~-Frontier

. .FLY

CompanyProfile

$359 pair of breathable chest hi

Yeah, you're comfortable, bu

Less than four years ago, Frontier Flies was the new kid on the block.

Today; it's widely regarded as the premiere producer of the

highest-quality hand-tied flies on the market, as well as

the leading innovator of contemporary patterns.

Signifying the impact and influence it is having on the sport,

Frank Amato Books has just published

Frontier Flies: Patterns on the Cutting Edge,with over 600 flies from its celebrated collection.

"Frontier has done the bestjob ofproducing my flies of any company I've tried, "says

Steve Abelof his exclusiverelationship with Frontier Flies ro manufacture his signa-

ture Big Game saltwater series. "Its the best representationof mypatterns I've everseen. "

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"I think the single-most discerning factor about Frontier Flies is the quality, " says

Ken Morrish of the Ashland Outdoor Store in southern Oregon. "Knowledgeable

anglers can tell the difference between well-tied flies and extremely well-tied flies. And

while not every angler can, the anglers I'm lookingfor as customers and the anglers I most

care to associate myself with instantly notice that these ties are impeccable and super-

clean.

"What is even more remarkable is their consistency in terms of proportions and the

amount of material used. From fly tofly, batch to batch, and season to season, these are

the finest flies I've ever seen.

"The other thing I think is important is the innovative nature of Frontier's patterns.

There'sa lot of creativity and new ideas being expressedin theseflies. Everyone's doing it

to some degree, but Frontier's edge is immediately apparent and that sets them apart from

the rest."D

"Troy'sflies overall are cleaner. His heads are finished off much nicer. His bodies

(particularly on his small dries) are thin and tight and the segmentation of the thorax

doesn't all just blend into one cigar shape. And the durability is excellent. And mainly

on dry flies, that's the most important thing.

"On his steelhead flies-I mean, golly,you look at the epoxyjobs on his steelhead and

his saltwater flies. How the wings are married together on them!" says Bob Quigley, who

spent years looking for the right manufacturer to reproduce his famous trout pat-

terns before entering into a collaboration with Frontier Flies this year.

"These are comments that not only I make, but a lot of the people who have seen

them are making. "

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In January 1995, Troy Bachmann saw a niche and stepped forward to fill it.

About the same time, so did a lot of others, who saw a scarcity of flies in an industry hungry

for anything to fill its bins and entered into a virtual Gold Rush to supply them by contracting

with independent offshore operations--even though it meant sacrificing quality to satisfy thebottom line.

The difference was Troy had a vision of a perfect world in which mass-produced flies would

be impeccably-tied with the samejewel-quality as any produced by the world's leading masters. .

His chances of making a quick profit were nil to none. But no one who had watched his

progress as one of the world's most gifted and inventive tyers since the age of 11 cared. Those

with the means to become investors quickly signed on, in the belief that if he built it, discerning

anglers would soon follow.

And that's exactly what Troy Bachmann did when he launched Frontier Flies at the age of27,

fresh out of college.

His first move was to set up a fly-tying factory in Mexico, making Frontier apparently the first

and only manufacturer with a wholly-owned production facility and the capability to control

every aspect of its production, including quality.

His second was to revolutionize both the patterns anglers buy and the way that they're tied.

During the last three years, Frontier has moved to the forefront of the industry by introducing

685 innovative patterns, over 400 of them exclusive to Frontier, of which the majority were

originated by Troy-based on his almost twenty years of tying, guiding, voluminous observation

of insect life in its natural environment, and a rigorous study of fisheries biology in college.

Among them, Frontier's exclusive Slick Water Caddis and its Twilight series (for almost any

dry-fly low-light situation) have become some of the most popular patterns on the market today.

"We don't do generalized patterns," Troy says. "We go from your classic, traditional patterns to

the high-tech stuff that when the chips are down and you need the exact imitation to take fish,

we've got it."

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As important, no one has been able to match Frontier's hair-splitting quality-in which no

detail is overlooked, from its evenly-spaced wraps to precisely-tapered bodies, concise propor-

tions, premium-quality materials (from naturals to synthetics, all of which are hand-selected), off-

the-chart color selections, flawless epoxy head finishes, astonishingly-realistic hand-painted eyes,

and winning replication of the real thing.

"Our quality control is so rigorous, so meticulous, that every tail, every body, every wing, and

every hackle is tied to perfect specifications - or its cut up with a razor blade. We don't sell to

the secondary market," he says, noting that many of the others send their "seconds" out to sport-

ing goods chains and discount mail-order houses. "We have standards and all of our dealers now

have these great expectations and we have to live up to that."

