Zach lives in Montana but grew up in Wyoming in a little town called Bairoil.  His grandfather introduced him to fly tying when he was about 8, but he did not really start fly fishing till his mid 20's. Up to that point he only had used a fly and clear bobber on a spin rod. He rode bareback horses in rodeos all across the west for about 10 years and eventually bought his first drift boat in 2020 when he moved to the Bitterroot valley.  He not only is an avid angler in the American West, but now takes annual pilgrimages to the salt.

His Polished Turd (Stone Nymph) was created for fishing the Skwalla hatch on the Bitterroot river in Montana.  One of his favorite things is to come up with improved versions of current patterns on the market.  This pattern, an obvious variation to the ever-popular Pat’s Rubber Legs, is heavier and swims hook point up to avoid snags, so you don’t lose as many flies.  There is a lot of wood in the Bitterroot, and he wanted to figure out a hook up stonefly pattern.  It also works well as a point fly that would get down quick but not be too bulky. Thus, the tungsten bead. It has caught Browns, Rainbows, Cutthroat, suckers, whitefish, smallmouth bass and even a small snapper in Mexico. It can be fished under an indicator, euro style in small streams, and as a point fly when you’re swinging wet flies on a floating line.