Ken Morrish is on the podcast to share the story of how he built created and became one of the leading travel companies at Fly Water Travel plus we dig into some tips on dry fly tying design and the top 6 dry fly patterns Ken created.
We hear how it came to be with a meteoric start after completing an expensive private college degree but quickly moving up to Alaska to guide. We also find out how Ken has produced some of the great dry fly patterns in the game.
Click below and listen to the Fly Water Travel Podcast with Ken Morrish:
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
Sponsors and Podcast Updates
Fly Water Travel Show Notes with Ken Morrish
04:45 – John Gierach was on the podcast in episode 47 and talked about a liberal arts degree and his story of becoming a leading fishing author.
08:05 – Marc Bale is a good friend of Ken’s and a big player in the fly fishing industry. Ken says he’s the best-connected person in the world. Marc was also a big part of purchasing Fly Water Travel.
10:45 – Struble is how Ken met George Cook for the first time. George was on the podcast in episode 131 and covered the history of NW spey.
13:45 – Fly Water Travel started after Ken connected with Brad Jackson who was the co-founder of the Fly Shop in Redding California. Ken tells the story of how it all came to be in the travel space.
19:00 – We talk about Yellow Dog Fly Fishing and the Fly Shop. I talked to the founder Jim Klug of Yellow Dog Fly Fishing on the podcast.
21:15 – Far Bank purchased Fly Water Travel recently. Far Bank owns Sage, Rio and Redington. I’ve had the main man behind RIO, Simon Gawesworth on the podcast in a past episode.
33:00 – The Morrish Mouse and the Morrish Hopper are two of Ken’s best selling dry flies.
33:45 – We noted Chris’ pattern, the Chubby Chernobyl which maybe the best selling dry fly in the US.
51:20 – Dave Whitlock was on the podcast and Ken notes the Aquatic Trout Foods book by Dave.
53:20 – The May Day was another popular pattern from Ken.
You can find Ken at Fly Water Travel.
Top 10 Tips in Designing Dry Fly Patterns
- Look for gaps in the market
- Look for a true silhouette
- Look for true proportions
- Look for similar density as natural
- Floats in surface like natural
- Maximum profile with minimal materials in Morrish Mouse
- Doesn’t get waterlogged in mouse
- Before you design a fly, look at the natural
- Spend time looking at naturals behavior on water
- Understand the question before developing the pattern
Top 6 Dry Fly Patterns from Ken Morrish
- The Morrish Hopper
- The May Day
- Morrish Mouse
- Morrish Fluttering Salmon Fly
- The Palm Skater for steelhead
- Hitched Tube Skater
Resources Noted in the Fly Water Travel Podcast
Aquatic Trout Food by Dave Whitlock
Videos Noted in the Show
“There’s going places……..and there’s knowing places.”
-Ken Morrish
Fly Water Travel Conclusion with Ken Morrish
Ken Morrish shares the story of how he created Fly Water Travel, one of the big players in fly fishing travel. We also dig into some of Ken’s dry fly patterns with over 40 available in the commercial market.
Ken covers the top dry fly patterns of his career for steelhead and trout fishing. We get a little behind the scenes glimpse at one of the leaders in the space of fly fishing travel and fly design.
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