Eldredge

Fly tying is a rewarding aspect of fly fishing. Catching fish on a fly one has tied themselves adds to the satisfaction of fly fishing. This class is designed to take a student with limited or no tying experience and teach them how to tie effective patterns on their own. You will learn about the tools required to tie flies and the selection and preparation of materials. You will be taught all of the proper techniques to turn a bare hook into a finished fly. From there, the class will go on to tie a few proven patterns for fishing in freshwater. The basic techniques learned in this class will be applicable to all types of fly patterns, fresh or salt. This is a 4 day class.

First Class Taught by Mark Drummond - Capt & Registered Maine Guide

Dates: January 7^th, 14^th, 21^st, 28^th, 2012  First Class is Full

Second Class Taught by Todd Nutt - Proffesional Fly Tyer

Dates: February 18^th, 25^th, March 3^rd, 10^th

Time: 9:00AM till 11:00AM   -   Cost: $30.00/student
Seats can be reserved w/ advance payment.
Class size limited to 13 students.
Open seats available on a first come/first serve basis.
Contact Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop for more info.

This will be our 13th winter of Fly Tying Jamborees.  Due to the great interest in our classes advanced registration is required to insure a spot.

Students will be taught to tie patterns that have been proven to be successful and demonstrate different techniques in fly tying enabling the student to tie other flies of that type on their own. Eldredge Bros. will provide all of the tying materials for these classes. Students only need to bring their thread, vise, tools, and cement. If you need a vise or tools, we will supply you with them. If you've been thinking about upgrading your vise, this class offers you a chance to tie with any vise we have on display so that you can find one that fits your tying needs best.

We've added some new features to our 2012 winter's tying classes.

One addition to this winters schedule will be a full day class taught by author Dick Brown on tying bonefish flies. Dick has stalked bonefish, permit, tarpon, snook, and other tropical saltwater species for over 30 years and he's fished extensively for bones in the Bahamas, Caribbean, Pacific, South America, and Florida Keys. He is one the foremost authorities on bonefish and author of the newly revised books, Fly Fishing for Bonefish and Bonefish Fly Patterns which are considered by many to be the bibles on this great game fish. Dick will be teaching students to tie today’s best new patterns like the Bully, Bonecrusher, Ghost, Meko Special, Pillow Talk, Reverend Laing, Lap Dancer, Big Ugly, Bastard Crab, and Strip Tease. This class will also include a power point presentation that will show today’s latest trends in bonefish fly design and describe newly discovered prey forms that bonefish are eating such as toadfish, ghost shrimp, and baitfish plus the patterns to imitate them. He will also show new tying techniques like glow-through loop-dubbed bodies, trailing leg designs, flats-agnostic coloring and how to incorporate hot  new bonefish triggers used by today’s best flats tiers to make flies more productive. Dick will also sign books and answer questions on bonefish flies and flats angling. Cost of this full day class will be $85.00 / per student.

We are delighted to be adding two new instructors to our list of Jamboree tyers. They are Maine Guide Kevin McKay and production tyer Todd Nutt. Kevin runs Fishstalker Guide Service and www.maineflyfish.com chat room. He will be teaching a class to tye flies that he uses with great success when he is guiding for trout and smallmouth bass on Maine waters. Todd has lived most of his life north of Bangor where he has tied flies and fly fished for the past 28 years. He has chased trout with flies in still waters from Baxter to the Forks to northern Maine. Two years ago he started tying production flies. Todd will be teaching a class how to tye flies that imitate 3 stages of a hex’s lifecycle. These are flies that Todd has constantly tweaked over the years and patterns that he and others have proven to be deadly before, during, and after this notorious hatch is coming off.

Cost of these classes is $10.00 per person and all skill levels are invited. Seats can be reserved with full payment in advance. Open seats will be available on first come, first serve basis on the day of the class. Our classes have a history of filling to capacity rapidly so if you are interested in signing up we reccomend that you do so by calling or emailing the shop at your earliest convienence. We do keep a waiting list for all full classes in case of cancellations at which time everyone on the waiting list will be contacted until the empty seat is filled.

Jamborees Every Saturday, 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Cost: $10.00 / student

Seats can be reserved w/ advance payment.
Class size limited to 13 students.
Open seats available on a first come/first serve basis.
Contact Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop for more info.

January 7^th:   Tom Gagnon  -  Unconventional Nymphs

January 14^th:   Tom Gagnon  -  Stonefly Life Cycle Flies

January 21^st:   Tom Cormier  -  Flies for Fussy Stripers

January 28^th:   Jeff Faulkner -  Pike and Bass Flies

February 4^th:   Peter Smith  -  Big Flies with Zappa related names for Big Fish

February 11^th:   Dick Brown -  Bonefish Flies - Full Day Class  -  $85.00 per student

February 18^th:   Todd Nutt  -  Hex Life Cycle Flies

February 25^th:   Jeff Faulkner  -  Striper Flies

March 3^rd:   Kevin McKay  -  Trout and Smallmouth Bass Guide Flies

March 10^th:   Travis Johnson  -  Early Season Trout & Salmon Flies with a Twist

March 17^th:   Capt. Dave Beattie  -  Tying Trout Flies with CDC

March 24^th:   Joe Calcavechiaa  -  Striper Flies

This is a relaxed, informal get together for fly tyers looking to hang out, tie some flies and have some laughs. Everyone brings something different to the table; Young Tom may be tying production flies or filling up a new box for Montana, or Old Tom and Carl may be coming up with cool new patterns that could be for faraway places like B.C., Patagonia, Slovenia, or for smallmouth up on the Penobscot.  Jim might be there tying flies for tarpon, stripers, steelhead, trout, or bass while others are tying a wide variety of flies.  While this may not be an instructional class, we often come away from the evening with a few new tricks or new patterns. Everyone is welcome to test drive any of our display vises. All skill levels welcome.

