A.K. Best

A.K. Best
Born1933 (age 90–91)
NationalityUnited States of America
Occupation(s)Author, professional fly tyer, and fly fisher
Years active1960-
Known forWriting books about fly tying and fly fishing.

A.K. Best is a production fly tyer, fly fisher, and angling writer. He was born in 1933 in Iowa and now lives in Colorado. He wrote for angling magazines like Fly Rod and Reel, Fly Fisherman, and Mid-Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide, and published several books on fly tying and fishing. His flies were sold in stores nationwide, as well as from online vendors.[1] Best travels to speak about fly tying at angling clubs nationwide.[2]

Before he started writing, Best played the saxophone with a small band. Jazz musician Woody Herman invited Best to play with his big band, but Best had just been drafted into the U.S. Army and couldn't join. After serving, Best attended Drake University for a Master's degree in music education.[1] He then spent 17 years working in the Alpena County music department.[3] In Michigan is where he "discovered brook trout, which changed my life."[4] As he couldn't afford to buy flies, he learned to make them.[4]

Best's fly tying books detail materials, methods, and techniques for creating flies. These works include Production Fly Tying, A.K.'s Fly Box, and Advanced Fly Tying. Best also produced a collection of videos that range from 50 to 120 minutes long and detail "efficient and practical methods" for fly tying.[5] His flies were contracted by large firms like the Orvis Company, the Urban Angler shop in Manhattan, and international supplier Umpqua Feather Merchants from Colorado. Best's dry flies were also sold nationwide by the thousands.[6][7]

A close friend of American author and fly fisher John Gierach, Best has appeared in several of Gierach's stories and many of his newspaper articles, sometimes being referred to as "Dryflyguru."[8][9] The nickname comes from Best's affinity for using dry flies while fishing.[2] The fly fishers met while working at a fly shop in Colorado and began fishing together on their days off.[10] Gierach encouraged Best to start writing and wrote several of the introductions to his books.[11][12]

Best's manuscript materials, published articles, memorabilia, flies, and business correspondence ranging from 1983 to 2015 can be found in the Montana State University Archives and Special Collections.[13] There is also an interview with Best included in the collection regarding his life as a fly fisher and fly tyer, as a part of the Angling Oral History Project.[14]

  1. ^ a b Smith, Dennis (March 2009). "Fly tying's best of the best". Colorado Country Life. 40 (3): 16–18.
  2. ^ a b Egan, D'Arcy (January 10, 2008). "A.K. Rates "Best" in Fly Fishing World". Cleveland.com.
  3. ^ Speer, Diane (16 July 2016). "Oral history". Northern Lifestyles. pp. 1C.
  4. ^ a b [email protected], Seth Boster (2024-04-07). "Being Best: A Colorado fly fishing legend reflects on life, career". Colorado Springs Gazette. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  5. ^ Johnson, Chuck (2000). "Lefty Kreh and A.K. Best Fishing". Chuck and Blanche Johnson's Wilderness Adventures Inc. Sporting Books (Fall Preview 2000).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Ulf, Borjesson (6 November 2006). "A.K. Best, flugbindare". Flugfiske I Norden. 28.
  9. ^ Gierach, John (April 19, 1992). "On the South Platte, Pushing Our Luck". The New York Times. p. 9.
  10. ^ Gierach, John (February 17, 1996). "Fly-tying classes cover knotty problems". Daily Times-Call. pp. C5.
  11. ^ Gierach, John. 2001. Introduction. In: Best, A.K. (2001). Advanced Fly Tying. The Lyons Press. pp. x.
  12. ^ Gierach, John. 1989. Introduction. In: Best, A.K. (1989). Production Fly Tying. Pruett Publishing Company.
  13. ^ Hultman, Heather (4 December 2019). "A.K. Best Collection, 1983-2015". Archives West. https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv291595
  14. ^ Thull, James. (September 19, 2015). "Angling Oral History Project - A.K. Best". Montana State University (MSU) Library. https://arc.lib.montana.edu/angling-oral-history/item.php?id=12