Noah’s Bloody Leech

 

Noah's Bloody Leech pattern was recently shared in Renzetti's Young Tier Spotlight article. 

Noah “Bear” Landwehr is the son of Tim Landwehr owner of Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company out of Green Bay Wisconsin. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Nice job Noah! 

Young Tier Spotlight: Noah "Bear" Landwehr A core value of Renzetti Inc is to pass the sport of fly tying and fishing onto others. As we continue to feature those who teach the sport, we also want to spotlight young people who will carry that torch. Where are you from? I was born in Green Bay Wisconsin, but I spend most of my time in the driftless region of southwest Wisconsin where I love to fish.   How old are you?  I am 13 years old.   At what age did you start tying flies?  I started to tie flies when I was about 5.  I would mess around in the back of my dad’s fly shop creating all sorts of different patterns.   How did you learn? I learned from my dad who owns a small fly shop. I would tie at the bench in the shop where customers would constantly give me different ideas and tips. After everyone left my dad came to the bench and brought me some new materials for me to mess around with.   What type of flies do you typically tie? We have a small cabin in the driftless with a class 1 trout stream running through it. Most of my tying revolves around spring creek trout. Typically, I tie streamers and some dry flies during the winter to stock up on for the following season.   What is your favorite to tie? My favorite fly to tie is Noah's Bloody Leech. It is a small streamer or leech pattern that kills on the trout streams of the driftless. The Bloody Leech is made with a small tungsten head and WILD turkey marabou that we harvested from our land. It is what my dad calls a “guide fly” which means it is fast to tie and is great for catching fish. Many of the flies that we tie end up in bushes or the bottom of the stream, so it needs to be quick to tie.   What species do you enjoy fishing for? My favorite species to catch is anything that dares to eat my fly. But my all-time favorite fish to catch has to be the brown trout that lurks in our Wisconsin rivers. Who are your tying influences? The person that has influenced me most for tying has to be my dad, Tim Landwehr. He has helped me figure out different patterns and has given me materials for tying. There are lots of other people that have helped me on my path of fly tying, all the Tight Lines guides have helped me along my journey. Many people from my dad’s shop have come to the back bench where I like to tie and talk to me. Occasionally they bring me materials just because they want to encourage my generation to love fly tying as much as they do.   What advice do you have for other young people that are just starting to tie flies? The first thing that I would recommend is to tie for fun. About 2 years ago I tied hundreds of bloody leeches to sell to my dad’s shop and it took a lot of the fun out of it. Most importantly make sure that you are doing it to have fun not because you have to.  When I was little for Easter, I got a fly-tying kit. The kit helped me learn the basics, then on my 8th birthday I got a new Renzetti traveler and some nice new tools. My dad always told me to buy the best tools I can afford. Most importantly, find a few flies that you really like to tie and learn to master them before you move on, so you learn different techniques to use on other flies.