If you’re throwing fish back, you never catch a mess of fish. You can catch a lot or a bunch. You might even have a great day where they were hitting everything you were throwing at them. Great memories, beautiful pictures, and stories that will last a lifetime: but you can’t say that you caught …
How do you talk about fly fishing? Over the years I’ve sold fly fishing gear, taught fly casting, and instructed teens in fly fishing. Recently, I’ve taken a few opportunities to write about fly fishing and talk about it on a podcast. The more I talk about fly fishing, the more I think about how …
We’re living in a pretty sensitive day and age. So please know that I’m using the term “trash fish” in the most respectful and endearing way possible. (But fish can’t read, so I shouldn’t be too concerned about offending any of them.) Chances are, if you fish for some of the less desirable and non-traditional …
The Potomac is a big river. Flowing from the steep hollows of western Maryland and West Virginia down into the tidal portions of Washington, DC, it is big. There are diverse sections of river, each with it’s own composition and angling opportunities. Downstream of historic Harpers Ferry, there are bass and musky hiding in waving …
After writing about my top 3 panfish flies earlier in the week (there is a link below), I got thinking about how I often fish them when I’m chasing the largest specimens in my local waters. As much as I like loud, fast, and active presentations, I have to say that subtle is usually the …
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 …
Minnows rarely make the news. Yet a quick search for “Virginia fallfish” turns up what seems to be a relentless pursuit among anglers of the commonwealth to find bigger and bigger examples of Semotilus corporalis. Josh Dolin is the latest fisherman to get his name attached to this underrepresented species. Yes. Fallfish are underrepresented. They …
Anyone can catch a bluegill. But catching big, dinner plate-sized, rod bending bluegill? That takes a lot of luck, or better yet, a good amount of skill. On today’s episode I walk through three things that will help you find, hook, and catch the biggest sunfish, pumpkinseed, and warmouth in the pond. There are some …
Every one of us has our favorite kind of spot to fish. Riffles, runs, pools; banks, boulders, ledges. There is a reason why you’ll gravitate to such spots regardless of which river you’re on. One of my favorites is creek mouths; where smaller rivers run into larger rivers. These are intersections for fish and bodies …
Smallmouth bass are an excellent species to pursue with a fly rod. In fact, smallmouth techniques have more in common with traditional trout fishing than with popular largemouth bass practices. While trout gear will get the job done in many situations, the angler who chooses to chase smallmouth with regularity will want some species-specific equipment. …
