The Flies of Roberto Vañecek

Roberto Vañecek is the first South American fly tyer to become a contributor to Salmonfly.Net, joining a crew that now spans the globe. When I first viewed his flies, I was surprised to later find out he is relatively new at it. Roberto's talent at the bench belies his experience and can only be explained by his drive and eagerness to keep learning about the art, something that is quite evident from his bio submission. In his first fly submissions to the magazine, he presents step-by-step instructions for two of his original creations, The Witch and The Emerald Princess. I am sure that after seeing these flies, you will either want to tie them yourself, or learn something about tying technique by viewing them.  By the way, Roberto has constructed a nice little website where you can find out more about him and see more of his flies. You can find it here by clicking here on his name: Roberto Vañecek. Either way, you are in for a treat, but first read was Roberto has to say about himself.

I was born in Argentina in 1972 and currently live in Mar del Plata, a sea side city 400km south of the capital Buenos Aires. This area is considered one of the best areas for saltwater sea fishing in the country, while we also have several lagoons very rich in fishing. After several years working as a professional photographer, and due to the country economical crisis, I had to change my occupation, nowadays I am into metal mechanics (machining) working mainly with lathes and milling machines.

I started fly tying several years ago, and a little later started fly fishing. Since my local area doesn't have any of the traditional fly fishing species I had to develop my own skills with the local species. After sometime I found out that steelhead flies and some salmon flies are very nice for fishing here. A special motivation to fly fish is that fishing here is all about bait. Fly fishing is mostly  non-explored ground, just the opposite of our Patagonian rivers and lakes where it is all about fly-fishing. Learning to tie salmon/steelhead flies wasn't easy, or should I say it "isn't" easy, maybe because there are no instructors here who actually master these type of flies and also because of the difficulty getting the proper materials. All you can get around here is the required stuff for the most common trout flies. Even some of the most used materials for salmon and steelhead flies are entirely unknown here - materials like Blue-Eared Pheasant or Tragopan Pheasant, not to talk about good winging materials.

I always say I live in constant learning, and this applies to fly tying and salmon flies more than anything else. Everyday I find a new technique, a way to improve a floss body, or make a wing lay better. My main source of knowledge has been the internet for long time, and also some specialized forums where I did found awesome people who taught me basically all I know, from a simple blood knot to hook making and all what's in middle.

Now I try to pass this knowledge to other people like me, who like to improve themselves and would like to learn to tie these styles of flies, both for salmon/steelhead or for whatever species may come at hand.

My favorite flies are the Dees, I even make my own hooks for them. Then comes the Speys and the Intruders, while saving a very special spot in my heart for the Classic Salmon Hairwings. Full-dressed classics are in my to-do list for someday, but I wont try them any soon.  I'm afraid, it is almost impossible to get the needed materials down here.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The Witch

The Emerald Princess

Black Ghost

Other Flies

Black and Blue Variants