Many (? most) fly fishers obsess over their fly selection. They carry more than a few boxes of flies at all times, and spend a
We’ve done our research, come to the stream, looked about, maybe looked at some streambed stones, tied on our fly(s), and waded in. But after
The West is in the midst of an unprecedented heatwave, with daily ambient temperatures running 10-15 degrees above normal. In addition, the winter snowpack was
In my last blog, I emphasized the helpfulness of recognizing the bug order(s) of a hatch. It has since occurred to me that many in
Winter is nearing its end here in Montana, although begrudgingly. One day it’s sunny and nearly 70 degrees, and the next it’s 30 degrees with
The weather in Virginia had been horrible. Snow, snow, snow, and cold, cold, cold! Then came the sudden change of warm weather, with snow melt,
For many first-time anglers, the journey begins in a drift boat, on a big western stream. Captivated by their experience, I’m often asked what one
Most discussions of how to increase your catch-rate of trout dwell on time-of-day, water temperatures, fishing techniques, or flies. Each of these is important, but
It has been said by many, that effective subsurface fly patterns have two necessary attributes. They must look a little like many bugs, and they
Last month, in “Fly Fishing the Subsurface, Suspension Nymphing“, I began a series of blogs reviewing techniques used to fly fish the subsurface for trout.
Virtually every fly fisher loves to fish a hatch. It’s hard to beat the pleasure of targeting a rising trout, selecting the right fly, presenting
Learning to cast a fly rod is easy, right? We’ve all read or heard descriptions of the casting motion, “speed-up, stop, and pause”. Or, “ten-to-two,
When I take newcomer fly fishers to a stream, one of the first questions asked is where to cast the fly. Teaching newcomers to read
For this blog, I’ll assume that you have or will read my January blog, “Fly Fishing, Getting Started“. Hopefully you have had a chance to
‘Tis the start of a new year! I couldn’t think of a more apropos topic than “getting started” into the sport of fly fishing. I
Many, if not most, fly fishers believe that a good cast is most dependent upon the fly rod and the caster. However, I would posit
As leaves begin to turn from green to crimson and gold, trout anglers begin to think of fishing streamers. While streamers can, and probably should,
When I began fly fishing for trout, I was fortunate to be living in Virginia. The Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia boast over 2,000 miles
Fly fishing is becoming ever more popular. Most people try it once or twice, while a few make it an annual event for a week
Before I retired, I tried to fish two or three times a month. Working Monday through Friday and sharing a weekend on-call schedule, I couldn’t
Over the past several years, I have written separately about the four seasons of fly fishing for trout. Done in this manner, I think it’s
Although I have previously written in more detail about many of the topics below, it seems that most fly fishers prefer their information drilled down
Many’s the occasion that I have been asked how many flies I fish with at a time. In truth, I fish with as many as regulations allow, which in
Most trout anglers who take up fly fishing get their start by fly fishing small streams. What is it about small streams that attracts us?
Almost every fly fisher loves to fish dry flies when the opportunity presents itself. The game is of course to see a surface-feeding trout, and
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