About Jed

Jed Waterman's career in fly fishing dates back over 55 years. A lifelong resident of Concord, New Hampshire, Jed grew up fishing local streams, rivers, ponds and lakes for various species of trout. He learned the basics of tying soon after, and tied for himself and his son and daughter. In the 1970's, renowned fly tyer and HMH Vise designer Bill Hunter opened a small fly shop called Hunter's Angling Supplies out of his home in nearby New Boston. Bill carried the finest materials and flies he could search out, and pioneered the concept of hosting tying classes, taught by a "Who's Who" of the Fly Fishing industry. Jed attended every class session possible, and his proficiency as a master tyer grew. Bill took notice of his skills, and asked Jed to tie a variety of flies for the shop, with one condition.. that he tie them to Bill's exacting standards of proportion, consistency, and overall quality.

For the next 30 years, Jed continued to tie Trout, Saltwater, and Salmon flies for Bill, first at Hunter's Angling, then at W.S. Hunter & Company. While still tying saltwater as well as freshwater patterns, he eventually specialized in Hairwing Salmon flies. His eye for proper fishing proportion was sharpened by his own Salmon fishing trips to New Brunswick. His knowledge of how a fly should move through the water was earned by thousands of hours of fishing, tying, and experimentation. Jed's flies can be found as featured examples of the genre in several books (see below), and word of the quality of his work has spread throughout the industry. He offers group and private tying instruction for all types of flies.

Bringing a wealth of knowledge to your flies

The minute a tyer stops learning, the quality of his/her flies suffers. Jed has had the opportunity to learn tying and fishing techniques from many of the most notable tyers over the past 40 years. The list of people he has studied with includes:

• Bill Hunter* - Hairwing & Featherwing Salmon Flies
• Lefty Kreh* - General Tying
• Poul Jorgensen - Salmon & Trout Flies
• J. Warren Duncan* - Hairwing Salmon Flies
• Bob Veverka - Salmon & Spey Flies
• Del Mazza - Trout Flies
• Jack Gartside - General Tying
• Bob Popovics - Saltwater Flies
• Dave Skok - Saltwater Flies
• Page Rogers - Saltwater Flies

*Indicates multiple classes/tying sessions

Published examples of Jed's flies

Jed's flies have been used as examples of the Atlantic Salmon fly genre in the following publications (among others):

• Fishing Atlantic Salmon, The Flies and the Patterns
  Joseph D. Bates Jr. and Pamela Bates Richards
• John Merwin's Fly Tying Guide (Cover and Text)
  John Merwin
• Flies for Atlantic Salmon
  Dick Stewart and Farrow Allen 
• Atlantic Salmon Handbook
  Peter Bodo 

 

"Jed is an old friend and a master fly tier. Each fly is a work of art -- and he can even fish pretty well!"

- Lefty Kreh, Fly fishing's greatest ambassador, here working with Jed's daughter-in-law Michelle

"I first met Jeddy Waterman early on in the 1970's . He visited our shop frequently... He also tied a pretty good fly. Over the years Jed became one of our tyers, providing a wide range of flies for various species of fish. He was particularly good at tying the Atlantic Salmon flies. Jeddy was one of our guys that we depended upon to provide flies almost at a moment's notice. I highly recommend his flies."

- Bill Hunter, HMH Tying Vise  Creator and Proprietor, Hunter's Angling Supplies

" I have been using Jeddy Waterman's custom  flies, for the flats and beyond for over 15 years. He ties them to catch fish, and they haven't let me down yet."

- Capt. Jaime Boyle, Boylermaker Charters,  Martha's Vineyard, MA