Fish Art

The Silver Popham tied at size 1/0. I took a couple of liberties on this one including tying in the teal higher up since I think it looks better. I used salvaged Indian Crow from some old flies and a vintage hook. #ziafly #classicsalmonflies

The Dude abides. I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. “The Dude” tied at size 8. #ziafly #riogrande #flyfishnm

The Dude abides. I don’t know about you but I take comfort in that. It’s good knowin’ he’s out there. The Dude. Takin’ ‘er easy for all us sinners. “The Dude” tied in size 8. #ziafly #riogrande #conejos #flyfishnm

“Walter man, put the piece away, they’re calling the cops.” “The Walter” tied at size 4. #ziafly #flyfishnm #riogrande

“Bunny’s Toe” with nail polish. Size 8 balanced leech. #ziafly #riogrande #flyfishnm

“I’m throwing rocks tonight” ~ Donny Theodore Hertzel. Introducing “The Donny” tied at size 14. #ziafly #riogrande #flyfishnm

Designed to be nasty and heavy, the Nihilist will seek out the predatory instincts of that huge brown that broke you off last year. Introducing “The Nihilist” tied in size 2. #ziafly #streamerjunkies #flyfishnm #riogrande

Couple of framed flies completed. The Jock Scott is sold, but the Black & Gold is still available. #ziafly #classicsalmonflies #nmtrue

The Dude. Tied in size 10. This fly is meant to catch fish in late June till mid July. You could be the person on the other end of the line if you book soon! ZiaFly.com

The John Ferguson tied at size 1/0 on a vintage hook. I probably should have preened the fly a bit before taking a photo, but I figure it’s got more character without sprucing it up. #ziafly #nmtrue #classicsalmonflies

The Harlequin tied in size 1 1/2. Not entirely happy with it, so into the fly box it goes! #ziafly #classicflytying

The Artful Dodger tied in size 1/0. This fly pattern appears in “Jones’ Guide to Norway” written by Frederic Tolfrey, published in 1848. #ziafly #classicflytying #nmtrue

Oddball of a fly. I followed a picture of an old fly and this was my interpretation. #ziafly

Elvis just looks better holding fish. Kang of the trout. #ziafly

The Black & Gold tied in hand. Size 4/0. #ziafly #fliestiedinhand

“We’re set to pop here, honey.”

Another great design by Craig Copper. #rustelbuccet

“Walter man, put the fish away, they’re calling the cops.” @rustelbuccet

The Jock Scott tied in size 4/0 on a vintage hook. First fly in over a month. I have no idea why I would try and tackle this beast without practice. Perhaps it is practice and I’ll have to tie another to correct my mistakes on this one. If you’re going to the Denver Fly Fishing Show this weekend I’ll see you there! Onward! #ziafly #seaholmautomatic #sightlineprovisions #classicsalmonflies @seaholmautomatic @sightlineprovisions

Seim family, Rockport branch. Starting small but slowly building. #ziafly

Before leaving taos to head up north to see my brother, I threw a bunch of tying materials in my bag. Here’s the fly I came up with. It’s my own unspecified pattern tied on a size 2 hook. #ziafly

Finding the big ones today! #ziafly

Framed set on its way to Midland, TX. The Baron, Excelsior, Glaslyn, and the Black & Gold look great together. #ziafly #classicsalmonflies #54deanstreet

The Black and Gold (O’Fee) tied in size 3/0. #ziafly #classicsalmonflies #sightlineprovisions

Fall fishing on the Rio Grande today with my VK Shop 13 reel. This fine reel mixes perfect balance and elegance with “Mad Max” style. @vksteelworks #ziafly #sageflyfish

ZiaFly Indian Crow substitute #ziafly

Marshall’s Green tied in size 3/0. I forgot to brush back the Jay throat. #ziafly

Marshall’s Black 4/0 Antique hook, shellac head #ziafly

Fast Popham. #ziafly

Dawson size 1.5. I am rusty to say the least! Tied on one of my own made hooks. Time for another retie. #ziafly

Let’s talk about Monic Fly Lines. #ziafly #monic

Great father/daughter moment with this beautiful brown. #ziafly

The kids found a bat in our tree.

Teamwork makes it happen! #ziafly

Cimarron river brown #ziafly #seaholmautomatic

Should hatch any day now. Hopefully the river will drop some before it happens! #ziafly #fishfood #conejos

Great to see my river family rocking the ZiaFly on big water days! #ziafly

Great to get out with the boys. Got to play my drums too! #ziafly @drew.donaghue

Starting a new fly here in Rockport, TX. Every fly must begin with a good foundation. I see our raw land as a good hook. I’m here to get some early stages started on our place, and to someday make it into something functional. Just like with this fly, everything will fall into place in stages. You gotta start somewhere. #ziafly #seaholmautomatic

Hitting the Conejos before the water comes up! Jim Hund with a bruiser. #ziafly

Boxes from the past. #ziafly

The Baron size 1.5 tied in hand (no vise or bobbin, just lengths of waxed silk) on a hook I made. #ziafly

Jerome, Arizona

The many faces of Ivo.

Fishing the salt with OP today. She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. Photo by KC Burns. #ziafly #flatsfishtexas

In a few days we will be in the warm saltwater environment, surrounded by jumping finger mullet. This rubber Lego mullet is the closest thing to finger mullet here at home.

