So we decided to start out a new series called "Fly Interview" where we do an interview with a fly personality in the sport of fly fishing. Unfortunately, I don't know how the rest will go since we are starting off with a bang and possibly one of the best fly tiers in the world. Pat Cohen is a celebrity in not only the fly tying world, but also the realm of tattoos. The man is an artist, enough said, allow me to let him do the talking. TLTFF's interview with Pat Cohen...
1...My name is Pat Cohen, I grew up in Cobleskill, New York...I am a professional Tattoo Artist and Fly Tyer with a warm water fishing addiction...
2...I fished all of my life...I was terrible at it...I mean really terrible...I couldn't catch a fish if my life depended on it...I still went though. I chucked bait, lures, scents, you name it...One afternoon fishing with my Dad and Brother, I remembered my Brother having an old Eagle Claw combo rod in his car...None of us really knew how to cast it as a fly rod..My Dad dabbled once in a while, my Brother guessed on the basics..So I grabbed the rod and for some unknown reason I stepped off of the bank and into the creek...That was the summer of 2008. I had never done this before...I started whipping that thing around like I was beating away hornets, eventually I got the line to go out...I don't even think I had any real flies at that time...I didn't catch a thing, but I became fascinated with the idea of it...Standing in a river waving a stick, becoming one with my surroundings...a deeper understanding of what was happening around me was needed to be good at this..It was like all of a suddon I had this epiphany...this was what I needed to be doing...and then it began..
Fly fishing to me is a zen..it's a moment in time where nothing else matters..Life's little funny games, stress, work..whatever..it all disappears and the only thing that is important is the rhythm..the rhythm of your cast, the rhythm of the water, the rhythm of nature...the things that we cannot control but become part of when we fish..I've never had a bad day on the water...just some better then others...
3. The waters that I focus the most attention on are within 30 minutes of my home. For the species that I focus on, I have a pretty good selection around me to choose from. I am most comfortable fishing small rivers, but the backwaters and shallows of lakes I make no stranger of.
4. I started tying flies because when I began fly fishing I was going through so many Woolly Buggers that out of financial need I had to make my own....Once I figured those out, I discovered that there were actually other flies out there that caught fish besides Buggers...I started tying out of books, but my creative tendencies soon took over, the books were put away and I began to focus my studies on the naturals. I scoured the net looking for info on baitfish species in my area, insects, and generally what the fish I was chasing really ate. Once I gained an understanding of this, my own patterns began to develop. I became a fly tying and fishing book junkie...the more I learned about materials and techniques, the more I was able to create. Shortly after it became another artistic outlet for me...
5. I studied art in college...I was always fascinated with the art of tattoo. The wearing of art instead of hanging it on a wall. I didn't get my first tattoo until my early twenties. I worked as a Graphic Designer and Salesman at that point. I had gone into some tattoo shops, inquiring about what it takes to become a tattoo artist. I always got some kind of runaround. In fact one guy wanted me to draw a collection of flash for him, give him $10,000 and he said he would consider after that bringing me under his wing...so I actually gave up on the idea for a few years after that. I went to get my second tattoo by a fairly well known artist, it was of a drawing that I had made. He was very impressed and asked if I ever had considered a career as a tattoo artist. I figured here we go again..I said sure, how much?..He laughed and asked if I could be there Saturday morning to start my apprenticeship...and then it started just like that..no money, no BS, just come in, work and learn...so that's what I did...worked and learned...
6. I think that my art background influences the way that I tie flies, not tattooing directly. Art is art...The way that an artist looks at things is a bit different. Art is visual problem solving. Someone comes into the shop with some crazy idea.. As a tattoo artist your job is to create the image that they have in there head onto paper, then to skin...inevitably solving the visual problem..When tying flies, I start with an idea, maybe it's a motion, and color pattern, a shape, or maybe all of it. Then I choose materials and go to work creating what's in my head. It's a similar process with all of the disciplines in art..
7. Oh man...that's a tough one. The first fish that I caught with a fly rod was a Small Mouth Bass...Since then my obsession and fascination with these beautiful fish has grown immensly. I am not discriminate though, anything with gills is fair game..and at some point I hope to try and catch everything that I can with a fly. I would have to say that I would stick with the Bronzebacks...the River Kings...they have so much fight and spirit...they pull like mad, they never give up, they can be as picky as the most stubborn trout, and I love the rivers that I find them in.
8. I'd like to hang out with Larry Dahlberg and chuck fluff to Peacocks in the amazon...He created the Deer Hair Diver...the fly of flies...nothing is better on top
9. I have a passion for making Deer Hair Bass Bugs...I love top water strikes...it's not the most effective way to catch fish at all times, nor the only way that I catch them...but a Bass exploding on a popper or diver will give you goose bumps. There is something about tossing a Diver on a lily pad, or next to an undercut bank or seamline, and then waiting...fighting everything in you not to move it...you have to wait..it's a battle of your own will...patience...then the twitch...then the explosion....they are dry flies for bass...what's better then that?
10...My favorite rod setup right now.has to be my Fiberglass 8'5 7wt Fenwick from the 60's, matched with my Pflueger 1495 1/2 reel...Made in the USA....Smallies and Carp all day with that combo...
11. People can find me on Facebook...
my blog site...
or my webstore,
A HUGE thanks goes out to Pat for taking the time to allow us to interview him. Be sure to check out Pat Cohen and his flies. Order one, I am. If you have a PC fly on display in your tying room, anyone who enters will be sure to see it as it will be the focus of the room. If you have a PC tattoo on display on your body, well, consider yourself lucky, its priceless.
Boom...Morgan
