To say Blane’s spent his life fishing isn’t an exaggeration. In his youth, he started a guiding service, and eventually opened Blue Ridge Fly Fishers, a highly regarded shop in Roanoke, Virginia. And while his fishing skills are impressive, it’s the creative and effective fly patterns he creates that created a huge following. Matching the nuances of flies with the strike-generating action of conventional lures, Blane’s have allowed fishermen to enter new waters as well as find solutions to age-old fishing dilemmas. When he’s not on the water, he owns his own fly company, the Chocklett Factory, where he produces his own signature fly patterns. He also acts as the southeastern field editor for Fly Fisherman publication.