Back at the vise. Here’s a Black and Gold variant from the Hardy book tied in size 2/0. #ziafly

The Dawson tied at size 1. #ziafly

I’ve guided these guys for 17 years. They’ve fished all over the world. I’m so happy to wind up my 20th year of guiding with a couple of days with great anglers.

Insane couple of days with these fine folks. It was their 50th wedding anniversary and I really wanted to deliver the biggest fish I could find. #ziafly

Lucky Chacho really knows how to start the day. Chewing on rednecks.

ZiaFly stickers 3 bucks each. 1 buck shipping. Venmo @ZiaFly1 pm your mailing address.

Mustache. Si or No?

I found this old cap gun in the Cimarron River today. #ziafly #seaholmautomatic

Fun with stickers #ziafly #jayboart

I bought this cuff from my good friend Edgar Diaz at the Fly fishing show in Denver about 8 or 9 years ago. It’s been worn during many adventures, fishing, hiking, births of kiddos, guiding, skiing, mechanical work and lots in between. It’s time to send it back to my friend for refurbishment. #ziafly #sightlineprovisions

This coin was given to me by a great friend. It’s special to me and I’ve kept it with me through several adventures. My son asked me if I would give it to him. “Of course I will.” I’m just not done carrying it yet. I’ve got many more rivers to cross and many more people to meet. Ivo told me “but I’ve got adventures too.” When the time is right, I’ll give him my coin. #ziafly #nopreynopay #legacy

Perfect day at the office. #ziafly #brookies

Rare fly tying material.

Great couple of days with Kirk Johnson and the fly that started it all. #ziafly #kirkwjohnson #thefeatherthief

High spring water fun on an incredibly windy day. We pulled it off! #ziafly

The “Hope” tied at size 2/0. I saw this one in the Hardy book listed under “unknown flies”, and the name was possibly called the Hope. I felt inspired to tie this one. #ziafly #classicflytying #flytying #hechoenamerica

More salmon fly posts and fish pics are coming. Now that I’ve got a round tuit.

Winner winner chicken dinner. #ziafly

Behold… The Charles Atlas. 😂 #ziafly

The Paddy tied in size 3/0. It’s an old Irish pattern. #ziafly #classicsalmonflies #flytying #hechoennuevomexico

Fishing takes your mind to some wonderful places. #ziafly

The Comet tied in size 1/0. I used a copper tinseled chenille that I found in an antique store. #ziafly #flytying #classicsalmonflytying

The General tied at size 6/0. The name most likely came from the braided metal tinsel from a general’s military coat that’s used in the body of this fly. #ziafly #classicflytying #flytying #hechoenamerica

Last night on the coast. Homeward bound. #ziafly

Ivo wanted a piece of specularite for Christmas. This has so many crazy colors!

Another batch of hook wire barbed and prepped for point filling and bending. Hook making season is upon us. #ziafly #classicsalmonflytying #hookmaking #hechoenamerica

Pile of vintage salmon flies. #ziafly #classicflytying #classicflyfishing

The Glaslyn tied in size 2. #flytying #ziafly #classicflytying

The Turkey Jackson tied at 4/0. #ziafly #flytying #classicflytying

The Shannon (Francis Francis, 1880) tied in size 6/0 on a beautiful hook made by Gene Sunday. #ziafly #flytying

Sclater’s No.1 (Irish Dressing) tied in size 4/0. #ziafly #flytying

Orange Jock Scott tied in size 2/0. #ziafly

Experimenting with a hot mess. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. #ziafly #flytying #blueheronhooks

Recently I acquired a nice lot of vintage salmon flies. Most of the hooks are absolutely gorgeous. About half the flies are worth saving as vintage examples while the others will be stripped to salvage and reuse the hooks. #ziafly

Her face says it all. #ziafly

Framing of the Baden-Powell flies is complete. #ziafly

The Baden Powell set is complete and ready to frame. Included are the 5 patterns that he had listed in Forest and Stream magazine in the early 1900’s. Baden-Powell claimed that these 5 patterns were the only flies that a salmon angler would need. The flies included are the Black List, the Red Marine, the Blue Jacket, the Quarantine and the Blue Marine. This has been an enjoyable set to tie and I look forward to seeing them together in one frame. If you are interested in purchasing the framed set, please feel free to send me a message for pricing. #ziafly #badenpowell

Time to tie up a fly. #ziafly #seaholmautomatic @seaholmautomatic

The Black List size 4/0 (Baden-Powell) Part of my Baden-Powell series frame. #ziafly

Broke my foot somehow. Wading the river on crutches is interesting! #ziafly

Teaching the kiddos how to wade is one of my favorite parts of the job. #ziafly

The Seim version of Iwo Jima at a Florida beach.

A couple days guiding guys with cool mustaches. #ziafly

The Red Marine (Baden-Powell) size 1/0 vintage hook. #ziafly

Normally when I’m at my desk, I’m tying flies or making hooks. Sometimes I string bracelets with cool beads. #ziafly

Old Blue (Francis) size 4/0 #ziafly #seaholmautomatic

Tying a fly at high noon. #seaholmautomatic #ziafly

Candlestick Maker 4/0 #ziafly

Framing complete. Sir Alexander’s no.1 #ziafly

Framing day. #ziafly