Times have changed since then. Synthetics have revolutionized fly-tying to the point of dizziness. Not that all this material growth is bad, on the contrary. It has helped to stimulate and energize a great sport and it has certainly added a new source of income for many.

We should remember, however, a more bygone era when the basics were really basic. In that late 1920’s a fella by the name of Tom Loving and a small group of friends regularly fished for shad along the tidal rivers of the Chesapeake Bay. Loving had designed a fly for taking these Shad but with a startling observation found that Striped Bass ate his Shad pattern with unadulterated gusto. He made some minor adjustments to the design and with this simple act, secured in saltwater flyfishing history his place as being the creator of the first Striped Bass fly.

The Loving Bass fly is so simple it makes me giddy. Some bucktail, a saddle hackle and some flash( a modern concession) and you have a fly that bass can't resist. The color, red and white is classic in nature. Anyone who has fished with plugs on spinning gear knows full well how deadly the red/white combination is. No difference here. If you cant tie a dozen in less than an hour, try finger-painting.

Hook- Mustad 34007, size 1 and 1/0

Wing/Tail- White bucktail.

Collar-red saddle hackle

Thread- Uni-thread, 6/0, black

Flash- Tiewell pearl

Step 1. Tie in a small bunch of white bucktail, about a 1/8" behind hook eye.

Step 2. Add some pearl flash along sides of bucktail.

Step 3. Take a single red saddle hackle, strip away the fluff, clip the stem and with the remaining tip of stem, tie in behind hook eye.

Step 4. Palmer(wind) the hackle forward, folding the feather back as you wind and tie off at the hook eye.

You're done! Remember progress is good, but don’t forget the past.