The category “How to Fly Fish” includes a broad array of information. In contrast to the category “Fly Fishing Techniques”, an effort has been made to provide information most helpful to fly fishers at the entry level.

Is it Fly Selection?

Many (? most) fly fishers obsess over their fly selection. They carry more than a few boxes of flies at ...
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When it Isn’t Working

We've done our research, come to the stream, looked about, maybe looked at some streambed stones, tied on our fly(s), ...
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Summer Flyfishing in the Rockies, 2021

The West is in the midst of an unprecedented heatwave, with daily ambient temperatures running 10-15 degrees above normal. In ...
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A Fly-fisher’s Simple Bug Guide

In my last blog, I emphasized the helpfulness of recognizing the bug order(s) of a hatch. It has since occurred ...
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Fly Fishing Montana’s Spring Shoulder

Winter is nearing its end here in Montana, although begrudgingly. One day it's sunny and nearly 70 degrees, and the ...
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Use Stream Flow Data to Find Feeding Trout

The weather in Virginia had been horrible. Snow, snow, snow, and cold, cold, cold! Then came the sudden change of ...
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Get Out of the Drift Boat!

For many first-time anglers, the journey begins in a drift boat, on a big western stream. Captivated by their experience, ...
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How to Increase Your Catch-Rate of Trout!

Most discussions of how to increase your catch-rate of trout dwell on time-of-day, water temperatures, fishing techniques, or flies. Each ...
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Fly Fishing the Subsurface, Soft Hackles

It has been said by many, that effective subsurface fly patterns have two necessary attributes. They must look a little ...
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Fly Fishing the Subsurface, Tightline Nymphing

Last month, in "Fly Fishing the Subsurface, Suspension Nymphing", I began a series of blogs reviewing techniques used to fly ...
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Fly Fishing the Subsurface, Suspension Nymphing

Virtually every fly fisher loves to fish a hatch. It's hard to beat the pleasure of targeting a rising trout, ...
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Mental Image of Fly Casting

Learning to cast a fly rod is easy, right? We've all read or heard descriptions of the casting  motion, "speed-up, ...
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Read Trout Streams Like an Expert, Even if You’re Not

When I take newcomer fly fishers to a stream, one of the first questions asked is where to cast the ...
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Fly Fishing, Getting Started, Step ll

For this blog, I'll assume that you have or will  read my January blog, "Fly Fishing, Getting Started". Hopefully you ...
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Fly Fishing, Getting Started

'Tis the start of a new year! I couldn't think of a more apropos topic than "getting started" into the ...
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Fly Line Basics

Many, if not most, fly fishers believe that a good cast is most dependent upon the fly rod and the ...
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Fishing Streamers

As leaves begin to turn from green to crimson and gold, trout anglers begin to think of fishing streamers. While ...
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Fly Fishing Spring Creeks

When I began fly fishing for trout, I was fortunate to be living in Virginia. The Blue Ridge mountains in ...
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Reaching the Next Level of Fly Fishing for Trout

Fly fishing is becoming ever more popular. Most people try it once or twice, while a few make it an ...
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Fly Fishing Tough Conditions- Catching Trout Despite Them

Before I retired, I tried to fish two or three times a month. Working Monday through Friday and sharing a ...
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Fly Fishing Season Transitions- Strategies for Trout

Over the past several years, I have written separately about the four seasons of fly fishing for trout. Done in ...
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Ten Tips To Catch More Trout and Have More Fun

Although I have previously written in more detail about many  of the topics below, it seems that most fly fishers ...
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Fish Tandem Flies and Catch More Trout

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 ...
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Fly Fishing Small Streams

Most trout anglers who take up fly fishing get their start by fly fishing small streams. What is it about ...
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Extending the Drift for Better Presentation

Almost every fly fisher loves to fish dry flies when the opportunity presents itself. The game is of course to ...
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Fly Fishing Freestone Streams

Every fly fisher has favorites, whether it be a rod, a fly, a lucky shirt or hat, a certain stream, ...
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Fly Fishing Tricos – a Great Summer Hatch

Fly Fishing Tricos - a Great Summer Hatch Fly fishers who live near a stream boasting tricos are indeed fortunate ...
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Fly Fishing Emergers

It's my observation that the average fly fisher does not understand and utilize the varied opportunities to fish emergers. Emergers are ...
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Fly Fishing the Riffle

Whenever I'm scouting a new trout stream, one of the types of water I look for is the riffle. Why? ...
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Fly Fishing Tips: How to Find More Trout

Fly fishing magazines frequently publish articles with titles like "Six Steps to Better Fly Fishing", or "Ten Tips to Catch ...
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Reading the Water – Secondary Trout Lies

Earlier this year, in "Reading the Water - Prime Trout Lies", I reviewed the habitat requirements for trout survival: cool ...
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Reading the Water – Prime Trout Lies

In April, I discussed fishing during a hatch (Fly Presentation - Fishing a Hatch). For all but winter steelheaders, a ...
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Summer Fly Fishing- Strategies for Trout

Summer Fly Fishing- Strategies for Trout I have previously written about fly fishing for trout in the fall, 10/14, winter, ...
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Presentation- Fly Fishing a Hatch

a Bit of History The first description of the concept of presentation appeared in 1676, in "The Universal Angler", the ...
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Fly Fishing Midges in Winter

It's winter, the first day of January, the first month of the year, and in Virginia, the coldest month of ...
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Seeking Trout- when streams are low

After spending the summer in Montana, interrupted by a two-week trip to Kamchatka (see September article), I knew that when ...
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Fall Fly Fishing- Strategies for Trout

Fall is a time of transition, from summer to winter. Many changes occur in watersheds during this time which will ...
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Spring Fly Fishing- Strategies for Trout

It’s April, a month of transition in the Virginia Piedmont region. For the trout fisherman, it's a time of transition ...
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Fly Casting Basics

It’s almost March, yet here in the Piedmont it is still winter this year. I can hear Western fly fishers ...
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