No charge - All skill levels welcome - Tyers must bring their own tools & material - BYOB

The 2011 Tiers Guild will run every Friday from January 7th till March 25th
5 PM until everyone leaves

Our rod building seminars are taught by Mark Drummond and Jim Bernstein.  They have a combined experience of over 50 years of rod building and have been instructing at our shop for the past 12 years. In that time, Mark and Jim have taught over 80 people to build rods. At one time, Mark built rods for Joe Sterling's fly shop in Danforth, Maine. During this seminar students will learn all of the proper techniques for building a custom rod. Some of the techniques taught will be: selecting the right blank and components, splining blanks, attaching tip-tops, thread wrapping, cork drilling and gluing, filing guide feet, signing rods, applying finish, and attaching reel seats.  Cork grips will be made by gluing multiple cork rings together and then shaping on a lathe so that it comfortably fits your hand. Past students have expressed that this was the most satisfying part of building a custom fly rod.

$50.00/person (if blank & components are purchased at Eldredge Bros.Flyshop)
$200.00/person (if you supply your own materials)
Class size is limited to 4 students to allow for plenty of individual instruction.
Advanced sign-up is required.

1^st Rod Building Class

January 15^th, 22^nd, 29^th

Time: 9:00am till 4:00pm

Instructor: Mark Drummond

2^nd Rod Building Class

February 12^th, 19^th, 26^th

Time: 9:00am till 4:00pm

Instructor: Jim Bernstein 

Most fly fishermen never take a casting lesson when in reality we could better our casting greatly with just one lesson. If you are just learning to fly fish, a casting lesson will get you started on the right track before you've accumulated years of bad habits. One lesson can also save years of frustration and bad casting. If you've been fly casting for a long time but you just can't seem to increase your casting distance or you constantly get knots (wind knots are not caused by the wind) in your leader or maybe your fly always hits the water behind you, a one hour lesson could work wonders for your casting and fishing. You will not just learn how to cast, you will be shown the mechanics of fly casting and how and why it works. Our goal is to have you come away from your lesson with an improved casting stroke and the ability to diagnose mistakes that may arise in the future and correct them using the knowledge gained from that lesson.

Cost: $50.00 per hour
By Appointment

With the popularity of spey casting on the rise we have decided to add a spey casting class to our list of seminars. Topher Browne has graciously agreed to teach this full day class for us. Topher is a FFF Master Certified Casting Instructor and is one of three casting experts featured in the instructional DVD, Spey to Z. He has fished for Atlantic salmon in all of the Canadian provinces where they are found as well as Iceland, Norway, and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. He writes for the Atlantic Salmon Journal and the Art of Angling Journal. Topher is considered to be the most knowledgeable and talented spey casting instructor in the Northeast and we are excited to be able to offer classes taught by him.

Class Size Limited to 6 Students
Instructor: Topher Browne
Cost: $150.00 - includes lunch and beverage.

Dates for 2012:

April 14^th,   8:30am till 4:30pm

April 15^th,  9:30am till 5:30pm

April 21^st,  8:00am till 4:00pm

May 12^th,  7:30am till 3:00pm

This is one of the best saltwater fly fishing schools on the east coast. Whether you are a beginner or an old salty pro, you are sure not to walk away from this class without increasing your knowledge of saltwater fly fishing.

Lou Tabory is the author of Inshore Flyfishing, Guide to Saltwater Baits & Imitations, and Stripers On The Fly. He is second to none when it comes to chasing striped bass along the coast.  During this class he will offer all of his knowledge to you.

DAY ONE: Lou is not only an expert fisherman, he is also a professional photographer. This will be evident during his slide presentations in which he will show you how to read the water, identify bait, present your fly, fight, land and release fish. Another aspect of fly fishing in saltwater that Lou will teach is knots. He will show students how to tie the essential knots needed to fish for striped bass. If you are just after a few schoolies or trying to break an I.G.F.A. record, Lou will show you the knots and leader configurations you will need. Several times during the day students will adjourn to our casting area where Lou will instruct you on the techniques of fly casting, of which he is a master.

DAY TWO: The second day of this seminar will be spent on the water with Lou putting the previous day's theories to practice.

Dates: June 16^th & 17^th

Class Size Limited to 10 Students
Cost: $300.00/student*
Day One: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Day Two: Early am until noonish
Instructor: Lou Tabory
Assistant Instructors: Jim Bernstein, Jeff Faulkner
*Includes coffee, danish & lunch for both days