Jean-Paul Dessaigne
France

I was born near the river Allier centrally located in France.  In the past, this river was very rich in salmon and other kind of fish and was a paradise for fisherman.  However with political indifference and misguided hands of human nature, man has ruined this river.  

My first fishing endeavor, when I was a lad of 5 years old, was with my father who had a real passion for fishing.  In this era, fly fishing was very elitist and very secretive.  These elitist now realize that they were doing more harm than good to their fellow fisherman.

My father was a baker in a small village of L’Allier and his working hours were not conducive to fishing.  His favorite time to fish was from mid-July to mid-August.  During this brief period of fishing he pursued small bait fish that were plentiful in the river L’Allier.  To pursue these bait fish we used mayfly nymphs, which we would gather in the river bed.  Unfortunately, because of agricultural pollution in the past 10 years, these nymphs no longer exist in the river.  I practiced this type of fishing until I was 15 years old.

A friend called one night a few years later and said he had purchased a fly rod and gear that went with it.  The next day my friend and I tried to figure out how all this equipment worked.  After one hour of frustration, we were both discouraged and my friend was starting to regret his investment.  We were on a beautiful stretch of water that was very favorable for fly fishing.  By chance mayflies were starting to hatch all around us on the water.  As luck would have it, one of my casts was miraculously gobbled up by a big fish.  From that moment on, like a bolt of lightning, I was hooked forever into this sickness called fly fishing.

The following week after breaking my piggy bank, I too was well equipped with all the necessary gear to be the perfect fly angler.  Within 3 days I had mastered the forward cast enough to be successful in catching fish to keep me motivated.  In the river L’Allier, I was catching the resident white fish and small bait fish that are still abundant in our river.  All my success happened just as the trout season was ending and it was with impatience and anticipation that I was waiting for the next trout season.

I am a self taught fly angler and fly tier.  As much as I tried to ask for help and to learn all these secrets, it seems that everyone was very secretive of what they knew and would not help me.  I got my revenge a few years later.  I was so hurt by this stupid behavior that I went out of my way to help newcomers and anyone else who needed my help.  I would have no secrets.  

I have seen at fly tying shows, tiers that were hiding their work and only showing the finished products.  My pleasure was to show all the secrets and intricacies of fly tying.  Accomplished fly tiers would throw their flies at me, dare me to reproduce the same fly, and I would do it correctly and swiftly.  All of this silliness ended when I started winning several national fly tying competitions.

Of course I was always lacking quality materials.  It was a common sight in the village to see me chasing after roosters with a fishing net.  I raided all the local chicken coops but it was not always appreciated by my countrymen.

I joined the Ragot Company in April 1996 and heading up their fly fishing division.  This company was established in 1933 and as of 1991 is owned by Rapala Group.  The co-founder of this company Andre Ragot was a passionate fly fisherman and started his company with 6 fly patterns.  In the beginning, he was assisted by a seamstress. The success of these flies were so great that he had to hire a dozen fly tiers to keep up with demands.  All these fly tiers tied these flies without the aid of a vice, using only threads, scissors and hackle pliers.  Now this division employs approximately 75 people and flies are only a small portion of the overall sales.  My administrative responsibilities includes buying, sorting, packaging and distribution.  Due to my job, I have been able to accumulate most of my needed materials and meet other people in the industry.

Scroll down for Salmon Fly, Beginner Advice, and Fishing France information.

Jean-Paul describes in detail the La Lievre (The Hare) technique he uses to tie Hare hackle.

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Additional Introduction

Salmon Fly Passion:

My passion for classic salmon flies is due to their beauty and complexity, but my biggest difficulty was to find quality materials.  In the beginning, I read and studied Judith Dunham’s book and was especially mesmerized by the flies of Wayne Luallen, Marvin Nolte and Ken Sawada. Spending hours trying to understand the intricacies of their flies. Like all beginners, I thought that I could never figure out their secrets, and without having these secrets, I would never be able to tie like them.  I figure out months later that the only secrets consisted of practice, practice, and more practice, and also having good quality materials.

My first book on salmon flies was by Poul Jorgensen which helped me along with my tying. The hardest part of tying salmon flies is setting the wing.  Spending hours upon hours learning to set these wings was like a revelation when I finally got it right.  In the beginning I tied mostly with goose shoulder but found them very short and flimsy, and swan was impossible to find.  Discouraged, I was loosing interest tying flies because of these materials.  But one day at work, I stumbled upon an old stock of turkey tails.  This turkey was high quality and permitted me to tie large 6/0 and 7/0 flies.  To my knowledge, turkey tails are the premier winging materials for salmon flies.  I learned to dye materials and was able to obtain all the colors of the spectrum.  Finally, being able to possess a wide range of materials, I could now let my imagination create new flies.  

