Brook trout conjure up all sorts of wonderful imagery in the minds of fly anglers. From the far-flung locales of Labrador, to the Appalachians on the East Coast, the thought of getting into brook trout anywhere in North America usually captures the attention of fly fishers at least once in their career. Brookies tend to […]
The 17 Best Flies for Brook Trout (And How to Fish Them) Read More »
Fishing with midges is one way to all but guarantee yourself fish year-round. Unlike caddis, mayflies, or stoneflies, midges are consistently present in both nymph and dry forms throughout the year. Since they’re always around, trout are used to eating them. What makes fishing midges a challenge is that they’re so stinking small. I have
How to Fly Fish with Midge Patterns Read More »
Nymphing isn’t something I think about specifically, because it’s something that I don’t really set out to do when I go fishing. I fish a dry-dropper-dropper rig, with the intention not of nymphing, but of presenting trout with flies imitating various life cycle stages, and at different areas in the water column. Rarely do I
How to Nymph Fish in Rivers and Streams [Complete Guide] Read More »
Few of us anglers are actually the purists we aspire to be, I think. For years, I styled myself as the dry-fly guy. If fish wouldn’t eat on top, I didn’t want to catch them. And for a while, that worked alright for me. But I realized quickly how much fishing I was missing out
15 Awesome Nymph Fishing Tips [That Really Work] Read More »
I’ve told this story countless times, but I grew up in a family of committed dry-fly fishermen. If you didn’t catch fish on a dry fly, then in my grandpa’s eyes, you didn’t go fishing. Fast-forward to today, and I have two Euro nymphing rods, and the biggest fish I’ve ever caught on a fly
The Best Nymph Flies for Trout (17 Proven Patterns) Read More »
I’ve relayed this story fairly often, but it bears repeating. I grew up in a family where I didn’t know that nymphs or streamers existed. We attended the High Church of Dry Fly Fishing, and as far as I knew, that was the only real kind of fishing to do. Worm-dunking, or mashing Powerbait onto
How to Fly Fish with Streamers and Floating Line Read More »
I recently got married, and when my wife introduces me to her friends or family whom I haven’t yet met, she always tells folks that I’m a fly fisherman. Inevitably, people ask if it’s hard to learn, because they see the long rods, piles of line, and graceful, arcing loops and think of what a
Is Fly Fishing Hard to Learn? Read More »
A few years back, I was on the Utah section of the Green River with my friend Ryan Kelly. Ryan’s one of the best fishermen I know, and he was busy trying to teach me how to throw streamers while also rowing the drift boat. I hadn’t fished streamers much at all in my angling
How to Set the Hook When Fly Fishing Read More »
Earlier this summer, I was guiding two guys on a pretty stretch of river that’s known for having a lot of fish – albeit not terribly large ones – and incredibly easy to access. It was July, early in the morning, but still hot enough that the cool spring water felt refreshing. I set my
How to Reel in a Fish with a Fly Rod Read More »
Few places are as quintessentially Western as Grand Teton National Park, and the surrounding Yellowstone and Jackson Hole area. The rugged peaks of the Tetons look like teeth biting at the sky, and the narrow valleys have a way of accentuating the singularity of the landscape. I’ve never fished in a place more awe-inspiring than
7 Best Places to Fly Fish in Grand Teton National Park Read More »