Eumer Pro Staff Members
Iceland - Vidar Egilsson
Vidar Egilsson grew up in the capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik. His passion for fishing started as a teenager. Vidar practically grew up on icelandic riverbanks with his fishing gear by his side. Vidar ties and designs flies and tubes professionally, both for himself and for his customers. They can be found on his website www.galleriflugur.is. Now he has also opened a flytying store in Reykjavik, named Litla Flugan (The Little Fly). Vidar also guides the Icelandic salmon rivers, especially in South-Iceland and is one of the well known professional flytyers in Kolding Flyfishing Show.
Vidar found the Eumer Tube Fly tying system on the internet in 2007, and since then, he has used many of their products. He has specialized in micro tubes because they catch well in difficult situations such as low water. The new Eumer microtubes are a very exciting supplement and will surely be a favorite!
Canada - Mike Barrand
Mike Barrand has been fishing all his life, but considers the last 7 years the most exciting. This is when he picked up his first fly rod. The single/double hand rod has brought him to many beautiful destinations across Canada including Vancouver Island and Newfoundland. Not only has it taken him to some great places, it has also allowed him to work with world-class companies such as Eumer and Loop.
Mike was introduced to the Eumer Tube Fly System in 2006 and has never looked back. He loves the flexibility that the Eumer system provides. From the wide selection of brass tubes to the finest of furs, it covers all of his tying needs. Mike does demos at various fly shops and Canadian fishing shows, and he still gets a kick each time from the positive reactions people show toward Eumer Tube Flies.
Rocky Mountain Region - Lori Nicholson
Lori Nicholson and her husband have been the owners of Anglers All Fly Shop, on the front range of Colorado, for nearly four decades. They have recently sold their store and plan to focus on knocking off a few of the destinations on their "bucket list". Lori has been a pioneering, enthusiastic, woman angler for most of her life - she happily wanders the rivers learning about the piscatorial world. Anything anadramous causes the hair on the back of her neck to rise, and the last 10 years of messing with tube flies has sent her tying over the top. Lori hopes to be able to continue to share her enthusiasm with loads of angling and fly tying enthusiasts.
Lori writes, "I sure haven't had a long career in guiding, written any books, or beat everybody else in the world at distance casting (although I'm pretty competitive at those stupid casting contests)...but I have come in contact with tons of anglers in the past decades at the fly shop, and hope to have helped them find their way to better angling. Maybe I'm not as qualified as some of the guys on your pro-staff. I am however, enamored with Eumer's line of tubes, and the quality of the furs, and hope to share what I've learned with my gonzo friends, and our customers, and would be proud to represent Eumer in every way that I can."
Representing Young Anglers - Tyler Befus
Tyler Befus is 12 years old and has been fly fishing since he was old enough to go along in a child backpack. He started fly casting and fly tying at the age of three and landed his first fly-caught trout on his own shortly before his third birthday. He is the youngest member of the Ross Reels, Rio Products, Inc., Oakley, Simms Fishing Products and Whiting Farms pro staff teams and is a Signature Fly designer for Umpqua Feather Merchants. Tyler frequently presents kids fly fishing programs at numerous fly fishing and sportsmen’s shows around the country. Feature articles about Tyler’s passion for the sport of fly fishing have appeared in TV shows and most major fly fishing publications around the world.
Tyler has fished the Rocky Mountain region extensively for trout and warmwater species. His fishing travels have taken him to Alaska, Texas, and Japan. An accomplished author, Tyler recently released his second book “A Kids Guide to Fly Tying” and just completed a kids fly fishing instructional DVD. He currently holds I.G.F.A. Junior World Records for sheefish and kokanee salmon. His other interests include competing on the Montrose Marlin swim team, playing soccer, hockey and football, piano, theater, photography and drawing. This young dynamic angler lives in Montrose, Colorado with his mom, dad and three younger sisters.
Scotland - Kevin Patterson
Anyone who fly fishes six days a week for ten months a year considers fly fishing to be more than a hobby. This eternal pursuit engenders a full lifestyle built around fly fishing. For Keven Patterson, this is certainly the case. As a qualified casting instructor and guide on the Tweedswood Beat in Scotland, he has been using Eumer tubes successfully for years. Since he's fishing for Atlantic Salmon, trout, and grayling, Kevin needs tubes that fish deep in spring and winter and tubes that are small and light for summer fishing. Eumer provides both.
Kevin likes to have his clients use Eumer tubes because they are easy to cast, have great movement in the water, and they catch a lot of fish. We are excited to work with Kevin and to utilize his skill in our product development. The next time you look in Kevin's fly box, you know what you'll find!
Midwest, United States - Jerry Darkes
Jerry Darkes is a well known Great Lakes area fly fisherman, guide, speaker, and instructor. He has over 40 years of experience in fresh and saltwater, and he is featured in several books and films about fly fishing in the Great Lakes area. Jerry is the author of many fly fishing related articles. He is also an avid fly tier with numerous patterns to his credit. Jerry's popularity in the midwest and beyond is also due in part to his great personality, and Eumer is very lucky to have him in our corner.
Jerry can be found traveling the Great Lakes promoting Eumer with his faithful sidekick - Aspen, the fish dog. He also maintains a popular blog where he shares his knowledge of tying and fishing. Check out the blog at: http://www.acs-thefishdog.blogspot.com.
