Cameron Derbyshire, pictured at right (he's really studying) is a young man from Oregon who is now attending school in New York. Forty years ago I was a young man, born in Oregon going to school in New York. I too was a fly tier but no where near the level of our new friend Cameron. Judging from the quality of his two contributions to the Educational Recourses section of this site he is also a far better student than I was. I do have an excuse though, it was the 60’s, “ya know man” I was distracted. One only has to check out his work to see Cameron is quite focused, and so is his camera. Before we get to those I would like you to know a little more about this fine young man in his own words:

“Let me introduce myself. I’ve lived in Oregon all of my 26 years. But I have recently moved to NY to go to school. I have been tying flies since 1993, mostly for trout, shad, smallmouth, and steelhead. My interest in tying began after catching a trout on bait and upon gutting it finding the stomach absolutely full of damselfly nymphs. What would be more effective, I thought, for trout at that time than a realistic imitation of the nymph? So I tied my first fly several days later but with no luck. I soon bought my first book on fly tying and accumulating a horde of tying materials. I tied without a vise for about six months before buying my Thompson Model A.
My first patterns were mostly woolly buggers, streamers, and dragonfly and damselfly nymphs. As my interests in other fish grew, I branched out into tying smallmouth, shad, and steelhead flies I read about in magazines and books. My fly fishing and tying library began and continues to grow along with my supply of feathers, furs, and synthetics. Most of tying time in high school was devoted to steelhead and Pacific salmon. I soon moved from leeches and zonkers to traditional hairwings and finally to speys and dees. Only in the past three years have I really begun to focus on classic Atlantic salmon flies. I ended up tying salmon flies once a month with a group of gentlemen from Salem. This definitely helped me improve in the quality of my flies. Through John, I was able to obtain a few bustard feathers. In return, I sent him a pair of flies, using feathers mostly of bustard I received. After viewing those flies, John graciously asked me to be a part of his site.
I feel very honored to send in my submissions. I have sent in one tying guide of sorts and intend to send in others periodically. The second will concern spey & dee flies.”
Besides the flies you see below as I mentioned before Cameron has two "submissions" I call them Masterpieces, in Educational Recourses. The first Tying the Gordon was posted some time ago. His latest A Spey & Dee Fly Tutorial is a must see also. I can't thank him enough. If you would care to thank Cameron or offer comments on his contributions to this site you may contact him at: derbyshc@hotmail.com

Below are some of the lovely flies Cameron has been tying Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger image.