Mud Dog Saltwater Flies is a small, home based business I operate around my "real" day job and my "Dad" duties. The idea to start this business came to me one day while walking with my dog, Jack, along the bank of a local river. I had fished the river earlier that day and had been into a pack of breaking schoolie stripers and watched in dismay as my fly exploded and disintegrated as fish hit it. T
wo more of the same pattern recently purchase from a large retailer did the same thing. Sitting on the bank of the river that day I decided that I would start tying my own flies and tie them so that they would not only catch fish, but also endure repeated hook ups. Recalling similar tales from friends and other anglers of flies that just didn't hold up, I reckoned there might be a place in the tackle industry for a small company that produced a quality fly for a reasonable price that would last longer than one day of fishing. Looking up out of deep thought, I saw Jack standing in front of me covered with mud and the name of the business was created. That being said, the flies on the menu board are tied to catch fish. They are not tied to win awards, for magazine articles or to be picked up by offshore mass production companies. And truthfully, they are not tied to "catch the fisherman", although business might be improved if they were. My flies are tied guide style, relatively simple but built to catch and to last. I have fished almost every pattern myself for the intended target(s) and I will not sell a fly that hasn't been proven before it goes on the menu. I have no illusions about where my flies stand in the fly market...we are the Kraft Dinner of the fly world.
