THE ART OF FLY TYING NEW JERSEY-BASED FISHERMAN ALSO BORDERLINE ARTIST NOW.Byline: BILL BECHER Outdoors ``You have to be prepared to move things on a molecular level,'' is one of those catch phrases that Bill Logan, a New Jersey-based artist and fly tier, likes to quote. Those words also might describe how Logan ties his tiny, ultra-realistic insect imitations. You need to examine Logan's creations with a magnifying glass magnifying glass: see microscope. magnifying glass traditional detective equipment; from its use by Sherlock Holmes. [Br. Lit.: Payton, 473] See : Sleuthing to appreciate the minute detail he reproduces with bits of fur and feathers. His flies transcend the line between fly tying Fly tying is the process of producing an artificial fly to be used by anglers to catch fish via means of fly fishing. Probably the most concise description of fly tying is the one by Helen Shaw, a preeminent professional fly tier in Fly-Tying. and fine art. Logan visited the West Coast recently to speak, tie flies and show slides to local fly-fishing clubs, including the Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by Flyfishers and the Pasadena Casting Club. He talked about his theories of fly tying to catch fish, reminding anglers to check how their flies look and float in the water, as that's how fish see them. ``Bill Logan's an amazing guy,'' said Seymour Singer, a member of the Pasadena club. ``The ideas he put forth were pretty revolutionary. If he decided to push himself in that direction, Logan could be a landmark figure in fly tying.'' Logan is talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to Umqua, a major supplier of fishing flies, about producing some of his patterns for sale to fly fishermen. He's in the process of refining and simplifying some of the flies he tied for the club demonstrations so they can be mass-produced. But it's the fantastically detailed flies that stand Logan apart from others in the fly-tying fraternity. Although some tiers of collectible flies can get $500 for a single salmon fly, Logan's works can be commissioned starting at $4,000. That's enough to buy about 2,000 elk hair caddis flies at your local fly shop. Logan's answer to why he spends 150 hours tying an artificial bug that will never see a trout stream is a bit Zen like, having more to do with the journey than the destination. ``I'm trying to see how far you can push tying as a method,'' says Logan. ``If you look at glassblowing or blacksmithing, it all started as a practical method to make something like a horseshoe or a drinking vessel. But sooner or later someone comes along and says this is a cool way to make something and you remove the practical purpose. I can tie a fly to catch a fish. Or I can spend all my hopes and frustrations in creating a fly for the pure whimsy whim·sy also whim·sey n. pl. whim·sies also whim·seys 1. An odd or fanciful idea; a whim. 2. A quaint or fanciful quality: stories full of whimsy. and feeling of success when it's completed. I'm driven to do it.'' Logan said he used to keep his flies for fishing separate from his flies for art, but there's starting to be a crossover as he strives to tie flies that are practical to tie for fishing and still be better imitations of the real bug. He uses a two-projector system in his talks to show his audiences the real insect and his imitations side by side and the evolution of his designs as he seeks a better bug to fool fish. Logan, 42, grew up in Colorado where his father was an outdoor columnist for the Rocky Mountain News The Rocky Mountain News is a daily morning tabloid-format newspaper published in Denver, Colorado. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. (Despite Scripps still running the paper, it's the only newspaper in the Scripps family not to have the corporate lighthouse logo on . At the age of 5, Logan pleaded with his father to be allowed to tie a fly. His father gave him one hook and told him to see what he could do with it. Using thread borrowed from his mother's sewing basket, Logan tied his first, admittedly crude fly. Fishing western water such as the Madison River in Montana, Logan refined his tying techniques for fishing flies. He received a degree in fine arts from the Parson School of Fine Arts Puerto Rico's School of Fine Arts is a college-level institution of higher learning, located in Old San Juan which offers studies in graphic arts and other humane studies. Dr. and toiled in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. for 10 years as an illustrator and in production for Life magazine. Deciding to become a full time artist, Logan moved to the Midwest to get a masters degree in fine arts at Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University, main campus at Carbondale; state supported; coeducational; est. 1869, opened 1874 as a normal school, renamed 1947. It has a center for archaeological investigation and a fisheries research laboratory. There is also a campus at Edwardsville. . With no nearby trout fishing water, fly tying was a way for Logan to stay connected to his boyhood love of trout fishing. In 1993 Logan's ultra-realistic Isonychia nymph nymph, in Greek mythology nymph (nĭmf), in Greek mythology, female divinity associated with various natural objects. It is uncertain whether they were immortal or merely long-lived. There was an infinite variety of nymphs. won a fly-tying contest run by Norwegian hook maker Mustad. His flies have been on display in art galleries from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to Palm Springs and seem to be getting more attention than Logan's bronze sculptures. A New York Times article in 1998 about Logan's work brought him international attention and resulted in an interview on National Public Radio and fly-tying articles for magazines as far away as England and Japan. Logan has two books in the works, one is an illustrated collection of his father's newspaper columns, the other is a book on fly tying. At lunch, there's a glint in Logan's eyes as the conversation turns to a restaurant in Santa Monica that serves dishes made with insects. That's probably why his wife came up with his Internet handle: ``BugsLogan.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2 -- color) No, this is not a live insect. The golden stonefly stonefly, any insect of the order Plecoptera. North American species, of which there are more than 200, are yellowish, greenish, or brownish in the adult stage and have transparent wings, usually two pairs, but seldom fly. nymph fly, left, tied by Bill Logan is considered art. At right, Logan applies cement to a fishing fly. (3 -- color) Isonychia nymph fly, tied by Bill Logan, can be commissioned by a buyer for $4,000. Bill Becher/Daily News |
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