Never has a commercial fly-tying company strived to achieve so much-and succeeded.

Indeed, 1998 will be a watershed year in many respects...

Frank Amato Books has just published Frontier Flies: Patterns on the Cutting Edge, which

John Randolph of Fly Fisherman magazine calls "the best pattern book I've ever seen" and Pete

Woolley of Fly Fishing Outfitters says "is a must-own [book] for any serious fly fisher."

This highly-anticipated volume by Troy Bachmann not only features over 600 celebrated

patterns from the Frontier collection, along with recipes and inventory numbers, it provides the

first definitive presentation of the essential stages of each insect group through its unique organi-

zation of imitations by hatch within the order they appear in the water column.

There's also five extensive sections on trout patterns, plus one each on steelhead/salmon and

saltwater flies...exquisitely-detailed color photographs of each fly by noted photographer and

author Jim Schollmeyer...insightful chapter introductions by leading fly fishing authorities Rick

Hafele, David Hughes, Bill McMillan, Ken Morrish, Brian O'Keefe, Mark Bachmann and

others...and stunning full-page photographs from Keven Jurgens, Morrish and O'Keefe.

As well, Frontier Flies has just released 278 ground-breaking new patterns-induding the

commercial debut of four original trout series from renowned tyer Bob Quigley, Frontier's first-

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ever line of bass flies, and the introduction of some of the most innovative and effective flies

devised yet for trout, steelhead, salmon, and saltwater species.

And not to be overlooked, 1998marks the 20th anniversary of Troy Bachmann's exceptionalcareer.

A companyis born...

A commercial fly tyer since the age of 11 and a professional guide at 17, Troy already had

his sights set on a career in the industry by the time he obtained his bachelor's degree in

economics with a minor in fisheries biology from Oregon State University in 1994. Adding to his

qualifications: he had spent the first two years of his college education studying business.

So as soon as Troy had his diploma, forty resumes hit the mail. And while the paltry re-

sponse was initially disappointing, he would receive a call that would determine his destiny.

It came from Brian O'Keefe, the noted outdoors photographer and industry rep who had

watched Troy's extraordinary progress as a tyer over the years, while visiting The Fly Fishing

Shop in Welches, Oregon. "Really, by his mid-teens, Troy was one of the best fly tiers I'd ever

seen," he remembers.

Brian had just returned from a fishing trip to Alaska with some investors from Bangladesh

who wanted to start an overseas fly tying operation. He told Troy, "If! can get your quality into

mass production, I can sell every one of them," and recommended him as the master tyer to

supervise the operation. (Brian would later become Frontier Flies first rep as well.)

The investors were equally excited about the match-up and agreed to find a location in their

home country, as well as provide the start-up capital. "I was supposed to be the sweat equity

manager," Troy says of the arranged partnership. As the date approached for him to depart for

South Asia, Troy purchased $50,000 of fly tying materials on credit as agreed, pulled in $35,000

of up-front orders, and got his inoculations. However, the money never materialized. And, on

hindsight, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.

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"Exactly what I've done in Mexico, I was going to do in Bangladesh. Yikes, huh? Because

it's a heck of a lot further away. And besides, I'm sure the fishing wouldn't have been as good,"

he recalls, with a laugh.

"So there I was with all these materials and, at that point, I really could have just turned

around and said, 'Hey, I'm sorry it's not going to work out,' and returned everything. But I'd

done all the research and knew this was where my heart and talent was. So I decided, I've got to

run with this and give it my best shot. And that's when Jim Barlow stepped in."

Barlow, a former client and long-time friend, had friends in Mexico who invest in bringing in

American companies to generatejobs. Intrigued, they immediately flew up to Oregon, reviewed.

Troy's business plan and soon after found him a location, which Troy says "turned out absolutely

perfect."

By January 1995, Frontier Flies had not only become a reality, it was apparently the first

commercial fly tying company with its own wholly-owned factory - giving it the unprecedented

advantage of being able to maximize its control over quality, consistency, and delivery.

Indeed, without its own in-house production capability, Frontier would be no different than

its competitors today. "There are a lot of companies out there selling the exact same flies because

they're coming from the same factories-they're just sold under different brand names. But they

have no control over how the product is made, and all they can hope for is that it's afair imita-

tion, so they don't get them back from their retailers," Troy explains of the industry's reliance on

offshore independent contractors who tie strictly for volume.

Situated in the heart of Mexico, the factory's location was selected primarily because of the

town's long tradition in handicrafts. "The people are absolutely wonderful, and I've built a great

relationship with the mayor and state and city councils," says Troy, who first visited the country

while studying Spanish in college and liked the experience so much he vowed to one day return.

