Xperience Days aims to provide customers with any updates relating to Xperience Days along with the latest news from the gifts and experience gifts industry. The following is an article from Seattle Post-Intelligencer by Dan Richman.

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Anyone seeking a peacock wing, the skin of a golden pheasant or a mole pelt -- to use in tying flies, naturally -- need look no farther than Patrick's Fly Shop, east of Lake Union.

The delicate art of catching fish by imitating their winged, swimming or crawling food -- or by simply provoking them into biting -- flourishes at Patrick's, as it has since the store's founding in 1946.

And though the comfortably aged shop offers walls covered with exotic raw materials for tying your own flies, many thousands of pre-tied flies also amaze with their color, precision and variety.

Patrick's sells flies, rods, reels, apparel and other gear for both freshwater and saltwater fishing.

But owner Jimmy LeMert said the 800-square-foot store specializes in outfitting anglers pursuing sea-run cutthroat trout and resident coho salmon year-round, casting from near shore at the area's saltwater beaches.

"It's fun, close, pretty, and there's some mystique to it," said the Bellevue native. "You never know what you're going to get. Your line may sink and you end up with a starry flounder that weighs 5 pounds."

For the traditional pursuit of anglers using flies -- fishing for trout in rivers -- Washington offers only the crowded Yakima River, the Cedar River, and part of the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River, he said.

In contrast, "on the beaches you can walk for miles and you're usually alone," he said.

A large tabletop with sliding drawers holds thousands of saltwater flies, averaging about $3.50 apiece. One, called a Crazy Charley, is a bright pink little number, with bulbous chrome eyes, a plastic ribbed body and sparkly feathers on its underside.

It's just one in an entire tray devoted to catching bonefish, a game species native to tropical waters, where many of Patrick's well-heeled customers head during the winter months.

"I made thousands of these when I was in junior high and high school," reminisced LeMert, now 43. "I made a dozen or two per hour. It beat minimum wage."

There are several trays for coho and pink salmon, sea-run cutthroat trout and other species.

Many flies meant for local fishing are tied in this area, from patterns that originated here, he said. Others are made overseas, where labor costs less. All are made by hand.

Some of the flies' bright colors look unnatural to humans but have been proven to attract fish better, he said. The motion built into some flies draws strikes from fish that aren't feeding but do lash out at irritating stimuli.

"Let's not forget they have brains the size of peas," LeMert said.

A similarly sized table holds freshwater flies, about $60,000 worth of the feathered beauties, intended to land trout ($1.95-$2.50 each) and steelhead ($2.50-$3.75 each).

If you'd like to tie your own flies, there are racks of how-to books and walls full of stainless steel hooks and thread.

Nothing replicates the body or wings of an insect like feathers, and Patrick's offers matched wild turkey quills ($6 for two), lemon wood duck flank feathers ($3.69 for two) and a golden pheasant skin ($9.59), among many others.

A moleskin ($5) when clipped close creates fuzz that is glued onto a thread and then wrapped around a hook to imitate an insect body.

Some synthetic materials are also used. Flies can be made to resemble not just insects but other fish, crabs, squid and other food.

Patrick's has been around long enough to win accounts from the highest-end manufacturers, LeMert said. Those include Bainbridge Island-based Sage, which makes carbon-fiber rods priced at $129 through $725; vests ($179) and waders ($149-$699) from Simms; and reels from Ross ($185-$350).

Patrick's shows some signs of its age, but they only add to the atmosphere. Gertrude, a great blue heron that last flew 30 years ago, seems nonetheless to be molting. Chunks of an ancient steelhead over the door have fallen away.

LeMert bought the store in 1987, when he was 22. With no other full-time employees, Patrick's consistently yields "enough money to live on, fairly well," and LeMert, a master casting instructor.

He said he doesn't regret abandoning a planned career in medicine to run the place.

"I love my clientele, and every year I lead one or two groups down to Belize or the Yucatan for fishing," he said. "There's nothing more fun than fly-fishing without waders."

The business is seasonal, with slower times during the winter months, except for December, which brings in gift-buyers. Competitors include two other fly shops in Seattle, plus stores in suburbs and outlying areas.

"Happily, a lot of the clientele are insulated from economic downs," he said. "Most people don't fly-fish to feed themselves."

But despite its reputation, the sport isn't just for snobs, he said. Beginners' outfits start at $185. And the store has many female clients, he said.

Queen Anne resident Bill Predmore, 67, said he's been coming to Patrick's for at least 40 years. Retired, he builds rods and ties flies, spending "as much time as I can at it."

Patrick's "has nice equipment and a good selection," he said.

"They'll sell you everything you want, and some things you don't want."