First, forgive the subtitles, unless you speak German, of course. Often we tend to forget that fly-rod worthy fish can live just about anywhere—the staff in Arlington, Va.’s headquarters office has turned chasing carp, gar and snakeheads in the Potomac into something of an obsession. And we know that great urban angling exists among the…
Sometimes, we take the little things for granted. As a long-time (but hardly accomplished) fly tier, I’ve incorporated a few of the basic tying tactics into just about every fly I produce at the vise. Video of How to do a Pinch Wrap As you’ll see above in this great little Orvis video, Tim Flagler…
While most trout anglers these days practice catch-and-release, there are instances where keeping a trout or two for dinner is perfectly acceptable, and, in some cases, good for the river or stream (a non-native rainbow trout in a cutthroat trout stream, for instance). But even when we keep trout for the occasional meal, it’s incumbent…
Classic flies tied by eastern fly fishers years ago are enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Tiers like Tim Flagler are helping make that happen. Below, Tim ties the classic Isonychia Nymph, a simple pattern that Tim says he’s fishing a lot with lately, and with great success. The pattern is an excellent dead-drifter in waters…
Check out TU’s Stream Temperature Monitoring Handbook. By Kurt Fesenmyer One great way to take the pulse of your local river is by monitoring stream temperatures. Inexpensive data loggers offer the opportunity to record water temperatures every hour for several years, providing easy access to important information on seasonal patterns, short-term trends, and the impacts…
With spring in full swing it’s time to get outside. All over the country, small fingerling trout and salmon smolts are leaving classrooms in the hands of their student caretakers and heading to local rivers and streams via TU’s Trout in the Classroom and Salmon in the Classroom programs. Now is the time for other…
Vote in the Spring Fly Showdown
The Caddis Fly Angling Shop in Eugene, OR has been around for over 40 years, long enough to see its influence expand from a great regional shop to a real force on the fly fishing scene.
Jen Ripple, editor and publisher of DUN Magazine, has worked her tail off over the last several years, throwing everything she’s got into her passion and crafting a publication that shows how relevant women really are in the fly-fishing community.
I’ve had the good fortune to visit the Palometa Club in Punta Allen, about three hours by car south of Cancun, to chase bonefish and permit. When I saw this video, a rush of great memories came back to me—from our jovial driver, Manny, to the ride to the lodge where all the magic happens,…
Ah, sibling rivalries. Anybody who has a brother or a sister understands exactly what it’s like to compete with those closest to you for everything from the food put on the table at night to the fish that come to hand. Meet the Sallee brothers—one is a musician and the other is robotics application engineer.…
Years ago, just prior to going to the Bahamas for my first-ever flats trip, I must have watched the video below a hundred times. I was told by the folks I was fishing with that “You need to know how to double haul” if you’re going to chase bonefish on the flats. Man, were they…
Editor’s note: The following was inspired by the “A dog’s life” blog post last week. I have a black lab named Charlie and she is a great hunting and fishing dog. Charlie comes from great retrieving stock and I worked hard on a daily basis to teach her the game. She was about two when…
Fly-tying materials, particularly for new tiers, can be confounding. And it doesn’t help when professional tiers go all out with exotic materials that are both expensive and super hard to find. But some materials are easy to get a hold of, and, with some advice from seasoned tiers, can be put to use right away,…
Last week, RIO Product’s Simon Gawesworth showed us a great way to swing soft-hackle flies for big-river trout. This week, Simon shows us how to drift a soft-hackle for working trout. There are some notable differences, obviously. First is the technique. When swinging a soft-hackle, you’re interested in line tension and the action of the…
Foam flies revolutionized dry-fly angling a couple of decades ago. Flies that absolutely must float—think grasshoppers, big salmon flies and other terrestrial flies, like ants and beetles—got a big boost from the foam incursion into the fly-tying arena years ago. While foam can be really effective to use in any number of patterns, it can…
I had to see the Lamar Valley with my own eyes. We decided to stop and have lunch in the Lamar Canyon section of the river downstream from the valley. It was there I caught my first Yellowstone cutthroat in Wyoming. I had completed the slam, but I was so happy to be there and to have landed a fish in the park that I didn’t even realize I had done it.
Wilderness experiences here today may not be tomorrow
By Sam Davidson If given the choice between fishing while standing in water and fishing while sitting in it, I nearly always go for the upright option. Maybe that’s because I didn’t spend much time in boats, rafts or other flotation devices as a kid, wher eas I spent plenty of time wading in rivers…
