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"Bonnie and I had dinner over at the Borgers last night. I haven't seen Gary all summer and it was good to catch up with Gary and his wife, Nancy.
Gary has been consulting in Thailand for Targus. He has been there for 9 weeks reorganizing the company. They have a fly tying operation employing about a 100 tiers, and Targus supplies several million flies a year with this and a second factory. He gave Bonnie and I a slide show that he has prepared for several venues. I've never seen how flies are tied commercially and it was a fascinating look a the operation of a major supplier.
They have a license with the government that allows them to import raw materials without tariffs but they have to prove that all the materials are subsequently exported as finished flies. So there is a rigorous accounting of the supplies.
Each tier is issued all the materials necessary to tie the flies they are assigned. Each fly must be tied to match the prototypical fly.
They supply materials in batches sufficient to tie 50 dozen flies.
That is the minimum batch for a tier. The tiers specialize in the flies they tie. Some tie only dries, others only saltwater, and others steelhead and salmon patterns, etc.
Some workers only sort hackle, separating them by color and size.
Others do the same for other materials such as dubbing. They weight the dubbing out in grams and supply only the amount necessary to tie up the 50 dozen flies. They have color charts and materials specifications so that the materials are consistent batch to batch.
Some they buy but some they manufacture - more on that later.
The hooks are counted out and every hook is accounted for. They have a department whose only function is to catalogue, distribute and account for the hooks. Another department does only the epoxy work and their epoxy heads are perfect with no bubbles.
The tiers submit their flies and every fly is catalogued as to the pattern, size and the tier. They have the ability to place a UPC code on individual flies if the buyer desires it.
I always believed that the commercial tiers use inexpensive products such as grade 3 Whiting necks. Gary corrected my preconception. This operation uses grade I and II Whiting necks, and high quality hooks that cost them 10 cents a hook wholesale. They use the best quality materials. This particular factory makes only the highest quality flies. Gary showed me some samples and they are as good or better than any commercial flies that I have seen. They are way better than the flies I tie for myself. The skill of these tiers is incredible but they do this for 8 hours a day, year after year.
This tying operation is not a sweat shop operation. The operation is in a modern 4 story building with the various floors segregated for it's function such as materials, quality control, administration, tieing, etc. There is even a cafeteria where the workers can buy dinner for about 70 cents.
This is the future of fly tieing. The workers specialize in one job, and they are experts in it. If you grade hackle for 8 hours a day.
every day for 10 years, you become better at grading hackle than almost anybody else on earth.
The attention to detail is incredible. Because of the computerization and the need to catalog material and production, they are now going to do a study to see how many flies can be tied from a specific material. They will know, for example, how many dry flies of various sizes they can get from a grizzly Whiting #1 neck vs a #2 neck, or if there is a difference between the #1 Dun necks or #1 Grizzly neck as to the number and quality of flies that each one will provide.
Most of us know Targus as a supplier of hooks. Interestingly, they got into hooks because their tying operation used so many hooks that they expanded into becoming a hook supplier. Gary says they are expanding their hook operation and have redesigned their lines to have the strongest hooks in the industry. I haven't tied on Targus hooks but I've seen prototypes and they look good. Their price point is less than the major manufacturers. I really am a fan of the Tiemco
921 hook which Tiemco has discontinued. Targus is making a model 921 which looks identical and they are making it in a size 20 which has been one of my favorites of small flies. The hook is a 2XS so the #20 is essentially a very wide gape size 22 hook.
Gary Showed me a new synthetic seal fur substitute that Targus will bring out next year. I've got to say that it looks great. It doesn't have the translucence of seal but the synthetic fur is fine and has a sheen that is just magical. It really makes great flies. It can be chopped and blended and would make a great material for nymph dubbing. i can't reveal the name at this time. They also have a new craft fur that is longer than the craft furs that are now available.
I was really surprised at the amount of care and detail that goes into a commercial operation of that size. It is a factory in the truest sense of the word where raw materials come in one end and consistent, high quality products come out of the other. If you have the opportunity to see Gary give this particular program, I recommend it.
I have no financial interest in Targus.
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