1. What is your name? Logan Messina

2.Where are you from? Originally Syracuse ,NY, currently live in Solon, ME

3. How old were you when you started tying? I didn’t start tying flies until my mid 20’s. I’m 31 now. 

4. What made you start tying flies? After catching the fly fishing bug it only seemed appropriate to tie my own flies. I tend to take my hobbies pretty seriously.

5. What made you want to start a business tying flies? I was working at a ski resort when the pandemic happened. During the quarantine I stopped working that job, and had so much time to tie and got better at it during that time. I had a local fisherman ask me to tie some custom flies for him and it all started with that order. 

6. What patterns do you specialize in? I mostly just tie trout flies. I do a variety of patterns including dry flies, nymphs, and streamers. Caddis patterns are very popular and so are the euro nymphs these days.

7. What are your favorite patterns to tie? I really like tying medium sized trout streamers, like a cone-head intruder with marabou. I also like to tie the euro nymphs, like frenchies. 

8. What are your least favorite patterns to tie? I am not a huge fan of tying muddlers. Although I can do it pretty well, it always takes me a while to get in the groove. The turkey feathers and deer hair are both finicky materials. 

9. Is it more important that your flies catch fishermen or catch fish or both? When I started it was definitely leaning towards catching fishermen, but more recently I’ve narrowed it down to the flies that I have confidence in. If I wouldn’t confidently tie the fly on my own line, I won’t sell it. I’m not trying to reinvent anything, just trying to tie quality flies that catch fish.

10. What is the most important part of tying flies? Quality materials and proportions. Make sure the hackle is the right length, the tails are measured properly, the bead is the right size, and the eyes are not crowded. Most people can figure out how to tie a wooly bugger, but tying a couple dozen buggers that all look identical is the real key to success. 

11. Any advise for new fly tiers? A tip that helped me in the beginning was to pretend that your thread is made of gold and that you don’t want to use too much of it. This will help you learn how to not over-wrap or crowd your eyes. Also, most good tiers will say that the best way to get good at tying is with intense repetition. And always wash your hands before and after a tying session. 

12. How can people buy your flies? I sell all of my flies on maineflyguys.com. I do not take custom orders although I do take recommendations of flies that people would like to see on the website. You can contact me through Instagram @troutaboutit_flyfishing.