After perusing a handful of books about tying and fishing midges, and in anticipation of turning to these tiny flies for much of my winter angling, I thought I’d share a potpourri of midge information today. While even tying them on might seem like a chore, the part that midges play in most trout diets …
Just because they’re “no see ‘ums” to you, it doesn’t mean the fish can’t see and eat ‘um. Midges are a staple of trout diets. Imitations of these tiny insects and their cohorts deserve a place in your fly box. And, assuming you have the eyesight or gadgets to tie them on without too much …
October Caddis. Say it with me. There is something about the syllabic rhythm; something in the way the vowels and consonants cycle about your mouth. It sounds perfect. It is a joy to say and a pleasure to hear. This two-word phrase may be in the running for fly fishing’s “cellar door.” Now, euphony won’t …
There is a good chance that you have some habits when it comes to approaching certain types of water. After a few decades of pursuing brookies, browns, and cutthroats in mountain streams I have developed a simple little scheme for identifying what they’re keying in on. Today I share the three dry flies I use …
Serious panfish anglers know that you do need particular gear to chase the biggest bluegill and sunfish. There are tried and true panfish flies that will consistently produce. But say you’re just taking your trout rod on a walk at the local pond? Or what if your life rhythm has made regular excursions untenable? Panfish …
You can do it. You can fish teeny, tiny flies. Moreover, you want to do it. Why? Because if you can fish midges then you can probably fish dry flies any day you want to. In virtually all healthy ecosystems there will always be some tiny insects on the surface film. And somewhere, trout will …
Dry flies, nymphs, and streamers. They work just fine, but there are plenty of ways to fish these flies. One of the most effective ways to fish dries and nymphs is in the surface film or just below the surface. While a high-floating dry is romantic and bottom-ticking nymphs get a lot of hype, fish …
Dry flies looked about the same 100 years ago. Streamers? Things were a little different. We hadn’t gotten around to articulated flies that use half a bucktail yet. But we still caught fish. And the flies that were being fished worked. Plus, you could cast them on your regular trout rod. All was well in …
Today I talk through four flies that work for me in the winter. Notice I said for me. That doesn’t mean that they won’t work for you. In fact, I think that they will work for you. But I have a lot of confidence in these four patterns. And confidence matters, because there is no …
There is something special about warm evenings on the local pond. Even the most aggressive saltwater anglers and devoted trout tacticians appreciate the experience of walking the bank with a pocket of bugs, picking off hungry panfish. But which bugs? Admittedly, my warmwater boxes are stuffed to the point of testing their magnetic closures. But …
