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Fly tying: Using a whip-finisher
When I got my first beginning fly-tying kit all those years ago, most of the tools made sense. But there was this weird loopy, wiry thing that just confounded me. It was a whip-finishing tool. I set it aside and when I tied my first fly (likely a horrible-looking Woolly Bugger that, on its best…
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Trout Tips: Hit the tail light
In New Zealand, where the waters are typically very clear, and the trout are always very smart, the exact spot where a fly lands near a trout can matter down to the inch. The Kiwis will tell you that as you are casting upstream at a fish's position, it's always best to miss to the…
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Fly tying: Adding weight with lead-free wire
Adding weight to flies can be tricky. A lot of tiers prefer to simply add a bead of varying weight to the hook before tying, which not only gives the fly some weight, but also some flash and character. Video of Adding Lead-Free Wire WrapsBut sometimes, as Tim Flagler notes in the video above, adding…
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Trout Tips: Be a lurker
Editor's note: For more great tips on fishing from TU members across the country, get your copy of TU's book, "Trout Tips," available online for overnight shipping. This time of year, when I plan out some distant winter fishing trips to places warmer and farther south, I become a lurker. Not the creepy, "Psst! Hey…
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Fly tying: The Carey Special
There is always room in my fly box for versatile flies—patterns that can be dead-drifted or fished on the swing are valuable assets for the fall and winter angler. Maybe no pattern incorporates the versatility that the Carey Special does. Video of Carey SpecialHere, Tim Flagler ties a very basic version of this fly, using…
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Fly tying: Tying hair wings
If you're like me, you've resorted to buying hair-wing attractor dries like the Ausable and the Royal Coachman, or you've learned new tying techniques to avoid using hair wings at all. I tie my Royal Coachman pattern "renegade" style, using hackle tips rather than hair wings. It's faster, easier and results in fewer curse words…
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Trout Tips: Look and listen for fish
Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's book, "Trout Tips," available for overnight delivery. On native trout water in some parts of the West, sometimes large chunks of water seem unoccupied, making you think that maybe the stream is completely barren. Not so. Cutthroat love to occupy certain stretches of habitat and leave other…
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