It was the expression on Les Kearns' face that first baited me and so I turned to take a better look. The retired school principal from Houston didn't seem to notice my husband still hanging onto his every word because in his mind Les was standing in numbing Morice River waters trying to tempt a trout to feed on his hand-tyed fly.

As the story progressed, I began to feel the anticipation, then the excitement, as the fish rose to suck in the Griffith's Gnat which floated lightly on the water's surface.

Before I knew it, I was hooked as well as that fish.

Because he has the patience of an experienced sportsfisherman AND a teacher, Les attempted to fill me in on the art of fly-tying. But because of my constant interrupting and usual lack of listening skills, I managed, like a dry fly, to skim the surface of the art without getting too wet. I did catch a few interesting facts.

The ancient Greeks supposedly caught trout on a fly some 2,000 years ago, using a fly pattern that is still used today. These days, the number of various patterns used in fly-tying to catch game-fish such as trout, salmon, grayling, char and a variety of saltwater fish are almost as numerous as fish swimming upstream.

There are basically two types of man-made flies. Wet or dry. Before the 20th century, all tyed flies sank slightly beneath the surface of the water. More recently, technology has enabled a fine wire hook design that can float on the surface even after being fully dressed. So now we have wet flies and dry flies.