I don’t consider myself a fly tyer. But I tie flies. I tie flies because it is economical. I tie flies because I don’t fish dozens of patterns, and I’ve learned to tie what I like to use. I tie flies because it is fun. It is a challenge, but it is fun. If I’m …
The first time we fished this creek, it was magical. The fish weren’t especially large, but they were plentiful. They attacked flies with vigor. They fought with ferocity. Above that, finding and accessing the creek was an adventure. That made the fishing better. Generally speaking, our experience was delightfully repetitive. Lots of fish. Fish willing …
It is easy to judge your skill as a fly tyer by how a fly looks. While pretty flies are indeed fun to look at, the real goal ought to be flies that fish well. (It can’t be ignored that often the flies that fish well do look good.) So what are you doing to …
Can we fish in your creek? “Sure. Um… what’s in there?” I don’t know. But there has to be something. *** We had passed by the creek countless times. It was always just scenery. It was never the destination. If anything, as a small tributary, it was an afterthought. The Potomac is a big river. …
There are no brown trout here. Fish aren’t going to rise unless bugs are hatching. Nothing in this pond is over a few pounds. You can’t use flies – they’ll only take bait. Oh yeah? For an unpredictable pursuit like fly fishing, those statements sound awfully concrete. Add in a little bit of competitiveness and …
If you were to write a classic fly fishing story you’d start with an existential statement. Maybe something about water or wind or the challenge of catching a fish. You’d develop it a bit. Then, you’d launch into the metaphor. Because this is real fly fishing writing, and everything is a metaphor for something else. …
The International Fly Tackle Dealer Show has returned to beautiful Colorado! For three days, fly fishing companies will be showing off their latest and greatest to others in the industry. While the purpose of the event is to cultivate relationships and broker deals, many fly fishers keep an eye on the goings-on. What gets unveiled …
Remember the fledgling days of the internet? Everything was AOL, chat rooms, and dial up. Slow, slow dial up. In the past few years, have you considered how techno-deficient life was in 1997? You weren’t going to be buying anything online, that is for sure. Watching movies? There were no VHS slots in computers… even …
Many people head into nature, be it for fly fishing or some other pursuit, to get away from everything. Everything, of course, is relative. You’re not getting away from the woods. You’re not getting away from fishing. And you’re certainly not getting away from yourself. And no one is wrong for using that turn of …
Most fly fishers might be surprised by how little gear they actually need on the water. Regardless if you’re targeting mountain trout, farm pond bass, or cruising flats fish, there are truly only a handful of things you’ll reach for on a recurring basis. Personally, combining trail running with fly fishing has caused me to …
