Irish Fly Fair

Friends, fly fishers

My name is Bart Reitsma and I live in Harderwijk, in the centre of the Netherlands. I have been introduced to fly fishing and fly tying since the early 90s. It has never let me go. I also infected my youngest son with the flyfishing flu. I am an all-rounder and fish in many countries. Also, in the Netherlands I fish with the fly for roach, ide, asp, pike and perch.

I love to fish on streams, rivers, and sea. Trout and grayling are my favourites. When tying flies, which I do much more then fishing, I like to tie different flies and variations. That’s why I tie almost anything. I especially like tying functional flies. On shows I try to tie the flies in a bit fancier way. For fishing I like to alter patterns to make them easier to tie and keep them effective. I still learn every day. Being part of the Pro teams of Chevron, Semperfli and Renomed helps me to improve my fly-tying every week. I get new ideas from fellow fly dressers, and we explore new techniques and materials.

I enjoy doing tying demos at fairs and when visiting clubs. I’m happy to share the tips and tricks I learned during all these years of fly-tying. I also like to be creative and use a lot of materials fellow fly dressers would send to the dustbin. For my 3rd show in October, I’m thinking of tying tube flies this year. I will certainly show you how to twist and hackle different materials and how to use them on a tube!

See you at the Irish Fly Fair in Enniskillen!

Email: bartreitsma@gmail.com