Twisting Wire and Pitchin’ Chocklett
Words by Greg Thomas
GAME CHANGERS ARE PROVEN BIG-FISH MAGNETS, BUT BLANE CHOCKLETT’S TYING JOURNEY WON’T STOP THERE.
Blane Chocklett’s got a good problem—his series of super realistic Game Changer flies—which are widely considered to be the holy grail for wary fish of gargantuan size—are in high demand.
However, to meet those requests and fill orders his patterns must be tied in a factory. Up until now, that’s been a big-time issue. The problem: those factory tied flies didn’t swim exactly like Chocklett wanted and, therefore, the people fishing those patterns didn’t get to see and experience what Chocklett did. For a self-described quality freak, that wasn’t good enough. So Chocklett grabbed the reins.
“The flies those companies made weren’t as good as what comes off my vice,” Chocklett recently told me from his home in Troutsville, Virginia. “They came back from the factory half of what they should be. There were inconsistency’s in the exact number of thread wraps, the fibers, the hinges and, especially, the swimming action . . . my patterns require more than wrapping some materials on a hook and calling it a day.”
That’s an understatement. Chocklett’s flies are involved. Some patterns require 45 or more steps, and an equal amount of time at the vice (once someone gets good at tying them). The key to Game Changers are the shanks, which are sections of stainless steel wire with a connecting loop at the rear and an eye at the front. When connected in sequence they mimic the vertebrates on a baitfish’s spine and allow super lifelike movements. The shanks and hook/hooks are covered by a variety of materials, including feathers and synthetics. In combination, they create the impression Chocklett desires. If they were tied two-feet long and swum through knee-deep water at a local kids’ pond you’d see a chaotic mass exodus and parents screaming, just like a scene from Jaws. Seriously, these things swim.
To match a variety of gamefish, Changers are tied in many sizes and styles. They’ll catch every fish that swims, with Mini Changers being perfect for trout and 12-inch long Mega Changers being the go-to for musky.
The idea for Game Changers came from Chocklett’s early experiences on the water, studying the actions of conventional lures, especially Rapalas. In his book, aptly titled Game Changer, he writes, “I have always looked to the conventional tackle world for inspiration. Most of my designs are influenced in some way or the other by conventional lures and fishing techniques. The Flypala is a fly rod version of the Rapala, the Game Changer my version of a soft plastic fluke . . . I have adopted some (conventional lure qualities) to enhance the advantages of flies (lightweight, motion at rest, and the way that they can hover and breathe without being intrusive).”
Some of Chocklett’s patterns swim in a serpentine motion, others jackknife, many jerk one way or another. Some suspend or sink horizontally, just like a resting, crippled or dead baitfish might. They are lifelike, simply deadly in most situations, and are pretty much unmatched in their ability to mimic a variety of prey. So, yes, getting these flies tied to spec is critical to their outcome on the water.
Fortunately, Chocklett’s new company, appropriately called The Chocklett Factory, teamed up with a Thailand based fly-tying factory that offers Blane total control, “the reins” so to speak. The staff only ties his patterns—almost exclusively the Game Changer series—and nothing else. That means Chocklett’s team of 18 tyers have become experts in the Game Changer craft.
Today, Chocklett directs which specific patterns are tied at the facility, which materials are used, and when and how those flies reach the dealers who sell them. Basically, he has his hands on the product throughout its journey to you.
Currently, fewer than a dozen outlets are licensed to sell his flies, one being—yours truly—House of Fly. If you buy Game Changers outside this network, Blane has a question for you: Are you pitchin’ real Chocklett? The answer: Probably not.
For Chocklett’s Game Changers to reach the market they first arrive at his house, where he randomly inspects the lots. If the number of thread wraps is wrong, if one material was substituted for another.. if for any reason Chocklett senses the fly in question couldn’t have come off his vice, and won’t swim like he wants it to, the tyer will hear about it.
“In our first seven months we haven’t had many issues,” Chocklett said during our interview in July. “I’d already trained these tyers through Zoom—you started it here, this many wraps down here, you stop it here—and now I’m just refining things with them. I’m super specific on every step.
“Fortunately, we have some of the best tyers in the world and it’s unbelievable how fast they pick things up,” he added. “If I tell them something is wrong, their next example is perfect. I have a vision and the tyers know what we are trying to accomplish. High-end custom flies on a commercial level. Quality over quantity. Flies that look like they came off my vice and swim the way I want them to. The tyers are one-hundred percent in. No compromises.”