Indeed, he would spend up to nine months a year there in the beginning, in order to guide the

first tiers through the company's rigorous six-week training program and set up all of the com-

plex systems involved in monitoring, inspecting, finishing, and shipping so many flies daily.

--

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Efrain Del Toro Garcia, who started out part-time while completing his doctoral studies in

veterarian medicine, now supervises the operation, so that Troy can concentrate on the develop-

ment of new patterns and adminstration of the sales force from Oregon, with regular trips South

to train the staff in the flies introduced each fall and oversee the plant's continuous expansion.

The facility's full-time staff consists of Garcia (the on-site general manager), dozens oftiers,

quality control inspectors, finishing experts, and support personnel - at least half of whom have

been with Frontier from the beginning. And all are young adults in their twenties or older, mak-

ing at least twice the wages typical of the area, which notably experiences an unemployment rate

of 50% or greater.

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Looking back, when I was a kid tying everyday for my dad, I could never have imagined I'd

someday be running my own commercial tying operation. Or that I'd be in a position to

take everything I've learned and apply it to new patterns," Troys reflects on his 20th anniversary

in the profession.

"It certainly made all those hours sitting behind a vise in my family's kitchen worth it. There

were a lot of times when all I wanted to do was go fishing down at the old swimming hole, but

my father insisted I had to tie up two dozen flies first. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm

sure glad he did."

For35-mmcolortransparenciesor moreinformation,pleasecontact:

Lyla Foggia - Publicity representative, Frontier Flies

(503) 622-4811 phone; (503) 622-4813 fax

LylaFoggia@aol.com e-mail

For review copies of Frontier Flies: Patterns on the Cutting Edge, please contact:

Kim Koch - Publicist, Frank Amato Books

(503) 653-8108 phone; (503) 653-2766 fax

"Troy is one est fly

tyers in the world today, andone of the most innovative.

And I believe he's producing

the best commercially-tiedflie n the marke - bar

no have fel at waysince I first saw tern."

John RandolphEditor and Publisher

Fisherman

FLY

Troy BachmannProfile

der. He re-

he's doing,out. "

Rarely has someone so young made such a difference in the

sport in such a short time as this 31-year-old founder of Frontier Flies.

In 1978, Troy Bachmann tied his first commercial fly at the age of 11.

A quarter million flies later, he launched what many regard as the premiere

commercial fly-tying company in the world today - at the age of 27.

1998 marks the 20th anniversary of Troy's exceptional career,

- as well as the publication of his highly-anticipated book,

Frontier Flies:Patterns on the Cutting Edge.

Following is his unusual story.

Few know more about fly fishing in general, and fly-tying in particular, than 31-year-old Troy

Bachmann, who literally grew up in the sport and in the business.

Exactly 20 years ago, he tied his first commercial fly - a Caddis - at the mere age of 11,

when he began turning out two dozen a day to help stock his family's then-fledgling fly fishing

business. By 14, he was averaging a good dozen an hour (including parachutes and traditionals),

and 15 to 20 dozen per day by the time he was old enough to drive, allowing him to buy his first

car. His grand total to date: over 25,000 dozen (or 300,000), the earnings of which also paid for

his college education.

When he wasn't tying, Troy was on the Salmon River and its adjoining Boulder Creek, both

of which flowed by his Welches, Oregon, home at the base of Mt. Hood. At the age of 12, he

landed his first steelhead, a 14-pound buck, on a Doc Spratley. During his teens, he spent the end

of almost every summer day fishing his way home, over a rocky four-mile stretch, after dressing

flies all day in the family's fly fishing shop. By the time he turned 17,Troy had not only caught

(and released) over 200 steelhead and countless trout, he started guiding as well.

One year out of college, Troy started Frontier Flies, setting up his own factory in Mexico

with less than a hundred thousand dollar initial investment - acquired as a result of his growing

reputation in the business, despite the fact he was only 27 at the time.

Less than three years later, he has elevated the company into the majors by introducing over

500 new cutting-edge patterns and several hundred notable improvements ofthe standards-

most of them developed by Troy himself - along with its innovative use of high-tech as well as

traditional materials, perfect proportions, exacting color matches, flawless epoxy heads, and

astonishingly-realistic hand-painted eyes. Most important, Frontier is producing imitations that,

pattern for pattern, catch more fish - particularly where it counts, in less-than-perfect condi-

tions.

