Squirmy Wormy flies catch fish. Period. They’re not fancy. They’re not sophisticated. Heck, I know a good handful of fly fishermen who won’t even admit to using them. Squirmy Wormy flies are like that nerdy kid on the playground who isn’t cool at all, but he’s always drafted first because he can kick the crap […]
Fishing and Tying Squirmy Wormy Flies Read More »
Kinzua Creek is a 26.5-mile tributary of the Allegheny Reservoir in northwestern Pennsylvania. The stream can be divided into two distinct sections with the line of demarcation between uninhabitable and habitable trout water being Kinzua Bridge State Park. Here Kinzua Creek basically transitions from a swampy, willow-lined mess into the beautiful mountain trout stream
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Junction pools are formed wherever two bodies of moving water converge, such as the famous “Junction Pool” where the Beaverkill and Willowemac join in the Catskills. It is said that “Junction Pool is thought to possess strange and mystifying currents, causing migrating trout to linger for days while they try to decide which stream
Fish this Spot #2: How to Approach Junction Pools Read More »
A fly reel serves basic functions. It holds the fly line and backing as well as offers a rudimentary drag system for playing larger fish. Like many products in life that we use and often take for granted, you won’t give the fly reel much thought until it stops working. My first fly outfit
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Provides a detailed exploration of Yellow Creek. A great introduction for anyone traveling to this stream for the first time.
PA’s Forgotten Limestoner: Yellow Creek, Bedford County Read More »
Streamers imitate baitfish, crayfish, leeches, sculpin, and other aquatic insects that fish feed on year round. And it could be argued that the fall months are the best time of all to fish streamers as species such as Brown Trout, Brook Trout, and Steelhead begin their spawning runs and aggressively feed on baitfish in
Streamers for Fall Trout Read More »
Most anglers can identify the prime holding water along any stretch of stream. Small streams are particularly easy to read since you can usually see whatever structure is present, and if you know how fish like to station around that structure, all you have to do is figure out where to cast in order to
Fish this Spot #1: How to Approach Small Stream Pools Read More »
Spur of the moment fishing trips are the best. Like when my friend Brian Pitell called up on a Tuesday and asked if I’d be available to go fishing that weekend. “I have a reservation at Trout Haven to fish Spruce Creek,” Brian said. Long story short, another guy was supposed to go but canceled,
24 Hours on the “Real” Spruce Creek Read More »
Think of fly fishing and most anglers envision casting to rising trout or drifting egg patterns to finicky Steelhead. While I enjoy those moments, too, once summer rolls around, I have a different species that I love to target: the mighty Bluegill. Like many anglers, the first fish that ever tugged my line was
Bluegills on the Fly Read More »
A handful of palomino trout circled the pool in front of me. They went round and round, all five of them, searching their watery confines for a cool place to rest before eventually stationing themselves in fighter plane formation where the riffles dumped into the pool. A few minutes later, they repeated the process.
Getting Skunked with Dignity: Early Summer Midges Read More »
