Fly Tying Patterns by Donald Halfpenny

Donald Halfpenny

My name is Donald Halfpenny and I was born, raised and reside on the east coast of Canada, on the beautiful island of Cape Breton. Surrounded by outstanding water, my younger years consisted of a vast amount of swimming, sailing and the odd bit of light tackle fishing with my father. My grandfather fished lobster by hand out of a small "putt putt" boat for a great portion of his life. So the water had always drawn my attention on multiple fronts - but I never really picked up fishing until after finishing trade school. Quickly after taking up fishing and then fly fishing, came fly tying. And just like anything else I take on, I quickly became addicted. This led to repetitive late nights and long hours behind the vise. I have now tied for over a year and a half and spend multiple hours a day/night and over 300 days of the year behind the vise! I started small and worked up to large predator flies, which is now my true passion and sole tying style. I love to experiment and push the boundaries of fly tying, while sometimes trying to incorporate different aspects from the gear fishing world. I am a "sleep when you're dead" kind of person that loves to tie big flies and attempt to catch big fish throughout the beautiful waters that surround me!