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Trout Tips: Pay attention
Sometimes you have to get the trout's attention. Often, the simplest advice is the best. And when it comes to fly fishing, with all its trappings and the intimidating vocabulary ranging from fly sizes, line and rod weights, tippet sizes and sink ratings, simpler is better, particularly for folks who are just starting out. That's…
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Fly tying: Damselfly nymph
If you fish in froggy water—slow-moving, maybe a bit muddy—you need to have damselfly nymphs in your fly box. They work well in long slicks in trout water or even in high-elevation trout ponds and lakes. And, of course, they're great for warm-water critters like bass and bluegill in waters where they're found. The originator…
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Trout Tips: The angler is part of the presentation
Dressing in muted colors, or even plaid or stripes, can help you blend into the background, making you harder for the fish to see. Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's latest book, "Trout Tips," a compilation of fishing tips from members and TU staffers from all over America. You can order your copy…
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Fly Tying: Catskill-style Red Quill
I love our fly fishing heritage. I love the way our craft is steeped in tradition. And there are some flies that just emote the glorious past of fly fishing—flies like the Red Quill, tied in the video below by Joe Fox. As Tim Flagler describes it, Fox is "fly-tying royalty," based largely on his…
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Trout Tips: Patience and deliberation
Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's newest book, "Trout Tips," available for order today. Patience and Deliberation Count for a Lot Move slowly toward the river, and stalk patiently. It's very easy to spook fish away before you've even thrown your first cast by not being quiet and mindful. Once you've stepped into…
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Fly tying: Whip finishing by hand
About a decade ago, while sitting at a table in the dining room at what is now Calder Mountain Lodge on the northern, roadless tip of Prince of Wales Island, I busied myself tying up a few bright orange streamers for the next day's fishing for Dolly Varden in the island's tannin-stained salmon streams. An…
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Trout Tips: Fly selection
Delaney Hunt with a Black Canyon rainbow. Photo by Chris Hunt. The second chapter in TU's newest book, "Trout Tips," deals with fly selection. When we fish new water, we're often mystified at what the trout we're after might, in turn, be after. Hence the age-old question, "What're they hitting?" Several years ago, on southeast…
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