The fly tying of Matt Ebbers

Matt Ebbers

My name is Matt, and I tie flies!

I distinctly remember being 12 and watching someone tie flies at some fishing convention my dad had brought me to. Not having a clue as to what I was doing I went home, tore apart a feather pillow, swiped a spool of thread from my mom and stuck a hook from my tackle box in a bench vice and was hooked for life.

After several months of this my father signed me up for my first fly tying class. The late Bob Mitchell of Bob Mitchell’s Fly Shop was my first fly tying instructor. He was a very patient man who would help me with my tying long after the classes would end. I tied flies for almost a year before I ever went fly fishing. My first big trip was to the Big Horn River in Montana. Seeing those big fish take a fly that I tied is a memory I won’t ever forget. In my early 20’s I took an advanced fly tying class taught by Tracy Peterson. He really helped propel me to a new level in the fly tying game. He also was the first person that I had met who made money selling flies. There was no turning back now!

I live in Minnesota and fish the driftless area of MN and WI. I try and make it out west as often as possible. I have been heavily influenced over the years by western fly tiers and patterns. I try and bring some of that style back to the upper Midwest in the patterns that I tie. I have spent most of my life fishing for trout in rivers but have opened up to other warm water species in the past few years.

A couple of years ago my brother said I should look into Instagram. I could combine the skills I had in photography and fly tying. I posted a few pictures of some flies I had tied and the thing kind of took off. Now I have a pretty steady business selling my flies. Every day I am humbled by the amount of people who seem to like what I do. Also the number of very talented tiers and great companies out there is amazing. This is a great time to be fly fishing and fly tying!

Thank You Paul!

Matt Ebbers
@EBBSFORCE1