Recently I had a very unproductive morning on the water. Fish were not where they were supposed to be. In this particular river system there are a few sure-fire spots. Nothing rose and nothing spooked. If I had to guess, the brook trout dropped down into the main stem of the river to seek out …
In this episode, I admit that I made a mistake. Seriously: For years I’ve failed to do one of the things that I emphasize in my writing and speaking. I’ve neglected to define a term. A listener/reader pointed this out, and today I take a stab at correcting it. I also talk a little about …
This time I wasn’t simply fishing. I found myself explaining why I was doing what I was doing. Not how to cast. Not why a dry fly. Why. The reason why I was fishing. For someone who writes and talks about that very subject three times a week, and who has been doing so for …
Which bank do you fish on? It isn’t a trick question or some sort of sneaky form of angling psychoanalysis. In my experience, asking this question reveals one of three common answers: I have to fish this bank, because the other side is inaccessible. I have to fish this bank, because all of the likely …
“Of course it would be on my last cast.” He muttered this primarily to himself. He was also aware that he was muttering those and other, more colorful, sentiments to any startled woodland creatures in the immediate vicinity. That is if they all hadn’t vacated the entire valley from the noise he had quickly stirred …
90 episodes in, and it is still a lot of fun! On this installment of the podcast, I interact with three messages from listeners/readers. I discuss Euro rods on small streams, how to find water that is easy to walk or wade in, and a heartfelt response to a memorial article. As always, if you …
This month on Trout & Feather, my post is called Fly Fishing Past. There are also some great tying tutorials to be found, including the “perfect” jig nymph. Where is the farthest point upstream you’ve fished on your favorite river? What do you think is a little past that? And, if you were being adventurous, …
Not every river yields twenty-inch trout with consistency. Especially in smaller waters, footlong fish are the norm. As contentment in fly fishing is subjective, trout like these are targeted and celebrated. It is for good reason that fly fishers love to use light line weights for these trout. 4-weights and under are preferred when angling …
When was the last time you tried a rod that was two or three weight designations lighter than your usual setup? Whether you fish in the salt, for warm water species, or trout, there are some legitimate reasons to downsize. In this episode I focus primarily on the true ultralight line weights – 2, 1, …
Sometimes in fly fishing, it’s just the getting out that matters. It can’t always be weekend trips, float planes, or grand vistas. It might rarely be plans. Except for the ongoing plan that you’ll go fishing when you can go fishing. To that end there is always a rod, a handful of flies, and a …
