Para Wulff Adams

“I told Lee Wulff (tyer of the legendary Wulff flies) that I tried to tie a parachute divided-wing Wulff but hadn’t succeeded, as the fly was too bulky. He loved the idea and made me promise him that I would not give up until I found a way to succeed. ‘You’ve got to promise me you’ll keep trying to tie it. Do it. Make it happen!’ he said.

Six months later he was gone, succumbing to a heart attack. After several weeks a package arrived. It enclosed a single Royal Wulff along with a handwritten note from Lee: ‘Here is my most perfect Royal Wulff. It’s for you, not a museum. I asked Joan to send you this when I died to remind you of the spirit of the Wulff fly’.

I had been passed a torch. More than ever, I had to tie the divided-wing parachute Wulff.

I later submitted the flies to Umpqua and they flipped over the patterns and quickly added them to their line, calling them Parawulffs.

The Wulff flies reach deep into the roots of my life. It’s been a privilege to have added a new chapter to their development, and to have fulfilled that promise to Lee.”

-       Signature Tyer Jack Dennis