Fly Fisherman Ties 200th Custom Fly, Has Never Caught Anything on a Custom Fly

Fly tying enthusiast and occasional fisherman Gerald Hackle has completed his 200th hand-tied fly pattern, extending a personal streak in which not a single custom-tied fly has produced a fish, a fact he attributes to 'conditions' rather than the flies themselves. Hackle, 49, maintains an immaculate collection of flies organized by pattern type, season, and what he calls 'theoretical effectiveness' — a rating system based entirely on how the fly looks in a display case rather than any field result. 'The Devastator is a size 14 parachute Adams variant with a CDC wing and a dubbed thorax of Australian opossum fur,' Hackle said, holding up a fly that, by any objective measure, is exquisite. 'I've fished it 30 times and never had a strike. But look at it. It's perfect. The fish are wrong.' His collection also includes 'Old Reliable,' a wooly bugger variant that has never been relied upon; 'The Closer,' a streamer that has closed nothing; and a dry fly called 'Sure Thing' that is the opposite of a sure thing. 'He spends four hours tying a fly and ten minutes fishing it before switching to a store-bought elk hair caddis that catches fish immediately,' said Hackle's fishing partner, Donna Leader. 'He then goes home and ties another fly. The cycle has not broken in nine years.' Hackle disputes the characterization. 'My flies are presentation-dependent,' he said. 'They require specific water temperatures, hatch timing, and casting angles that rarely align. The Woolly Bugger from Cabela's works because it's a blunt instrument. My flies are precision tools awaiting the right conditions.' When those conditions might arrive, Hackle could not say. He has, however, begun tying fly number 201, which he has named 'This Time for Sure.' 'I have a good feeling about this one,' he said, as he has said 200 times before.