Waders and wading boots are often afterthoughts in fly fishing gear discussions. But if you fish a lot, would you rather have a great fly rod and mediocre boots or a mediocre fly rod and great boots? I don’t think I’m overstating things when I say that another few feet of “castability” isn’t going to …
Let me be clear: I did virtually everything I should have done beforehand. The rod was stored disassembled, in it’s sock, in it’s tube, sealed. Nothing was applied to the male ferrule. No paraffin, no candle wax, and definitely no nose grease. I know that there are different sides to this debate, but rod makers …
A bluebird morning quickly turned dark and ominous. Not coincidentally, a fish-less morning quickly turned interesting. It seemed like perfect conditions: a warm, still, spring morning. There were bugs in the air. No one else was in the parking lot, and there weren’t any fresh boot tracks on any of the trails. The only thing …
You’ve probably been there before. Lying in bed, the night before a fly fishing excursion. You have thoughts. Questions, actually. You might attempt the counting sheep equivalent of visualizing heavy trout coming to the net. But, for analytical minds like many fly anglers possess, that practice gets one thinking about hypotheticals and other situational what-ifs. …
Sunday is a busy day for me. Consequently, Sunday is a busy day for my family. We still have time for rest and recreation, but bigger plans usually get pushed off to Monday. Of course, Father’s Day falls on a Sunday. Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of second-tier holidays. I’m not offended …
Fly fishing and art go hand-in-hand. The connection goes beyond artists using anglers and their quarry as subject matter. There is an intrinsic, pleasing aesthetic to a rod, a reel, and of course – flies. So, the art of angling isn’t relegated to a place over a mantle or a gallery somewhere. It is art …
I’m willing to wager that the bulk of my audience/readership fishes primarily or exclusively in freshwater. That makes sense, because I fish primarily in freshwater. But saltwater fly fishing is spectacular. While there are plenty of common elements between the trout stream and the surf, the differences stand out. And they can potentially be daunting …
I had never been fly fishing, but I decided that a fly fishing vest would be a good investment. In junior high, the multi-pocketed khaki vest certainly didn’t have anything to do with style. Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts, baggy jeans, and puffy white Filas were preferable. As is probably the case with everyone, I must have …
Fishes of the genus Esox have always fascinated anglers. They get big. They look mean. They attack lures and fight… if you can manage to find and hook one. All of these things make sense. So here is what confuses me: In a world where we chase carp and sing the praises of six-inch brook …
30 episodes! How about that. As I’ve done every 10 episodes, I take the time to respond to and interact with your questions, comments, and accusations. There weren’t a whole lot of accusations, but that sounds much more provocative. In this podcast, I talk about all of the small stream fly rod recommendations I’ve received …
