I have been making Bunyan Bugs for the last 15 years. After tying 1500 or so salmon flies , yellow stone flies ,moths and tiny green drakes, I know how hard my grandfather and grandmother worked to survive making these bugs. I know how to make Bunyan Bugs and what their value is as well. It takes a lot of time and skill to perfect them. I have lived on the Blackfoot River for 30 years and used many flies, but when the salmon fly hatch appeared, it was the Bunyan Bug -Salmon Fly that reined as king. The water boiled with trout when that fly hit the water. Growing up fishing with my grandfather, not knowing he would become a legend, makes it even more special honoring his work. His Bunyan Bugs were one of the first dry flies in the country.
I made Bunyan Bugs to keep my grandfather's legend alive, especially when Robert Redford decided to make his movie. When the movie came out in 1992 (A River Runs Through It ) everyone's interest in the fly soared. Nobody in the Means family took interest in making the Bunyan Bug after the passing of Norman and Bunny Means . It was too hard for everyone to take the time and figure it out. Fortunately, Norman and my mother Dorcas taught me how make Bunyan Bugs What a great hobby.
Trying to make cork bodies using a ferule and a drill ,with different quality of wine cork, was very tedious and took a lot of time. Gramps used a lathe and turned out cork bodies. Finding fine quality cork was frustrating, so I went to the library and found a company in Portugal to make the bodies for me. I had to order a few more than I ever needed, 5000 at a time. It was the same with the hair for the wings. I got tired of cleaning horse and elk hair and bothering the ranchers. I used fine, white goat hair which worked quite well and was used on drakes and smaller flies. There were so many factors and steps. If you didn’t correctly stamp the decals with the right kind of ink, you were throwing the fly in the reject box. The tissue paper today isn't as fine as it was in the 1900's. You have one shot on to trim the wings correctly without cutting too much off . Cutting the cork correctly to obtain the spent wing design was always a tedious thing. Shellacking the bug without ruining the wings was another factor. The kink shank hook was very important in a Bunyan Bug and the ones used by Paul had the eyelet bent down. The cork body won't twist with this type of hook. Want to make a Bunyan Bug or two? There are Bunyan Bugs out there waiting to be found in some old attic or fly tackle box.
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