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Michael Olesen is 57 years old and lives on the island of Fyn in Denmark. "I must have been 9 or 10 years old, it's a bit hard to remember after all these years, but I always had the idea that I started fishing and caught my first trout in 1976," he says. He was taught the basics of fly tying in 1981. His range of flies was simple and small in the 1980s, but more than enough for my fishing. In the 1990s he devoted himself to starting a family with his wife Margrethe and then children, building houses, education and too much work... 'so there was absolutely a lot of fly fishing and fishing to catch up on when I came back to it in 1999'.

Around 2003-2004, his fly-fishing teacher at the local fishing club motivated him to participate in the Danish fly-fishing championship, which he managed to win in the category dry flies and nymphs. "I don't mind building flies to catch the human eye at all, but I really find it more interesting to build flies for the fish and, to be honest, they really are the toughest judges."

Everyone on the island of Fyn in Denmark, where he lives, fishes for sea trout on the coast, but not him. His fishing only involves dry flies and nymphs, perhaps because there is an adequate number of challenges to keep someone like him hooked. Fly fishing is a thinking game, with very specific flies for special occasions. He also loves the fact that dry fly fishing is a quiet and relaxed waiting game, with built-in excitement as a contrast. He mainly fishes brown trout and grayling in small Danish streams. He has also fished in several other European countries such as Slovenia, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Scotland and England, but at the end of the day it is the fish in his own country that interests him, above all he thinks it is somehow more relevant to follow his local streams year after year and talk to the locals. 

Well over 20 years ago, when he was a bit younger and significantly more ambitious, he used to make a lot of flies. Today he mostly makes his fly designs and mostly draws inspiration from his fishing trips, where he finds the insects he tries to imitate. "That's probably more correct. For me, it is better to be aware of the size, shapes, colours and dimensions of the insects and the behaviour and imitate it. I also take photos of the insects, which is also a great help in the construction of the flies." 

You could call his creations 'semi-realistic fishing flies'. He uses a lot of cdc (cul de canard feathers) and other soft material. Through methods and choice of materials he feels he can express himself.

He is a member of the 'Semperfli' pro team in England and the 'Renomed' team. In recent years he has had the opportunity to write about his fishing life and flies in numerous international magazines in Italy, England, Germany and Denmark. His most recent and most challenging project is a South African one: he has been offered to write a chapter on his 'Moon Mayfly' in Gordon van Der Spuy's new book, 'The Feather Mechanic 2'.