Interview with Kirk Dietrich

Author of Tying Bugs

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

Originally from New Orleans, currently reside in Kenner, which is a suburb of New Orleans in adjacent Jefferson Parish.

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

My parents of course made the decisions early on moving after Hurricane Betsy from “Mid-City” New Orleans out to “New Orleans East” until crime started increasing in the neighbor hood back in the 1970’s. We then moved to Chalmette in St. Bernard Parish (a suburb on the east side of New Orleans) where I “grew up” having being of the age where I remember my years in middle, high school and young adulthood.
My own marriage in 1990 had me and my wife living in various rentals in Jefferson and St. Bernard Parish before settling down in Arabi, another part of St. Bernard Parish in 1994. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina flooded that house with thirteen feet of water; fortunately we evacuated to Ruston, LA with our four children the day prior to that catastrophe.
After living in Ruston for several months, we rented an apartment in Kenner, a suburb on the west side of New Orleans located in Jefferson Parish. We lived there and house hunted for 14 months until finding a house in 2007 in Kenner where I still reside.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

A popper making class I conducted for the Red Stick Fly Fishers in Baton Rouge, LA. The preparation for that class took six months making tools, different stages of poppers and a thorough step-by-step booklet for the students.
After completing that class with high praises from the students, I toyed with the idea of writing a more complete book on the subject of bug making. Still uncertain, I looked to a friend, Tom Jindra that is a retired copy editor and outdoor writer and told him about the class experience and the idea I had been contemplating. Tom didn’t hesitate in assuring me that I could indeed write a book and proceeded in instructing me of the steps I needed to take to accomplish the goal.
Now, leading up to that experience, the idea to publish a book had been brewing for several decades. I have always enjoyed sharing my bug making and fly tying experiences with others by doing demonstrations and writing “pattern recipe” sheets and creating YouTube videos. It is my way of passing on what I learn from other generous fly tiers that have shared their knowledge and experience with me over the years.
Plus, as I age I find myself forgetting how to tie some of the old flies I used to tie; so, by writing a book, I’ll have a good reference to look back on if I forget to tie one of my favorite popping bugs, sliders or divers.

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

My book is a how-to book with stories and over 900 photos that explain how to create, paint and fish popping bugs, sliders and divers out of cork, wood, Styrofoam and closed cell soft foam. In it I share what I’ve learned over the last thirty years of bug making.
Anecdotes are interspersed within the chapters and vary from the histories of a number of various patterns to stories of how certain style bugs came to be as well as how different style bugs should be fished. There is information on my original patterns as well as old time favorites that I obtained from interviewing a handful of well known fly fishing and tying outdoor writers and guides such as Lefty Kreh, Pete Cooper Jr., Jack Allen, and Walt Holman, all of which unfortunately passed away before the book made it to publication.
While the book contains recipes for creating specific patterns such as my Rabid Dog, Diggler, Mylar Popper, Lefty’s Popper, Pete Cooper’s Perch Float Popper, Accardo’s Round Dinny, Peck’s Parker Feather Minnow and others, there is a multitude of general information and techniques that will enable readers to create and paint their own designs.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

Fly fishermen, fly tiers and lure makers.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

My main editor, Jay Nichols, taught me to not rely on photos to transition the body of my text from one section into another. The photos aside from the step-by-step images should stand alone having their own caption while being relative to the body of text but not interrupting the flow of the writing.

If you could, what advice would you give to past self yourself before embarking on this journey?

Do not spend a lot of time editing your photos, the publisher will use the originals and edit and crop them to their standards; keep the original photo you select in an organized folder to make it easy to turn over to publisher.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

As many as are interested in learning the stories behind some of America’s original fly rod bug designs and how to make fly rod lures in general.

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

Before having a publisher, the biggest challenge was organizing the book in a way I thought would be most appealing to the reader and effective in conveying my ideas.
Once being accepted by Stackpole, my biggest challenge and frustration was having to go through all of my 900+ images that I cropped and edited and looking for the corresponding original file from the camera and renaming them in numerical order beginning with 001. Then removing my images from my original manuscript and replacing them with the new numerical name.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

When it comes to writing I strive to convey my idea as clearly as possible. However, to strive for and accomplish are two different things and often we disillusion ourselves with what we consider a strength when your readers are the best judge and in a better position to state what an author’s strength is.
When it comes to publishing, I am good about meeting dates set by the publisher.
As for marketing, I like giving books away.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

When it comes to writing, attempting to convey my ideas can easily lead into more detail and words than necessary.
When it comes to publishing, having confidence I can find a publisher interested in investing in my book.
As for marketing, I’m a terrible business man, I like giving books away or trading and bartering for others’ goods or services in exchange for my book.

When do you think you will you write your next book?

Hopefully before I die, so, at 57 I guess I better get started.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

I’m not self-published and I’m not sure what a hybrid publisher is, so by process of elimination, I guess…Traditional Publisher. Stackpole Books Publishing took my manuscript and photos and turned it into a book.