Like many fly fishers, I started chasing trout with a 5-weight. This versatile size worked well enough for most circumstances. As I fished more, and found myself spending a lot of my time on smaller streams, I learned how shorter and lighter rods could be more efficient and effective. And, most importantly, more fun. Back …
In my experience, some fly fishers either care way too much about leaders. Most don’t care enough. Fussing over the exact number of centimeters of 4X you need for a certain taper might be overkill. But simply looping on a knotless, tapered leader and using it until it won’t fit through your fly’s eye isn’t …
Two years ago I wrote a two part series on how you can help your kids get into fly fishing. Although I don’t have a degree in early childhood education and am not a perfect parent, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the ideas I presented back then work. How do …
What if I told you that, for $34.95, you could have a top of the line piece of fly fishing gear? It isn’t a fly box. It isn’t a small tool. It certainly isn’t a rod or reel. It is something that is significantly less prestigious, but absolutely necessary. It is a good pair of …
Last week I wrote an incredibly unhelpful (but pointedly accurate) post about preparing for another fly fishing season. For whatever reason, when I write something that isn’t advertised as humor but is certainly meant for such purposes I feel the smallest bit of guilt for any potential sense of disappointment that a reader might have. …
Winter provides fly fishers with plenty of opportunities. For some, it is one more season to chase anything that swims. For others, it is a brief and anxious respite. Regardless of your intensity, winter is a great time to take stock of your gear and get it all ready to roll for the coming spring. …
I love a good sales pitch. In fact, one of the things I enjoy the most at fly fishing shows is hearing people hawk their products. But after riding the circuit for a while, I start to say “no thanks” when people ask if they can show me how their gizmo will surely help me …
This was the worst fly rod ever. Or maybe not. I don’t know. You might like it. But I didn’t. To be honest, there was a time when I liked it. That is why I bought it. I could cast it a mile. In the fly shop parking lot. In my back yard. Even a …
You’ll find them affixed to the front of fishing vests, clipped to the brim of ball caps, and stuck to the underside of vehicle visors. They come in shearling fleece and high-density foam. Their purpose is to hold, to dry, to accumulate. A fly patch can tell a story. Fly boxes say a lot about …
You can catch fish with virtually any and all gear. That being said, there are certain kinds of gear that are especially suited for specific scenarios. Small stream trout fishing is no exception. Beyond what kind of gear you bring, how you carry it is particularly important. In this episode I discuss some of the …
