This month on Trout & Feather, I’ve contributed an article titled Learn from Your Ancient Angling Ancestors. It focuses on one of the most valuable tips I can give new and experienced fly fishers. It has to do with how you approach the river… before you even approach the river.
A thousand years ago, without even knowing what species of fish was in the river, the angler would be confident in his (or her) ability to catch a few. He was an angler: he would be confident in which spots to target, which approaches to take, and when to call it quits.
Believe it or not, but you have a lot more in common with this adept ancient angler then you might think. Sure, your gear is different and you’re not fishing for sustenance. But otherwise, you’re both fishing and you’re both fishermen. So why the history lesson? For all the energy and effort that we put into catching fish, there are some simple patterns and processes that work.
They’ve stood the test of time…
Also I share two great fly tying videos from Trout & Feather. Both are easy to tie, both will absolutely catch fish, and one is notoriously controversial.
Watch the videos, and find a link to the article, below:
Head to “The Pursuit of Fish” on Trout & Feather to read my posts, including Learn from Your Ancient Angling Ancestors.
The “BEST” squirmy wormy? Let me go on record as saying I agree. Super simple, super effective, and it cuts out some of the more frustrating parts of tying these notorious flies. Which brings me to a point that Tim addresses in the video: Are these flies? Good question! But I’ll save my answer for another day.
Segmented, buggy, or simple and quick to tie. With most nymphs you can only choose two. The Utah Killer Bug, shown by Tim here in an older video, checks all three boxes. I don’t want to question him, but I think he sells it short. It works great for cress bugs and cranefly larvae, but this is a pattern that imitates all manner of macroinvertibrates!
Have any tying or fishing questions for Tim or me? Please leave a comment below.
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