My name is Dylan Gonzales. I’m from Los Lunas, New Mexico. I am small town raised and proud to be that way. At a young age, my dad Eli introduced me to fly fishing on the San Juan River and after a few hookups, I myself was hooked. Shortly after, my dad had shown me how to tie flies, we started with the basics such as a Grifths Gnat and a Pheasant Tail Nymph, I would tie a dozen or so and cut them off with a blade to retie them until I was able to manipulate the material well enough to make them all consistent and neatly tied.
I began to fish and catch trout stocked in the ditches along the Rio Grande. Developing styles and patterns to fish that had seen me the day before, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of fooling these fish with ideas that I had created from flipping rocks or digging through vegetation for insects. As I previously stated, I grew up fishing the San Juan River in Northern New Mexico, so a quick glance at my patterns or a look into my boxes, you'll see that my patterns are typically based to fish it. However, I tie many different styles from Euro-Nymphs to Catskill Dries, to size 30 Midges. I am an Electrician by trade so my time on the water is fairly limited. Tying flies and visualizing the runs I plan on fishing them in is my connection back to the water. I look forward to sharing my flies as I progress in fly tying, being a voice for the younger generation of tyers, and helping youth get on the vise and out on the water. I am very honored to be considered a Signature Fly Designer and extremely proud to be apart of Team Firehole.
Fly Tying Experience
Years Tying Flies: 12
How You Got Started: At a young age, my dad Eli introduced me to fly fishing on the San Juan River and after a few hookups, I myself was hooked. I owe all of my tying knowledge and experience to my dad for introducing me to a vise and making sure I had hooks to work with.
Favorite Pattern to tie: My favorite pattern to tie at the moment is my 1 O’clock Midge. This pattern has made its way into the hands of Umpqua Feather Merchants and is available everywhere. With it being my second pattern with the affiliation I am blessed and tie some up often!
Favorite Species & Waters
Target Species: Trout!
Favorite Waters to Fish: My home water of the San Juan river is pretty tough to beat!
Fly Tying Style & Specialties
I tie a little bit of everything, however I would say my specialty is definitely small tailwater patterns as its what I fish most often.
Why You Trust Firehole:
Firehole is a tough hook that reliably gets fish to the net for me. Their innovation into multiple different aspects of hooks allow a tyer to be versatile and well rounded.
Social Media & Links
• Instagram: TheAmericanFlyTyer
• YouTube: TheAmericanFlyTyer
• Website / Shop: TheAmericanFlyTyer.com
Gear & Bench Setup
My setup is pretty awesome. Ive shared many videos via instagram on my fly room. I am blessed with such a supportive wife that I actually have an entire fly room to do with as I need. Favorite industry brands that I absolutely have to have are a Regal Vise, Semperfli materials, Renomed scissors and my Firehole Hooks!
Fun Fact
A fun fact about me, Runner up Prom King. Mountains blue, steak medium rare and in April I am chasing turkey! I would have to say that I was once a very accomplished golfer. As a junior I was nationally ranked and won a lot of events. This is definitely something not a lot of people in the industry know about me!
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