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Fly Tying Group
Buszek Award Winner: 1996
Ned Long
Based on material written by Marty Seldon; edited by David Nelson
(first posted August 1, 2008; last updated August 1, 2008)
Ned Long 1922 - 2002
John "Ned" Long was born in Delaware, Ohio on December 8, 1922 and moved to Glendale, California at age four. Ned received a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Southern California. He was married to Betty for 54 years and had three children. Ned had a successful insurance business in Pasadena and then one in Tahoe City, California. Ned's older brother Jim taught Ned to fly fish when he was ten and they loved fishing the Mammoth area. Don Martinez of Woolly Worm fame helped Ned start fly tying in 1949 and it became an addiction. He was a member of the Pasadena Angling and Casting Club and by 1955 was teaching fly tying to patients at the Vista del Arroyo Veterans Hospital. After moving to Northern California in 1960, Ned taught extensively until he lost an eye to melanoma but was uniquely able to overcome the loss of depth perception. Ned was consumed with his passion for fly fishing and fly tying and also very interested in fishery conservation, serving as a County Fish and Game Advisory Commission member for a number of years.
Two of his specialties included extended body and pullover flies. One of his most popular patterns is Ned's extended body damsel fly nymph. Others include his Adult Damsel Fly, Dragon Fly Nymph, Extended Body May Fly Emerger, Paradun, Midge Emerger and Stone Fly. Ned looked at everything for its potential as fly tying material, and once even tried to adapt fiber tubing from a dialysis machine to use for tails. He paid great attention to small details and was a great teacher, with a excellent sense of humor. Ned's inveterate search for new materials introduced us to advances like Super Floss, pre-taping underwrap (PTU), and the use of Styrofoam balls from bean bag chairs. We also admired his methods of dying to create new shades of colors.
Ned joined the Federation of Fly Fishers (FFF) in the late 1960's. In 1984, he was one of the founders of the Tahoe Truckee Fly Fishers of Tahoe City and held most of the club's officer positions and was a Director of the Northern California Federation of Fly Fishers (NCCFFF) for many years, serving as Chairman of one of the first Council Conclaves in Kings Beach. Ned Long was a quiet gentleman in the true sense of the word, very friendly, and willing to help everyone at the mere suggestion of need. He was also a major contributor of his flies to the FFF International Fly Plate Series and also helped raise funds for the FFF and NCCFFF through the donation of boxes of his flies.
Master fly tyer Ned Long's outstanding and innovate abilities were recognized first at local events. Starting in 1988 he tied at every international FFF Conlave. He became a featured fly tyer at the International Sportsman's Exposition shows and internationally recognized in 1996 when he was awarded the prestigious FFF Buz Buszek Memorial Fly Tying Award. Ned's flies have been published in magazines and seven of his flies are in the FFF Patterns of the Masters Books.
Ned passed away quietly at home in his sleep on June 23, 2002 at 2:00 a.m. while under hospice care for recurring cancer. We will always remember Ned with great fondness. His life is a role model for all of us.