So, why are Game Changers in such high demand? According to Chocklett, it’s all about challenge and reward and everyone’s desire to catch a giant fish.
“Challenge is what makes us fly fishers in the first place,” Chocklett said. “It’s not the easiest way to catch fish. It’s just like someone who would hunt big game with a long bow instead of a modern compound—it’s harder. I chose fly fishing at an early age because liked the challenge and the mystery of it all. I looked at a fish that didn’t commonly eat a fly and ran right at it. That’s what drives some of us, the pursuit to catch the uncatchable. The grind. Anyone can catch a bass or a bluegill, but not everyone has caught a muskie, a steelhead, or a permit. My dad always told me, ‘If you are going to be stupid you got to be tough.’
“I think the Game Changer is the fly you need to catch the top percent of a species,” Chocklett added. “Are you going to catch the biggest trout of your life on a Woolly Bugger? Most likely not. Every day I am going out there to catch the biggest fish, so why not throw the best thing I can?
IT’S NOT ABOUT NUMBERS. I’M LOOKING FOR ONE.
I can catch all the fish I want on a certain nymph, but not the 35-inch brown that lives at the bottom of that pool. I’d rather take a Game Changer to that arena than the average fly you can buy for a buck-fifty at the fly shop.”
All well and good, but Game Changers aren’t cheap (some may sell for $50 a pop). Leaving one stuck to a root wad at the bottom of the aforementioned pool won’t make anyone happy. So, why pay premium for these flies when a single wayward cast could cost you a bundle? According to Mike Schultz, a close friend of Chocklett’s who owns Schultz Outfitters in Ypsilanti, Michigan, you pay that premium because, well, they’re worth it.
“I think the Game Changer is the Woolly Bugger of our generation,” he said. “It’s really dynamic and the possibilities to tie and fish it are endless. But, if you simply chuck it out there and do a standard retrieve, you only get so much out of it. If you master each style of fly—Mini Changer, Hybrid Changer, Feather Changer, Mega Changer—and fish them in different ways, with sink tips and intermediate lines, and jerks and pauses, etc., there is a whole new galaxy to go into. Every Game Changer configuration is a new tool that solves a problem on the water.
“We sell a ton of Changers, so many that we often limit purchases to three flies per person,” Schultz said. “If I tied a batch of Leggy Changers (Schultz’s version of a Game Changer) and listed them for sale at $40 each they would sell out in minutes. Some guys only buy one so they can use it for reference when tying their own. Others buy the three-fly limit. Other guys try to buy all of them. They don’t care what they cost. They just want them.”
What are you missing if you don’t have a few Game Changers in your fly box, whether fishing trout in the West, muskie and smallmouth in the Midwest, or stripers, redfish and tarpon in the East. In Chocklett’s opinion, you’re missing a lot.
“I kind of backed myself into a corner and tied for people looking for that fish of a lifetime,” he said. “There was a void in the flies that would get those fish to eat. Over the years I developed this platform that would trigger the stoke from giant fish. Muskie to smallmouth. Saltwater fish. Trout east and west. There is not a fish on the planet that doesn’t eat these flies. They might be pricey, but you don’t go out, catch two fish on it and say, It’s done. It’s like buying a lure. They are built to last.”
IF GAME CHANGERS ARE THE END ALL TO FLY DEVELOPMENT, IS THERE ANYTHING LEFT FOR FLY TYERS TO PROVE? CHOCKLETT SAYS HE DEFINITELY SEES MORE PROBLEMS TO SOLVE.
“Right now I’m focused on designing more consistent permit flies,” he said. “If you look at the existing patterns they cover profile and silhouette, but they are failing with movement. They don’t act like a crab or a shrimp. Fish with big eyes demand they do—they swim right up to it, look at it, and ask if it is the food they eat on a daily basis. Sometimes they refuse it because it doesn’t match the right color or profile, but movement usually is the problem and that is where the evolution of fly tying should be. I’m not saying I can do it with permit, but I’m enjoying the challenge.”
When I asked Chocklett if he’s had any success with his “lifelike” permit patterns he answered, “I recently took a half-day side trip away from tarpon and the fist permit I cast to didn’t hesitate. Just ate it. It was a nice 20-pounder.”
For most of us, getting a 20-pound permit the first time you threw at one would be a crowning achievement. For Chocklett when testing a new pattern? Why wouldn’t we expect it?