Other than a standard Walt’s Worm, the Shop Vac has likely taken more small limestone spring creek fish for me than any other fly. This is a Western pattern from West Yellowstone, MT, also introduced to me by Grumpy Dave. He discovered this nymph on a fishing trip to the Madison River. Let me tell […]
How to Tie the Shop Vac Fly Read More »
I admit that I was fed up seeing endless online videos of fishers making thundering, yet elegant, two-handed Spey casts with ginormous fly rods across big rivers to wild chrome-colored salmon and steelhead moving up to spawn. I wanted to do that. (Spey cast–not spawn; I’ve three kids already…) So, I got my hands on
Book Review: Modern Spey Fishing by Rick Kustich Read More »
Earlier this spring, upon taking off my boots and stripping free of my waders, I discovered my wool sock was quite damp. I didn’t think too much of it because I do sweat a lot and the mid-May days were quite warm. As I spent additional days on the water, my right foot continued to
How to Repair Leaky and Torn Waders Read More »
The Frenchie is the first Euro nymphing-specific pattern that I ever encountered. As a matter of fact, the Frenchie is so similar to Frank Sawyer’s Pheasant Tail Nymph that only the addition of a hotspot and heavy weight really separates it from the original. From what I’ve read, Lance Egan developed, or introduced this pattern,
Fishing and Tying the Frenchie Read More »
Flying and fur ant patterns are some of the top producing flies for trout and panfish during the summer and early fall months. In this article, we explain why they work so well and provide tips for fishing with some of our favorite ant imitations.
How to Fish and Tie Flying Ant and Fur Ant Patterns – and When to Fish Them! Read More »
The France Fly is a pattern that I recently discovered and started fishing the spring season of 2024. I first came across this simple pattern in Josh Miller’s book Euro Nymphing: Tips, Tactics and Techniques. Rarely does a new nymph pattern outperform my favorite confidence flies such as Walt’s Worm, Hare and Copper, Eggstasy
Fishing and Tying the France Fly Read More »
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some stout-shouldered stockers on the fly from time to time. It’s still fly fishing after all, and stocked trout can be challenging, even frustrating, if they’ve seen their share of flies. But, if given the chance, I’ll take chasing even a smallish wild trout on a natural, crazy-currented,
West Virginia’s Elk River: Wild (Trout) Wonderful Read More »
Fly tiers today have a vast assortment of materials available to them, including hooks of almost every style and design imaginable. One of those variations is the wide gap hook, sometimes called a wide “gape” hook. The fact that it’s called wide means that there must be a standard gap. But what exactly is a
Hooking Power: Wide Gap Versus Standard Gap Fly Tying Hooks Read More »
It’s often said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and that also applies to the connections used in your fly fishing rig. The knots you tie and methods used to connect fly line to leader and leader to tippet can often mean the difference between fly fishing success and failure.
All About the Connection: How to Connect Fly Line to Leader and Leader to Tippet Read More »
Don’t let one mistake ruin your day. Follow this advice for safe and fun fly fishing adventures.
Safety Tips While Fly Fishing Read More »