The Bench Reserve

Three fully dressed Sheep Shad flies with white feathers and dark overwing, arranged on warm wood.

A selection of flies from the Benchworks tying desk.

Fine bass flies and warmwater fly design are at the center of L.H. Blanton Benchworks.

Long black fly with overlapping foam-back segments, blue legs and orange eyes.

Purpose comes first

Finished olive Pan Handler fly with dark bead eyes on a wooden surface.

A fly begins with its fishing purpose: the water, the fish, the intended action, and the way it must cast and fish.

Blue-legged deer-hair slider.

Materials and proportion

Hand-tied fly by Lee H. Blanton.

Hook geometry, materials and proportion follow from the fishing purpose. Deer hair is a principal specialty, joined by purposeful work with feather, fur and other materials.

Every material has a purpose. Every operation has a reason.

Finished white-and-chartreuse Code Blue fly against a dark background.

At the tying vise

Lee H. Blanton tying a fly at a white vise.

Thread control, material handling and durable construction bring those choices together at the vise. From the first turns of thread to more demanding warmwater work, proportion remains part of the construction.

Shaping the deer hair

With the deer hair in place, trimming develops the shape. Colour placement and proportion are part of that work, connecting construction at the vise with the profile of the finished fly.

Finished Whithair Bug with a shaped burgundy face and green-banded deer-hair body on wood.
Lee H. Blanton handling a deer-hair fly at his tying bench.
Triple Articulated Diver.
Finished pale deer-hair fly with a shaped head and reflective fibers against a dark background.

The finished fly

Smokewagon.

A Benchworks fly begins as a fishing tool. Beauty may elevate it, but beauty never excuses poor function. The finished fly brings materials, proportion and construction back to that original purpose.

Allow 4–6 weeks for your order, depending on the size and complexity of the work. The time frame is always subject to material availability, and I’ll make it clear from the outset. Once complete, all orders are picked up at or shipped through Dirty Water Fly Co.

Handcrafted for the Pursuit

The work at the bench supports the teaching. Instruction explains the choices behind the fly, and From the Bench preserves patterns, techniques, and useful references.

Selective commissioned work is considered by enquiry.

For questions about fly design, teaching, or the work shown here, write to Lee.

Explore Instruction · Read From the Bench · Discuss Fly Design

Heritage. Green-and-black cicada-style fly with a pale collar against a dark background.

Heritage

Instruction. Leased Gilt fly with a clipped deer-hair wedge head, green eye and dark feather overwing.

Instruction

From the Bench. Green and yellow deer-hair frog fly on a wooden tying desk.

From the Bench