Jay Buchner - President of Fly Fishing Team USA

Jay Buchner was born and raised in eastern Iowa, and spent a great deal of his childhood on family fishing excursions to Michigan and southern Ontario, Canada. He learned to tie flies at age 8 from his grandfather. 

His fishing experience covers the gamut, from bait fishing for catfish in the Mississippi river, to spin and fly fishing for Northern pike and Smallmouth bass in the lakes and rivers of Canada, to fly fishing for trout in cold waters of the Western U.S. , Canada and Europe, and tigerfishing in the Zambezi river of Africa.  

Jay joined Fly Fishing Team USA as the coordinator for the World Fly Fishing Championships held in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Since that time he has represented America as a Team USA competitor in Poland, Australia, England and Sweden. In 2004 he will represent America in the F.I.P.S Mouche World Fly Fishing Championships scheduled for Slovakia in August.

After moving to Jackson, Wyoming, in the late 60's, Jay turned his love of fishing into a career, guiding fisher people in the Jackson Hole area for nearly 20 years as well as owning and operating both a retail mail order fly fishing catalog and a fly fishing shop in Jackson. A shoulder injury prompted an early retirement from guiding (that is, boat rowing), but hasn't hindered Jay's fishing in the slightest. He still "practices" every chance he gets. 

For several years, Jay and Don Veirs, an entomologist from Logan, Utah, have taught Fly Fishing Entomology through the Teton Science School in Kelly, Wyoming. The class includes field work as well as lab work in identifying aquatic trout foods, fly tying demonstrations relating fly patterns to the "real thing," and fishing opportunities which put to practical use the knowledge learned about the insects and their life cycles. Jay is considered an expert in local entomology in his home waters surrounding the Snake River watershed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The Buchner's have been involved with Trout Unlimited and the Federation of Fly Fishers for many years, attending Conclaves, conventions and the like, demonstrating fly tying and promoting their various business adventures. In addition, they often entertain other fishing groups around the country with fly tying demos, slide shows, and fishing clinics.  
Their fly patterns and tying techniques have been featured in such publications as The Second Fly Tyer's Almanac (Boyle & Whitlock), The Book of Fly Patterns (Leiser), Tying Flies with Jack Dennis and Friends (Dennis), Fly Tyer magazine, and Fly Fisherman magazine. Articles and photographs by the Buchner's have also appeared in numerous fishing and outdoor magazines, such as Fly Fisherman, Fly Tyer, Backpacker, Mountain Bike, and the Scientific Anglers Handbooks.