Contributed by Charice Chambers
Tony Hepinstall loves to fish. Mention anything related to the sport, and his eyes glaze over: He’s out casting his lucky cotton candy fly and bringing in the catch.. He loves to bank fly-fish along Alaska’s rivers, and it is with some pride that he admits catching a lot of fish this year: pike, trout and, of course, salmon. Ice fishing keeps him busy in the winter. His frigid forays onto Alaska’s frozen lakes have netted him several rainbow trout of over 14 inches in length.
Hepinstall credits his love of fishing to his grandfather. His best childhood memories include fly-fishing along the banks of wild mountain streams, dropping a line from a boat on a placid lake, and lots of instruction from Grandpa. According to both Hepinstall and his grandfather, the key to successful fishing is using the right fly to entice the fish to bite.
Life hasn’t always been easy for Heminstall, who came to Alaska as a child with his mom and stepdad. During his teen years, Hepinstall lost his way and fell in with a bad crowd. He eventually realized that he needed a change and moved to the Valley. After some bumps in the road and some counseling, he found Wolverine Academy where with the help of others, he has turned his life around. The academy targets young adults and individuals with disabilities by providing them with support, guidance, housing and job assistance.
Over the years, Hepinstall had many menial jobs, which he found unrewarding. With the guidance of the staff at Wolverine Academy, he decided to turn his greatest love into a business: fly tying! He took classes in Anchorage and honed his skills with the help of friend and mentor ,Mike Hudson. Hudson realized that Hepinstall had a great eye for color and design and taught him to build fly rods as well.
For the last year, Hepinstall has worked with Wolverine Academy support specialist, John Gould, to develop his company, Tony’s Flies. Their collaboration is a perfect fit as Gould operates his own small business as well. He is able to give Hepinstall not only guidance, but real world advice on what works and what might not succeed. Gould works with him on displaying his products as well as marketing aspects of promoting them. The two have a great relationship and Gould fondly refers to Hepinstall as the “cotton candy man”.
Hepinstall not only produces an exciting line of flies, but has expanded into fly-tied earrings as well. His designs are unique and delicate with an Alaskan flair. He not only uses bright colors, but also produces many intricate designs using natural and neutral hues.
Today, Hepinstall is goal-oriented. He plans to get his own place and live independently, getting married in the future. He hopes to use his business and the lessons he has learned as a method to attain those goals.
Hepinstall’s unique feather earrings, and oh-so-lucky fishing flies can be found at the Senior Center Gift Shop. For your holiday shopping convenience, hours have been extended from 10am to 4pm, Monday through Friday until Christmas.
Located at 1132 South Chugach Street in Palmer across from Palmer Junior Middle School, the gift shop is open to both seniors and the public.
