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Fly tying: The Muskrat Nymph
Tying flies that don't really imitate anything specific, but might contain a hint of this or that is always fun for me. When a fly isn't supposed to represent a specific prey base, I almost feel as if I have license to be a bit creative at the vise. As expected, the results have been…
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Trout Tips: Size down or switch on a refusal
Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's new book, "Trout Tips," available for order online. If you know a fish saw your fly and didn't pay attention to it, switch your pattern entirely. When the fish does pay attention, mabye even tracks it ... rises... juuuust about opens its mouth, but, at the last…
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Fly tying: The Adams
It's almost summer, which means it's almost time to get out on the small waters here in the West and prospect for wild and native trout. There may be no better "attractor" pattern for trout than the venerable Adams. First tied in 1922 by Leonard Halladay to imitate a basic mayfly, and first fished on…
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Trout Tips: Fish the Edges
Steve Zakur of Connecticut fishes the edge of a stream bank on a small stream in Montana. My buddy Mike Sepelak is a thoughtful angler. He's got a steady cast, a smart approach to fishing, and, perhaps most importantly, he's great to travel with. Over the years, he and I have fished in four countries…
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Fly tying: The Insult
Some flies are so simple to tie that you wonder how, with such little effort at the vise, they can be effective. The Insult, tied below by Tim Flagler, is such a fly. Designed to imitate active nymphs that either swim or end up in the current quite often, The Insult is a great pattern…
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Fly tying: SBR Sulphur Nymph
Nymphing has come a long way over the last couple of decades—many fly anglers will start with attractor nymphs on new water, simply because they make great searching patterns and tend to be top-of-mind when nothing is obviously hatching. But, even searching with attractors like a Prince or a basic hare's ear or pheasant tail…
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Skills: Cording and uncording fly-tying thread
Those of us who tie flies have dealt with the challenges of uncooperative thread, and it's possible that many of us don't even know that "we're doing it wrong." In the video below, Tim Flagler shows us how to cord and uncord tying thread for various situations. Corded thread—or twisted thread—is smaller in diameter and…
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