Denmark - Claus Eriksen
As Denmark's leading saltwater fly fisherman, Claus brings an interesting dynamic to the Eumer Team. His combination of life-long experience and a deep knowledge of saltwater fly fishing for sea trout are important for the application of saltwater tube fly patterns in the fly fishing world. His humor and self-irony make him an excellent teacher of his favorite sport. Clause is also responsible for one of the hottest saltwater fly patterns, The Pattegris.
Claus has worked with fly fishing tackle most of his life, and today he is the managing director of the well known tackle company, Go-Fishing in Denmark. When he is not working or pursuing Danish sea trout, he is likely to be found fishing for a tropical species or a striper off of the American Coast.
Claus Eriksen's unique abilities and deep saltwater fly fishing knowledge will prove a very valuable addition to the Eumer Team.
UK/Wales - Steffan Jones
Steffan Jones was born and raised on the prime sea-trout rivers of West Wales. As such, fishing has been his addiction since the age of four. Today, he is easily recognized as an authority concerning all things sea trout. His expertise is obvious in his writings, guidings, and demonstrations, and it includes both fishing and fly tying. With Steffan's passion for innovation, and the exciting new products coming from Eumer, the boundaries of the tube fly world will soon be pushed to the nth degree.
If you are lucky, you may find Steffan casting for sea trout on his home rivers or in South America where he spends the winter. When he is not busy with his own fishing career, he also runs his fishing travel company, Angling-Worldwide. In addition, he works with Frontiers, a sporting travel specialist.
With the many casting, tying, and fishing accolades accredited to him, we're pleased and proud to have Steffan as part of the Eumer team. We are excited to see how he will apply his uniques skills to the Eumer Tube Fly line of products.
Scandinavia/Western Europe - Hans van Klinken
Hans van Klinken is well known in the fly fishing world throughout Scandinavia and Western Europe. His fly fishing career began in Norway at the age of 15 in the early 1970's, and it has taken him to rivers all over the world to perfect and hone his fly fishing techniques. Several of Hans' patterns are famous throughout the world for their effectiveness, and among these are his many dry flies used for salmon. Hans skill in taking salmon and sea trout with dry flies is second to none.
Hans is also a well-known author, guide, and instructor. He hosts workshops all over the world, and his new relationship with Eumer will allow him to merge his favorite flies with tube flies to create new, effective patterns for the fly fishing world. It was this passion to always search for new effective flies that led him to Eumer. Hans skills and world-wide exposure will be a great asset to Eumer and the entire tube fly community.
Hans biggest catches ever were a 136 cm (53.5 inches) northern pike and a 113 cm (44.5 inches) lake trout both caught in the Yukon Territory on a floating tube fly pattern designed by Will Blair that is known as, "The Blair Mouse". You can see a picture of the Blair Mouse in our Tube Fly Photo Gallery.
Great Lakes/Midwest - Greg Senyo
Greg Senyo grew up along the banks of the fabled Elk Creek in Girard, Pennsylvania. Since childhood, Greg has been perfecting his fly fishing and tying techniques. He is also the owner and operator of Steelhead Alley Outfitters, which is an all inclusive educational guide service on the Lake Erie Tributaries commonly known as Steelhead Alley. Greg also owns the J.A.G. Fly Company which provides hand tied flies to shops around the region.
Greg serves his community as a Corporal of the Village of Wayne Police Department. It is through the police department that he is a certified instructor for the Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs campaign. This program helps to steer at-risk children toward fishing and away from drug abuse.
Among Greg's many accomplishments is his prestigious title of "Orivs Fly Tier of the Year - 2008". Eumer is so proud to have Greg as part of our Team. He is a valuable asset whose talents are helping Eumer to lead the way forward with new age tube fly designs. Check out Greg's blog at: http://steelheadalleyoutfitters.blogspot.com.
Pacific Northwest - Joe Fitzpatrick
Joe Fitzpatrick hails from "Steelhead Country" in the Pacific Northwest, and is an avid Spey fisherman. His love of fishing started as a young boy, and with his father's influence throughout the years, it has bloomed into a deep respect for the art of fly fishing. Joe has tied both personally and professionally for many years. Some of his exciting new tube fly patterns are successfully pushing the boundaries of how tube flies are used in the Northwest area.
When he is not tying flies, fishing, or teaching everyone he can about tube flies, Joe is a Patrol Lieutenant in charge of training new police officers. We can always count on Joe to be a leading force in the tube fly world, teaching and guiding new and experienced fly fisherman in the art of tube flies.
Western Canada - Paul Jacobsen
Paul Jacobsen hails from Nelson, British Columbia. Paul's passions are steelheading and fly tying. He has been tying tube flies for years, even when they were not very popular in North America. It was his quest for innovative, new tube fly components that led him to Eumer, and an instant personal and professional relationship was born. Paul's affable nature and expertise in fly tying are a natural fit for Eumer tube flies.
Paul has been a featured tier at many events both in the US and Canada. His patterns have been published in Contemporary Fly Patterns of British Columbia, by Art Lingren. And, if Paul's presence on the fly fishing forums is any indication, people from all over the US and Canada turn to Paul for advice and education.
