Our Friend Ronn Lucas Sr has now become the Hookmeister. Ronn has purchased Ron Reinhold's hook making operation, lock, stock and barrel. Rather than me telling you about it, check out Ronn's new website: Ronnlucassr.com I think it is as nice as it gets. You can see more of Ronn's work at FlyAnglersOnLine and on the Fly Tying Forum.


Below is a thumbnail of Ronn's NEW Colored Hook Finish:



Besides being Fly Tyer Extrodinare Ronn's also forming a Salmon Fly Group in his area. OOPS! There goes the neighborhood. Below is something Ronn has asked me to post:

Notice to all tyers in the greater Portland Oregon area!

Here in Portland we have a group of tyers who meet once a month at my home for tying and talking anything tying and fly fishing. It is so far, a general tying group but I am looking to see if there are tyers of fully dressed classics and freestylers in the area that would be interested in starting or expanding the group in these disciplines.

I have plenty of room here to accommodate a good number of tyers in a comfortable and well lit room.

Some of the tyers in the current group have begun to tie the fancies and I am certain that there must be more tyers in the area of all skill levels who would enjoy meeting and tying with others with like interests.

If you are interested in such a group, you can email me at rlucas@cybcon.com or phone at 503-654-0466 day or night.


Here are a few of Ronn's flies in thumbnail form simply click on the picture to enlarge them:



June 13 2005 Ronn has sent some new photographs of his extraordinary flies. In my conversations with Ronn, he has been telling me about his bead project and how he has been fooling around with these special Handmade Lampglass Beads. He is obviously a very creative guy who isn't afraid to step outside the lines. Too many tiers place self-imposed parameters upon themselves and never tie anything other than classics. Then again most people, myself included, don't have the talent to pull it off. I know, through additional conversations with Bud Guidry , that Ronn has found Whale Baleen to be a unique alternative for silk gut (maybe we can get him to tell us about it) and as you will be able to see has done some rather unusual things with the tag portion of several of his flies. Ronn is marketing these beads these beads. See below. For availability and prices contact Ronn directly at: rlucas@cybcon.com




August 14 2005 Ronn has sent a dozen new flies for us to see. All incorperate those lovely beads he has been working so hard on.



August 25 2005 Ronn has sent two new flies starting the row below:



September 27 2005 Ronn has sent three new flies. The last two in the row above and the first fly in the row below. He added the following:

"Pine Top Slim has tiny antique 22/0 beads as the rear rib."



November 23 2005 Ronn has created a Kori Bustard Fly out of some feathers I sent. He was inspired by a young soldier wearing the desert camouflage fatigues and named it Desert Storm.

Below is a small sample of the beads Ronn is making available and a brief explanation of their use.The price of the beads will vary between $6 to $50 each depending on the amount of work that goes into them. Ronn has a number of different beads in the $6 to $14 range. Contact Ronn at rlucas@cybcon.com for more information:


These beads will fit hooks from about 4/0 up to 9/0 or larger. Long shank hooks work best so you can move the bead to the rear of the fly so it doesn?t interfere with the setting of the wing. Diameter of these beads is about 5mm to 10mm.

Beads come and can be made in all shapes from round marble looking beads to these tubes. Of course much more detail and depth of glass can be had with the larger ones but cost goes up fast. Not just the bead cost but that of large hooks.

I used Heritage blind eye long shank hooks for years but as of this writing, it appears that there will not be anymore of these hooks being made. My flies are mostly in the 6/0 to 8/0 range. Such large hooks just aren?t real common and now the best source is from my good friend, Ron Reinhold. Ron makes in my humble opinion, the best hooks the world has ever seen. His hooks are works of art and deserve high praise. If you find you want to tie flies with these beads, tell Ron that I sent you and to make the hooks like he does mine (length that is).

If you think tying these beaded flies sounds like something you want to do, I have some of the country?s best bead makers who know exactly what we as tyers need in the way of beads (sizes) and I am also offering hand made glass beads that they have made especially for me and I have made sure that they are ready to put on your hook. In some cases, I must modify the holes of the beads to better fit the hooks and most importantly, fit over previous material tie offs. This must be done under water and using diamond wheels which fortunately I have because I am a dental technician by trade. I have marked up the price of the beads modestly to cover my cost and time.

You can also search out bead makers but be forewarned, the vast majority of them will not be at all interested in downsizing their beads for us and of those that say they will, a tiny number will actually follow through. I have been through all of the frustrations and made the mistakes and will save you the headaches if you order beads from me.

If you see a bead somewhere or on one of my flies, it is possible that we can have a fairly good copy made.

I am in the process of putting together a list of the beads that I have for sale but as you might imagine, it takes time because of the originality of each bead. You can email me for more information or to ask questions.

Happy Trails!
Ronn rlucas@cybcon.com