Warren Duncan Tying a Rusty Rat While Reciting Poetry
Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 12:00AM The quality is not great but here is a classic video clip of Warren Duncan reciting the Cremation of Sam McGhee while tying a Rusty Rat.
If you've never heard of Warren Duncan, here is a snippet from a tribute Paul Schmookler wrote in the Art of Angling after Duncan passed away in 2007.
I knew at our first meeting that Dunc had a remarkable talent for either commercial fly dressing or stand-up comedy. He was quite at ease and adept at either. When he tied at the vice, reciting Robert Service poetry or telling hysterical jokes in rapid secession, with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, sipping four fingers of rye (neat) in one hand, and the bobbin moving simultaneously at light speed in the other, it reminded one more of an off-Broadway show than a fly-tying demonstration. Warren Duncan was the fastest and most orderly fly dresser I have ever seen in my life, and I would stake my reputation that he was probably the fastest fly tier that ever lived. Many years ago, I had the pleasure of being the judge at a speed fly tying match at the Miramichi Salmon Museum in Doaktown, New Brunswick, involving some of the best hair-wing fly dressers on the east coast, that is, those who dared to enter the competition. The fly was a Rusty Rat. Needless to say, Duncan won by an extraordinary time of 1 minute 13 seconds … and the fly was perfection: I know, because as judge I appropriated the fly. Yes, the tiers were allowed to pre-prep.
LINK (Via: The Art of Angling)
Reader Comments (1)
Growing up and learning Fly Tying in the 80's in NB Warren was my un-official mentor he is an Icon and greatly missed thanks for sharing.