Nicole March – The Quilted Tyer

Nicole March has been fishing since the age of 3 and grew up fishing on the lakes in upstate and western New York with her father. While she’s always had a love for being on the water, Nicole didn’t dive into the art of fly tying until much later when she stumbled upon a video of someone spinning deer hair to make a Dahlberg Diver and simply couldn’t look away. After grabbing a fly tying kit, a stack of books, and burning through all the material in one afternoon, she set out on a quest for more knowledge. Nicole may have a soft spot for tying and fishing wet flies and streamers, but she doesn’t limit herself to becoming an expert on any one subject.

“For me, it’s more about becoming a well-rounded fly tyer and fly fisher, so as to adapt to different conditions on the water. I love to learn, and books are one thing that I can never get enough of. I can go days without speaking to another person, just buried in a stack of books taking notes, experimenting with different patterns, testing them and tweaking proportions. The written word is my weakness. My entire life I have been known to carry around a stack of reading material everywhere I go, and once you partner that written knowledge with the face to face knowledge that you can find at shows and during presentations; it becomes an information junkies dream!

I enjoy asking questions and when I’m asked a question that I do not know the answer to; I’m ok to respond with a simple “I’m not sure.” Because contrary to popular belief, that isn’t the worst response in the world. Sometimes I will even go as far as getting up off my table and walking that person over to someone who I DO know has the answer. And just like that, side by side, we both learn the answer to a question that 5 minutes ago neither one of us knew. I have never seen the benefit in pretending to know something. To give up the knowledge you could have acquired for the fear of looking like you don’t know enough. “

A few years ago, she wanted to do more to help others who were new to tying and fishing and signed up with a local Project Healing Waters chapter. Project Healing Waters quickly became something that she, as well as the participants in the group look forward to with every new meeting and outing.

“I try to come up with fun and informative lessons when teaching as I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm of the participants. They feel comfortable knowing that this is a learning experience, they won’t be judged by anyone and that it’s ok to ask questions. It’s how we learn. It should be fun It’s especially rewarding when what was taught in class is utilized on the water during a trip. When I can hear the guys yelling from the bank, “Hey! I just saw a splashy rise, that means he’s probably chasing an emerger rather than a floating spinner right?”

“We have all seen firsthand the positive influence that fly fishing has had on our own lives, and anyone who has worked with/participated in PHWFF/Casting for Recovery or the many organizations which promote healing through tying and fishing, knows how much of an impact it really has. 

It creates and opens up a whole new world. When you can physically see someone who once felt like they were alone, who wasn’t sure where they belonged, now tell you they feel like they now have an entirely new community to converse and interact with, you know these programs work. Working with my Project Healing Waters chapter has repeatedly proven this time and time again with new participants. We also meet countless people in our travels, some of which turn into friendships with that stay with us throughout our lives. We even find that we have created these extended fly fishing families that we look forward to seeing at events, that we laugh with and share stories, that become a big influence on our lives.

They even become a support system in many ways, and the fly tying becomes a positive addiction in a world that can have many negatives. This hope for a “positive addiction” in my area is what motivated me to start another the Kids On the Fly chapter in Lafayette NJ.

As we all know; kids of every age need support systems; in and out of their homes, as they go through their adolescent years. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle, because as important as it is having a supportive family around; they need will still need something to stimulate their mind when they are left alone with their own thoughts and boredom. They need something to look forward to, something that will make them think and problem solve, something that will occupy their creative minds the way it does ours when we get behind a vise or on the water. Passing along this knowledge and history to others is not only something that I enjoy; its something that I truly believe is a necessity for our youth in more ways than one. If you can plant a seed in the mind of a child who later finds themselves completely engulfed in the art of tying and fishing, maybe that will be the seed that continues to grow into something positive.

Being able to share what we know, in a fun and informative way is something that also helps to inspire future generations when it comes to fly tying. There is so much history and art in the sport, and so much knowledge to be passed on; that it’s seems selfish not to share it with others. “

Whether it’s a fly tying demonstration, TU presentation or any of the many events where she can share what she knows; Nicole enjoys the interactions, the history and discussions and always encourages as many questions as possible from everyone she meets. She loves knowing this is a never-ending learning experience in which she can continue to share and help others. When someone tells her they are finally comfortable asking questions they had once been afraid to ask, thinking they would be laughed at or considered a ‘newbie’ or ‘beginner’, it reminds her why she enjoy what she does, and why she continues to teach.

I like to tell anyone starting out… “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. We all began as beginners. I still ask questions, I love to learn, nothing to be ashamed of. There is a wealth of knowledge out there between the books, videos, seminars, organizations, tying shows and the many, many like-minded people who enjoy teaching… take advantage of it. Of course there will be days when you don’t catch a fish, except that many of us aren’t out there only for the fish; we are out there for ourselves, for the peace and quiet, and for the learning experience. But if you catch a few trout in an afternoon? Then great! If you don’t? Well, then it looks like you were just taught a lesson on what doesn’t work. Either way, you will never stop learning, there is always room for improvement and, for me, it’s what makes this so exciting.”

Nicole works for plastic surgeons throughout the New York State area as a Tattooist who specializes in pigmentation reconstruction to camouflage scars on breast and skin cancer survivors. She is a Certified Home Health Aide in the State of New Jersey who works with seniors and Alzheimers patients. She is the Secretary for the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild, the A.P.L for PHWFF New City, NY, a Senior Mentor of Kids on the Fly, Lafayette NJ, a contributor to Dette Trout Flies tying tutorials and created the coloring and activity book for the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum called “It’s All About Fly Fishing”. Nicole is part of the Hardy Fly Fishing Elite Program and is on the Pro Staff of Regal Vise, Lagartun, Solarez and Flymen Fishing Company. When she isn’t tying and fishing Nicole has a wide variety of interests such as painting, drawing, sewing and even makes custom fly tying scrap bins! More information can be found at her Etsy Shop www.etsy.com/shop/TheQuiltedTyer

She maintains a blog with fly tying tutorials at www.thequiltedtyer.wordpress.com