I am not big on tying classic style because I always lack one or more of the proper materials.  My style is more creative and I have a hard time understanding those that just tie classic styles.  Due to my creativity, I have been able to develop my own technique.  Every fly I tie is one of a kind and unique.  Never tying the same pattern twice.

When I prepare to tie a fly I have no set plan in creating flies with the materials that I have at hand.  Despite my experience I would like to assure beginners that I sometime have to razor a fly in progress and start over again.  I not only tie exhibition flies but tie many fishing flies, but find it monotonous tying the same fly over and over again.  

Actually my passion is for tying Spey and Dee pattern and with a good stock of heron.  I foresee many sleepless night tying these pattern.

In 1998, I met Daniel Dufour and was flabbergasted by his creations.  I was able to spend two weeks fishing and tying with him while on vacation.  He taught me a method consisting of multiple wings, including flies of up to 400 married fibers.  Daniel prefers goose and I prefer turkey, which shows that each tier has their own style and materials preference.  

Advice for Beginners:

I would suggest to a beginner to practice with lesser quality feathers and to keep the better materials for when they have mastered the techniques.  The secret to assembling flies properly is practice, practice, practice.  White turkey tail feathers aren’t too difficult to find and good American and Danish retailers can provide quality products.  

Before any assembly is done, it is important to well prepare the materials, that is to say, wash all your feathers to give them back their natural shapes. If you decide to purchase speckled bustard, blue chatterer, or Indian crow feathers, be careful, it will cost you a lot.  Even if you don’t use these feathers, you can still make very beautiful flies.

Since I have been working in the fly fishing world, the materials have evolved, mostly for the trout flies.  Synthetic materials are very popular now, but natural materials will always have it’s place in the fly fishing world.  The mix of both materials make very gorgeous things.

Fishing in France:

In 1991, I won my first competition for tying salmon flies and, because of this, was able to fish in Ireland.  In 1994, 11 of my colleague and I, were able to go fishing in Guinea Bissau.  A fantastic voyage in an environment abundant in many types of fish.  In 1996, I was invited by the organizer of the Mustad Open Scandinavia fly tiers to demonstrate my ability and to fish the fantastic Glomma and Rena rivers.

In 1998 on my trip to Quebec, I fished the Matapedia and the forks in Causapscal over salmon that weighed up to 50lbs, but because of low water condition, the result were disappointing.  That same year, I participated in the Fly Fishing Symposium in New Jersey.

The section of France where I live is called Britanica, consisting mostly of farmers.  This small agricultural section produces 14 million hogs and 110 million chickens and turkeys.  My fishing here is basically for trout.  France has many beautiful rivers but are grossly mismanaged and polluted by agriculture.  Even with this mismanagement there are still a few trout stream.  Using fine tackle and short rods, you can still catch these elusive trout.

There are still a few rivers in Britanica that have salmon, such as L’Ellee, Scorff, and the Leguer L’Aulne, but they are far from being at their capacity.  Our spring salmon run rarely exceed 12lbs.

Grisle are more abundant in late summer and is fly fishing only.  Our 2 premier rivers are Oloron and L’Allier.  They are closed to sport fishing but open to commercial netting, which seems very illogical and irresponsible.

In my estimation, the prettiest rivers are the La Loue, Tarn, Sorgue, and Sioule.  We have a very impressive hydro-electric system in Europe.

If you ever think of coming to fish in France, do your homework, because we have some very complex regulations. You can always contact me and I will be more than happy to guide you in your planning.  

In closing, if you do come to fish in France take the time to enjoy our French culture and if the fishing isn’t what you expect, you can always kick back and enjoy a bottle of our fine wines.

Jean-Paul Dessaigne

Select one of Jean Paul's flies below:

Manureva (Atlantic Salmon Fly)

Watoo Watoo (Atlantic Salmon Fly)

La Vesuve (Atlantic Salmon Fly)

Spey No. 1

Spey No. 2

Spey No. 3

Spey No. 4

Spey No. 5

Nymphe 1

Mai CDC

Mai CDC 2

Sedge Lievre

La Lievre

 Examples of Trout Flies.

Lesson:  Tying Hare's Hair.