.''

Yes, he's put his stamp on the trade. And no, Blackstone, a retired architect, won't be remembered for his work in concrete and steel. ``I certainly never made any edifices,'' he said. But there's no question he's a Frank Lloyd Wright among fly-tiers.

``I'm just into realism,'' he said with a shrug as he put away the last damselfly into his case.

Plying his skills

Bill Blackstone will be demonstrating his unusual fly-tying techniques today, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at Fred Hall's Western Fishing Tackle & Boat Show at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. His vice, threads and epoxy will be set up at the Federation of Fly Fishers' booth.

The tackle show, which has a fly-fishing bent this year, continues through Sunday. Hours are 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. today and Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $9 for adults; free for ages 11 and younger.

Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--color) Bill Blackstone keeps an eye on his creations - clockwise from bottom, a pine borer beetle, a salmon fly and a green Japanese beetle.

(2) Bill Blackstone has gone beyond common practices. At left is an example of a fly sold in stores. At right is a fly made by Blackstone.

(3) Blackstone

Michael Owen Baker / Daily News

Box: PLYING HIS SKILLS (see text)