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Who knows what Troy would be doing today ifhis father, Mark Bachmann - one of the

deans of Northwest steelheading - had not left a successful career as the manager of a

major sporting goods store to open his own fly fishing business in 1978. Or if quality commer-

cially-tied flies had been amply available at the time, in which to stock it. "You really couldn't

get decent flies. You never knew what you were going to get," Troy remembers. "And delivery

was horrible. So my Dad just decided to teach us kids how to tie the flies."

That meant putting all six kids from Mark and wife Patty Barnes' combined household

through a crash course in fly tying. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. "When you're a kid, you don't

know what a tail is, the proportions, or hackle, or which way it's supposed to go on there, or

anything. And Dad used to get so frustrated," Troy recalls with a laugh.

"And guess who got all the complicated flies! All the other kids started out with woolly

worms, right? I got Caddisflies. I was always bummed that I got a harder fly than my siblings,"

he jokes, "because I had to learn how to stack hair and how to use it to tie flies. And that was a

trick."

So every morning, beginning that summer, the kids ate their breakfast and started working

around 9. "And Dad had all the vises and all the materials laid out on the kitchen table and he'd

tell you what you were going to tie that day, and he would stand there and help us," Troy says. If

Mark wasn't guiding, he'd also tie along with them.

When the kids got done each day depended on how fast each could tie up two dozen. "Self-

discipline and motivation really was the key. If you just worked the flies and you got them right,

then you could go out. But the deal was you couldn't just whip out two dozen flies and take off.

They'd have to be inspected by my dad," Troy says, noting those that were rejected went back on

the vise andwerecut downwitha razorblade- a practicehe wouldlaterinstituteat FrontierFlies.

As a result, it would take Troy until two or three 0' clock in the afternoon, "and that was

when I was lucky. When I was starting out, I'd be there until eight o'clock in the evening."

But it was the best education a young man could get - ifhe was going to end up running a

commercial fly tying operation down the road. "It was great," he says, "because I was learning a

lot - like what a 94840 was. Hardly anyone uses Mustad hooks anymore, but I can guarantee

you I could name off every model of every fly tying hook they made. Right off the top of my

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head. I also knew what 2x strong or 3x fine meant when I was 12years old.

"And you know what," he adds, "it was a great family get-together, because we had a lot of

camaraderie. We were always talking with each other. We didn't hate each other. We were all

working together and having a good time because we were all involved."

Even so, he chuckles, it wasn't quite like "Little House on the Prairie." "Try getting two

dozen flies done in a day and when you don't do it and you're whining, 'Dad, I can't do it. I can't

do it.' Dad's favorite saying when I was a kid was, 'Put your head down and your elbows out.

Just get it done.'

"But that was good," he says of his father, whom he calls "a true pioneer. What guys are

going through with saltwater right now, he did in steelhead fishing in that era. And ifhe hadn't

been such a perfectionist, I wouldn't be sitting here today, insisting upon the same quality from

my own tiers at Frontier."

Tn 1980, Mark and Patty joined forces with Mark Stensland to open up a storefront on the main

highway through Welches, called The Fly Fishing Shop. The business quickly became a

popular stop for anglers headed over Mt. Hood to the renowned Deschutes River - especially

for its hand-tied flies. And that's usually where you could find Troy every weekend and after

school, and full-time during the summers.

At the same time, he found time to run cross country, serve as the president of his high

school steelhead club, and still maintain a 4.0 grade average throughout his senior year.

Instead of heading right into college, Troyjoined the Army and spent two years in Hunts-

ville, Alabama, enrolled in electronics school, where he studied things like missile guidance

systems and night vision units. And for the only time in his life since the age of 11,he didn't fish

or tie a single fly. "I was pretty burnt out on it at that point. I was 18 and had just gotten done

with high school, been tying for a lot of years and a lot of flies. When you do something that

young, I think it's pretty easy to get burnt out."

That would change, when he arrived back home and needed a way of supporting himself

through college. While guiding and tying again for his father, Troy took business courses at a

local community college, before transferring to Oregon State University, where he obtained a

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bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in fisheries biology in 1994.

He also spent the summer of 1993 in Alaska, guiding for the Rainbow King Lodge in

Iliamna, taking upscale clients on daily fly-outs to some of the best blue-ribbon water in the

world. Along with frequent visits since, the experience would later inspire many of Frontier's

celebrated salmon patterns.

It was just the beginning for the young man who would soon move to the forefront of a new

generation of fly fishing pioneers when he launched Frontier Flies in early 1995.

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For more information or photography, please contact:

Lyla Foggia,publicistphone (503) 622-4811fax (503) 622-4813e-mail LylaFoggia@aol.com

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