The Flies of Jed Khalid

When he joined this site as a contributor, Jed Khalid, from Carmel, Indiana, had been tying for about seven years but only recently discovered the art of tying the Classics. He calls himself a novice, but as you will see, he is uniquely talented. Jed has originated several beautiful patterns in the Classic style which could pass for the the time-honored patterns of the ages. Take a look at some examples of his flies and enjoy. This is what Jed says about himself:

I have been fly fishing for about eight years and tying flies for seven. My fascination with flies began soon after I attempted to cast my fist fly rod. Initially, I purchased a fly tying kit, and spent countless hours learning the basics of fly tying. Like many novice fly tiers, I discovered my fly tying kit lacked quality materials, equipment, etc' If I was going to produce anything of quality, I had to buy materials from a fly shop. After visiting a local fly shop, I began to gradually accumulate quality tools and materials. I of course found it very hard to restrain my spending habits, and like most of us, wanted everything. What I discovered was, I made several small purchases, as opposed to lump sum acquisitions. I was probably fooling my wife and myself too, into believing that I had only made minimal purchases. The only problem was, my containers for materials kept shrinking and I had to acquire larger storage boxes.

I'll never forget my first fly, a black Wooly Bugger. I was lucky that the tail was actually tied in at the bend of the hook. There was no aesthetic beauty to this fly. But would the fish have cared? I'm sure not. Even though most of us fly tiers slave at tying every fly to achieve perfection, I really wonder if the fish grocery shop like we do. And if they did, we probably wouldn't have any fish to fish for. However, that inherent nature in every fly fisherman for an effective good looking fly is what inspired my absolute awe and fascination with the classic salmon fly. These flies were like a good-looking woman dressed to kill. But what could be better than myself being able to dress them. I very quickly became obsessed. Now this rugged outdoor type of person had to explain to his wife his preoccupation with pretty little expensive feathers. As I became better at tying, my wife greatly appreciated my work. In fact, on several occasions she helped me mount them in shadow boxes, a few of which I was able to sell at a local fly shop. I did realize however, that tying these flies for sale gave me no pleasure and neither was the payback sufficient considering the time and effort I put into these flies. I sold the odd shadow box and gave others as gifts. Now I tie for the challenge they present and artistic creativity these flies enable a person to produce. I am often humbled my some of the tying greats such as Kelson and Trahern, but have developed a profound appreciation for several modern day tiers. Frequent source of inspiration are tiers like, Paul Rossman, Paul Schmookler, Ken Sawada, Bob Veverka and countless others. By far, I have found the most amazing, creative, and genuinely artistic fly tier to be, Paul Rossman. His flies are beautiful artistic compositions, and best of all they are his own unique creations. In an article in the Art of Angling Journal,  Paul makes reference to tying the standard patterns to,  copying old master paintings; you can become good at it, but they're just not your own.  I too, sincerely believe this, and therefore pursue the creative outlet of inventing my own patterns. No doubt, there are styles and techniques that I am influenced by. I owe many thanks to tiers such as Ronn Lucas and Wolfgang von Malotke who gave me guidance whenever I ran into problems. It is a genuine pleasure, to share this passion and art form. I strive to learn from other tiers to improve my tying, but most of all admire the efforts of fly tiers who are passionate and determined to preserve this unique art form.

Jed Khalid
jedk9@hotmail.com

The Flies