Idaho

A place to discuss the collecting and tying of classic flies, the tyers who made them famous, the tools, materials and techniques they used as well as the waters they were designed for. While classic is generally used to describe old things, classic is also used in the sense of first class or in the highest form. Therefore a fully dressed Salmon Fly, or a Carrie Stevens Streamer are just as much classics as a Chernobyl Ant would be. Enjoy the forum.

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wefishcane
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Idaho

#1

Post by wefishcane »

Back in the 1980's there was a tyer that lived in Northeaster Idaho (somewhere between Idaho Falls and Ashton) who crafted the most exquisite extended body flies. He was well known in the area. As I remember he passed away sometime in the mid-eighties. Does someone recall his name?
Jim

16pmd
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#2

Post by 16pmd »

Bing Lemke.

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wefishcane
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#3

Post by wefishcane »

That's him, thank you. I remember watching him tying a gray drake extended body that he fished on the Henry's Fork, and marveling at his skill.
Jim

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pittendrigh
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#4

Post by pittendrigh »

wefishcane wrote:Back in the 1980's there was a tyer that lived in Northeaster Idaho (somewhere between Idaho Falls and Ashton) who crafted the most exquisite extended body flies. He was well known in the area. As I remember he passed away sometime in the mid-eighties. Does someone recall his name?
Jim
I recently met a guy in Bozeman who was a friend of Bing, who has several dozen Bing Lemke flies.
I'll try to get them photographed sometime this year.

I met Bing at a the "Gallatin County Fishing Fair" back in the early 1980s. The local TU chapter used
to put that show on in the Co Fair Grounds. It's been over 20 years since they had that show.
I organized the fly tying exhibits one year. I invited a half a dozen tiers to come. The only two
who did show up were George Grant and Bing Lemke. George did a double take when we met.
He thought the "Sandy" he'd been corresponding with was a woman. We laughed. I bought a few
of his flies, and still have them.

Bing and George both had their own booths.
Bing made some extended body Green Drakes. At one point a cocky teenager sneered with a sarcastic
smile and said "you can catch fish without going to all that trouble." I stepped in next to him, looked
at him aggressively and said: "this is a work of art you're looking at, and you don't even...."
I can't remember exactly what I said. But that kid beat a hasty retreat, and Bing never forgot it.
I'd see him periodically, at boat shows and FFF conclaves, and he'd always shake my hand and say:
"I remember that time in Bozeman when you chased that kid off."

Somehow I never did end up with any of Bing's flies. That was a big mistake.

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Eric Peper
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#5

Post by Eric Peper »

I'm pretty sure Bing's name was/is spelled "Lempke."

EP
A mountain is a fact -- a trout is a moment of beauty known only to men who seek them
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich

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ThirdMeadow
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#6

Post by ThirdMeadow »

Jim,
I've seen photos of Bing Lempke's extended body duns, and they are beautiful. The following text and photo were copied from Trout Country Flies by Bruce Staples. --Phil

Bing Lempke

Image

"Cyril 'Bing' Lempke was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1917. When a pre-teen, his family moved to Idaho and his lifelong interest in angling began. As a teenager, he frequented the Henry's Fork and the Teton River. Fly fishing fascinated him. He traded fish for flies to be models or disassembled to reveal construction techniques. In the late 1930s, he moved to California to work for Southern California Gas Company. Next, he put personal interests aside during World War II to serve in the Merchant Marine transporting supplies in the Pacific. In 1947, Bing and wife Dorothy returned to Idaho where he resumed fly fishing and fly tying. His interest in aquatic entomology grew, especially in the 1960s. Thus, Bing began on the path of being a significant developer of patterns to simulate mayflies, stoneflies and terrestrial insects. Soon he was passing knowledge and techniques on to others through discussions, fly tying demonstrations and on-the-stream sessions. By the 1970s encounters that became most frequent with him were in the early season around Last Chance on the Henry's Fork. On the stream or over tying flies at local establishments, Bing dispensed information on how to fish, read water, tie effective flies, and on aquatic entomology. These became events anticipated by anglers from across the nation. Bing first participated in a nationally acclaimed fly tying event at the Federation of Fly Fishers 1978 Conclave in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About this time he revealed his extended body techniques for tying mayfly duns. These gained national attention and quickly following came his array of dying techniques and specialized tying tools. Almost forgotten, however, are equally elegant mayfly duns, stoneflies and grasshoppers he tied in the traditional mode.
In 1988, his awards culminated with the Federation of Fly Fishers' Buz Buszek Memorial Award for fly tying accomplishments. This was followed in 1990 with the Idaho Citizen's Achievement Award presented by then Governor Cecil D. Andrus. Bing maintained a legendary and gracious approachability and generosity. Sadly, declining health sapped his abilities to fish and tie flies as the 1990s began. He died in February, 1991 leaving a void in fly fishing heritage that cannot be filled."

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wefishcane
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#7

Post by wefishcane »

Phil,
Thank you for sharing that tribute. As always you go beyond what is expected.
Jim

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gbflytyer
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#8

Post by gbflytyer »

i have a home made dvd of bing tying. it is really interesting

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pittendrigh
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#9

Post by pittendrigh »

gbflytyer wrote:i have a home made dvd of bing tying. it is really interesting
That dvd could be converted to Flash, and then put on youtube.com

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gbflytyer
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#10

Post by gbflytyer »

way above my head, and it is over 30 minutes long

Pyrian
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#11

Post by Pyrian »

there is an award for promising young tiers from the western rocky mountain council of the FFF. a good friend of mine won the award when he was little. bing was famous out west here, for noting, that his wife never worried about him at the bars chaing women, becasue he was always chasing fish; but that wasnt always good he said....his pal, the green drake, ot him laid off a few jobs....i love fishing with some of the old timers out here telling the full stories of the people you met when you were younger, that have since departed us.

Pyrian
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#12

Post by Pyrian »

indeed, his extended body designs still have a strong heritage in this eastern part of idaho.....


billems
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Re: Idaho

#13

Post by billems »

Bing fished the "Fork" with a nine-ft leader of 4x, if you can believe it. And he used an automatic reel.

Bee
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Re: Idaho

#14

Post by Bee »

He was always generous with information on the Ranch and tying , as noted earlier. My recollections of him mainly center around standing in the upper parking lot for a couple hours trading stories and pattern thoughts with a group that varied daily/nightly but had some very knowledgable attendees. The Flyfishing community was much smaller in those days. Everybody literally knew everybody. Or it seemed that way. I have some of Bings flies and maybe some old pictures from some of the bull-sessions in the parking lot. I have tried to digitize most of my old 60-70s Ranch photos and may be able to find Bing in them. Will post them if they are worthy.

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