Kim Mutaw

My name is Kim Mutaw, and I was born and raised in Southern California. I caught my first trout when I was five years old and have enjoyed going on fishing adventures with my dad ever since. When the pandemic hit, and we all went on lockdown, I wanted to find a different way to experience fly fishing, even though I couldn’t travel to get to the trout water I loved, so I took up fly tying and haven’t looked back. I tie everything from the tiniest of nymphs to the largest of musky flies and frequently spin up my own dubbing brushes for use in my fly designs. I challenge myself to constantly learn new techniques and materials so that I can be a solid, all-around tier. I own a small business called The Flies That Bind (www.thefliesthatbind.com) that offers nymphs, streamers, trout assortments, and custom ordering. My goal is to continue to learn, improve, tie at fly fishing shows, and design signature patterns that get picked up for production.

In its entirety, fishing is the early wake-up, hastily made coffee, wet-from-yesterday gear, moonset plus sunrise, glassed off water, first cast with no hookups, first sight and first strike. It's also places near and far: solitude, fellowship, new friends, and connecting to family. Tying is the continuation of all of that off the water. A hand-tied fly has, in every wrap, an experience sewn into it. Each tie is spawned from some place in time during the epic struggle between fish and fisher.