Megan Milligan
President and CEO, Iowa Center for Economic Success

Fly Tying

Megan Milligan was in a meeting recently where her mind was wandering off to little bits of fur and feather that have been a part of her life for as long as she has memories.

She might have been thinking of tufts of muskrat fur and stiff-barbed rooster chicken feathers that she combines into a trout fly named the Adams.

The Adams pattern dates to 1922. Milligan, 42, was taught the pattern by her father, Jim Secord, when she was a youngster growing up in Edina, Minn.

“If you wanted to hang out with my dad when he was home, you had to hang out with him in the basement, where he tied flies,” said Milligan, executive director of the Iowa Center for Economic Success.

As a young man, Secord operated a little business called “Zeke’s Flies.” The merchandise was trout flies.

Milligan continues to fashion the Adams and sends the results to her dad. She also is passing the fly-tying tradition on to her youngest son, Roan, 9. He has been tying flies for two years. At this point, he likes to create his own patterns — say, of a housefly — make a sketch for reference and go to work, sometimes with mom’s help. 

“I like the challenge of making something so tiny and so light and yet so useful,” Megan Milligan said. “I also enjoy the act of making something from nothing in a relatively short period of time.”

Roan is a quiet and intent boy who doesn’t get real philosophical about his hobby. Besides, he’s busy tying up a batch of special flies for his grandpa’s 80th birthday in July.

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