Wrixon, with Orange Cosseboom, a standard salmon fly

This September, Leslie Wrixon ’87 will travel to the mountains of Portugal as the official fly tyer for the U.S. national fly fishing team. (There the underdog Americans will face formidable competition from France, Italy, Czech Republic, and Poland for the world championship.) Though she has been tying flies for only about five years—starting with a kit, on a whim—several of her creations placed at the Irish Open Fly Tying Championship this year. Wrixon grew up fishing on the Connecticut side of Long Island Sound, “catching stripers, bluefish. My grandfather was a fly fisherman,” she says, “but I was always too young to touch all his precious stuff.” Now she ties every day, devoting half her time to original designs. The raw materials are feathers and furs, with some synthetics (e.g., epoxy for eyes). “I’m a little more daring with color than most,” says Wrixon, a clinical psychologist by training, “and I try to tie flies that are strong.”

(Clockwise from top left): Deep Ghost, inspired by the legendary Main tyer Carrie Stevens (1882-1970); Crescent Moon, a display tie in the Victorian style; The Blue and Mixed, ranked seventh at the Irish Open; The Hackled May 1, ranked eighth

(Clockwise from top left): The Olive Flash Muddler; Olive Freewing Matuka; Golden Glory; and Cactus Crayfish