Tie2Throw: Special - Interview met Paul Miller

Tekst door Maarten Bruinenberg, fotografie Paul Miller

This month we have a very special edition of Tie2throw for you! I've always wanted to interview tiers who create beautiful flies with new materials and techniques. I had the pleasure to do an interview with master fly tier Paul Miller, famous for his beautiful Steelhead flies tied with Rhea feathers.

Hope you enjoy the interview and get to know a little bit more about Paul and his great flies.

Paul Miller.

Maarten: “Can you tell my a little about your self and when did you started flyfishing and tying?”

Paul: “I started tying flies when I was 14 years old. Fly fishing back then was not what it is today in the States. The streams in California were not crowded and I took to it like a duck to water. I fished all the famous rivers such as the Klamath, Trinity and Eel rivers for Steelhead and Hat creek, Fall river to mention a few for rainbow and brown trout.

I rarely attended school as it interfered with my fishing. Then it happened. Fly fishing exploded! I moved to Oregon after high school and began to fish the Rogue, Umqua, Wood and Williamson rivers. I really cut my teeth on these waters which gave me a balance of swing and dry fly fishing.

I learned to cast by putting in hours on the rivers and lakes but always tied my own flies as this was a very important concept to my fishing. I would like to mention that my father was a very fine fly tier and was schooled in the eastern wet flies such as the Royal Coachman etc. He was a perfectionist!”

Maarten: “You're famous for the Rhea fly's, but what's Rhea precisely?”

Paul: "For those that who are not familiar with the Rhea, it is a large flightless land bird from Argentina. It has a wide variety of feathers and the plumes are ideal for large spey flies. Their natural colors are grey, white/brown and black. We are talking about a material ideally suited for large fish."

Maarten: “How and when did you invent your P.M Predator style fly?"

Paul: “Ten years ago, I began to tie with Rhea hackles and made my summer through fall pilgrimage to the Steelhead rivers of British Columbia. The results were astounding!!! I ran into a local tier and I showed him the Rhea hackles. Our first attempts were on tubes but soon we built what are known as shank or stinger styled flies. His name was Wally Bolger and he passed away a few years later. What a loss.

The Predator, a Rhea fly I am known for, was built around September 11th, 2001. Wally Bolger and I tied numerous flies hoping to tie the ideal Steelhead fly. Almost ten years later, I think that we have accomplished that goal. This fly has produced fantastic results in hooking and landing Steelhead.”

Maarten: “What's your favorite Steelhead fly?”

Paul: “From this fly another generation was born. Flies such as the Super spey prawn and leech, the prowler and my favorite, the Phantom. This new generation of flies targets Steelhead, large lake run rainbows and sea run brown trout. Rhea hackled flies in many cases have landed the largest fish caught during a year on the world’s finest rivers.”

Maarten: “Do you use Rhea for other fish then Steelhead?”

Paul: “The swimming motion of the Rhea hackled flies produced fantastic results. Ten years later, these flies have caught Salmon and Steelhead in Canada, Russia the U.S and sea run brown trout from Europe to Argentina.

They catch large rainbows in Alaska and Kamchatka. It has caught saltwater species from Tarpon to striped bass. I have tied with Rhea almost every day for ten years and have just scratched the surface on its use.”

Maarten: “Who inspired your fly tying?”

Paul: “Over the years I have tied flies for all types of salt and fresh water species and have had great success. Better yet though, I have received e-mails from all over the world from fly tiers touting their creations using Rhea hackle. I cannot say I have not been influenced by any tier. I respect everyone’s work and I enjoy the thought process people take to invent new fly patterns.”

Maarten: “What is your most memorable catch/experience?”

Paul: “That’s easy! The most memorable fish I have hooked and landed are the Steelhead in the Dean river in British Columbia. Nothing compares! Many times I found myself tripping over rocks trying to chase a chrome missile down that river. May I fish it many more times!"

Maarten: “What can we expect from you in the future?”

Paul: “Let’s see. New things. Well I must say I am deeply excited about a new line of flies that will be available this fall. These new patterns use more of a neutral color base such as gray, olive, black and white. They are small patterns meant to target large brown and rainbow trout. They incorporate the use of hair mixed with Rhea hackle and have jungle cock eyes. In reality they are what I call 'spey streamers' and are tied stinger hook style on shanks. All my flies are available through the FlyShop.com and the contact man is Tim Fox.

Maarten: “Finally I would like to thank Paul for his time and for doing this interview with me! Hopefully Paul's flies will inspire you as much as they did to me! And hopefully it may take you, even if it's only once, to one of the beautiful Steelhead rivers in Canada B.C.!

I'll guarantee it will change your life forever!”

Thanks for reading!

Tie2throw...

Maarten Bruinenberg

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