Under, over, around, and (if you’re feeling lucky) through. Trout absolutely love cover. Downed trees, overhanging vegetation, and undercut banks are just three examples of places fish like to safely fin and eat. But how does one get a fly into these locations? Sometimes the path forward presents itself. Other times, you have to get …
Fly fishing minimalism is not just about throwing things out of your pack willy-nilly. In fact, jettisoning necessary items doesn’t score you any virtue points. If anything, it is simply bad practice. Today I’m sharing three mentalities, paradigms, or reasons why you might want to slim down your angling load. There are other resources on …
Perhaps this is a little pedantic, but it is worth saying: You don’t need to wade to fly fish. What do I mean? Well, I think a lot of anglers wade too much. We get in the water where we don’t need to. We move too close to where the fish are. We disturb things …
No one has ever seen a body builder and thought, “I bet he’d make an excellent angler.” Similarly, there is no inherent association between the physique of marathon runners and fly casting ability. Why is that? Because while there is absolutely nothing wrong with being in shape, athletic prowess and fly fishing success only share …
Today’s episode is a snippet from one of the presentations that I give at The Fly Fishing Show. It is about a third shorter and you don’t get the benefit of PowerPoint slides, but the content promises to be quite helpful for the small stream angler. Why? If you primarily fish small streams, there might …
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 …
Today’s podcast features a question, an accusation (maybe), and a response to a dozen or so comments. All in less than 25 minutes! I discuss “traditional” nymphing tactics and encourage you that you already fish this way. Then, I field a statement made about how we cut the tag end off our knots. Lastly, I …
Times have changed… I think. It doesn’t seem like there is the same kind of animosity from fly fishers directed towards folks tossing worms and lures. While there are some real potential problems with certain types of fishing (deep-hooking with treble hooks, litter from bait containers, etc.), there is no reason to vilify an entire …
Trout are trout, right? Especially if two brookies or cutthroat are swimming only a few hundred yards from each other, they’re going to behave, eat, and look the same. Right? Maybe. But if you’re talking about a fish in a mountain stream versus a fish in the mountain lake that feeds said stream? Maybe not. …
There are a lot of benefits to hiring a guide. They show you new water, put you on fish, and teach you new skills. One of the less exciting facets is the focus they bring to your fishing; less exciting, but incredibly helpful. Today I talk about some of the aspects of fly fishing that …
