Fall is, without question, the objectively best season of the year. In my opinion. Whether you are mourning summer or waiting for the water to freeze over, you have got to admit that fly fishing really shines in September, October, and November. Depending on where you live in the country you might experience some of …
Most fly fishers do a decent enough job of looking over, cleaning, and organizing their gear before the season starts. But if you have been fishing hard (or intermittantly) there are a few things that you should take a look at before you head into the fall. Today, I share three different things that I …
High water looks intimidating. But especially in the fall it should be reason for optimism. Of course, high and off-color water has it’s drawbacks. Wading and access is more difficult. There is literally more water to fish. Regular holes and targets may be impossible to reach. Every one of those concerns is valid. In fact, …
Can you spot the steelhead in the image above? There are three fish, each over 20 inches… There is a certain rush in the fall when the days get cooler, the leaves change, and 20 pound trout begin to show up where there was once only suckers and smallmouth. There is a culture, an industry, …
Okay, okay, okay. Lake-run rainbow trout. There. I said it. Now, on to the article: When I lived in the Mid-Atlantic, fall meant trips up to the shores of Lake Erie. After my first time up, it became one of my favorite annual pilgrimages. The fish are great. But there is so much more to …
After hundreds of casts, dozens of holes, and double-digit miles, I caught the best trout right next to the parking lot. Add to all that the fact that I had no business being ready to fish. Why did it happen the way that it did? I don’t know. But I’ve caught enough fish in quasi-ironic …
This was probably my last New England brook trout of the season. The conditions were right on an unseasonably fall weekend and I got out after them. The water was warm and the fish were willing to play ball. I caught almost every one out of deep, slow water. I avoided riffles and runs – …
Every week I approach podcast recording time with a handful of ideas. Most fill up a 20 minute episode. Some are a little more brief, derivative, or otherwise not enough. This episode is a compilation of 4 or 5 topics, only strung together by the common thread of fly fishing. There is some theory, some …
Against all odds, football is back. In many of the high-profile venues across the nation, Saturdays and Sundays will feature at least 100 people in attendance. More pertinent, hundreds of thousands will be firmly planted upon couch and recliner. Not every fly fisher is a die hard football fanatic. Not every fly fisher is even …
I’m surprised at how many devoted fly fishers haven’t tried catching Great Lakes steelhead. Big fish, manageable rivers, and easy access seem like a perfect combination. Sure, fishing for these lake-run trout isn’t the same experience as going to the Pacific Northwest. But being a half-day’s drive from a unique seasonal fishery is something that …
