Sunday Classic / The Only Two Caddis Pupa Patterns I Need to Carry
Caddisflies, who doesn’t love them? I can assure you trout sure do. Tying a caddisfly imitation on, is usually not a bad move on any trout water you visit. Globally, there’s thousands of different species of caddisflies, and that fact alone, one could argue caddisflies are the most abundant and popular aquatic insects found in trout water. If I remember correctly, my first trout landed on a dry fly was with an Elk Hair Caddis. That was a long time ago, back when I knew nothing about fishing caddis pupa patterns and how important they were. I’ve since, with the help of the great Gary LaFontaine, author of the famous book, “Caddisflies”, deepened my knowledge of this aquatic insect, and I’ve built a whole new appreciation and respect for the importance they have in a trout’s diet. Year-round, but particularly during the spring, early summer and fall, fly anglers should be well stocked up on caddisfly pupa fly patterns.
It’s safe to say the most effective way to catch the trout during a caddisfly hatch is
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Other People’s Flies
JOSH MILLS IS FISHING OTHER PEOPLE’S FLIES, AND DOING PRETTY WELL.
Millsfly, the online project of Washington based angler Josh Mills, is a site dedicated to steelhead, conservation and family. Josh does a pretty nice job of balancing these topics and shares a few good ideas and photos along the way.
This piece caught my eye. It’s all about paying it forward and coming together as a community. A message that a great many of us should be taking to heart. So, take this link as a fly shared. Enjoy Millsfly and pass it along to someone. It never hurts to pay it forward.
“THE KARMA OF OTHER PEOPLE’S FLIES”
Read More »2 Alternatives for Attaching Split-Shot
YOU’VE BEEN FISHING HARD ALL DAY LONG SEARCHING FOR THAT PERFECT HONEY HOLE.
You know the one I’m talking about, it’s the one that holds that trophy trout that keeps haunting you in your dreams. It’s getting late, your tired and you know you should be heading back, but there’s a bend just up ahead, and your curiosity keeps pushes you forward with those powerful words, “This could be it, just see what’s on the other side”. Sure enough, as you round the corner, you lay your eyes on a picture perfect run, offering everything a trophy trout could desire. “Screw it”, you say to yourself, “I’ve got time for one more spot. You get into position, make the cast, mend your line, and begin following your strike indicator with your rod tip, when out of no where, it shoots under the surface like it was just attached to a iron dumb bell. You set the hook, and feel the heavy weight of the fish thrashing its big head, and you’re immediately on cloud 9. The adrenaline rush doesn’t last long though. It’s quickly replaced by painful heart ache when you feel your tippet snap, and watch your rod go straight. The excitement is all over…, you won’t land that trophy fish or even be graced with a quick glimpse of it for that matter. The only memory you’ll have to remember that trophy trout is the few aggressive head shakes after the hook set. You bring your fly-less rig to hand and find the tippet broke at the split-shot.
HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU BEFORE?
If you attach your split shot
Read More »The Nautilus Monster Fly Reel, Every Tarpon’s Worst Nightmare
IF TARPON HAVE NIGHTMARES, THE MONSTERS UNDER THEIR BEDS COME FROM NAUTILUS.
Earlier this year, when I started going through my gear for tarpon season, something kept nagging me. In the back of my mind I knew that I needed a better reel. I’d been doing OK with my old tried-and-true tarpon reel but I knew it was the weak link in the chain. One thing I know about tarpon, if there’s a weak link they will find it. I picked up my phone and shot off a text to my buddy Kristen Mustad at Nautilus.
“I’m ready to stop fucking around. I need a monster!”
The Nautilus NV monster is the pinnacle in fly real design. A schoolyard bully with a PhD. Brains and brawn in one package. A reel with one thing on its mind. Breaking the spirits of big fish. Let’s take the Monster apart and see what makes it tick.
Weight
Before the fight begins, before your drag starts to sing, you have to find and hook a fish. Sure, but what does that have to do with your reel? Fatigue, that’s what. Big game reels which hold lines 12 weight and up can weigh a pound. That’s a lot of weight to put on a rod and cast all day. Fatigue from casting with a heavy reel can cause your casting to get sloppy, just when you need it the most. At just over 9 ounces, the Monster helps keep your casting arm fresh and your casts clean and accurate. The Monster is working for you before you even hook the fish.
Now that you’ve hooked that fish, the Monster starts
Read More »Sunday Classic / Chug a Coke, Save a Bleeding Fish
There’s nothing worse than watching a big beautiful wild fish bleed out from a damaged gill. I found myself in just that situation with a big brown trout one day. Watching helplessly as the water turned red. Thank God Kent was with me. Thinking fast he said, “hey, did you finish that Coke?” I had not and he showed me a great trick. He opened the fish’s mouth and poured the Coke down her throat. As soon as it hit the injured gill the bleeding stopped. It was like magic. I’m not sure if it’s the carbonation or the acid but something in the Coke cauterized the wound. It saved that fish’s life. I know it for a fact because I saw her in that same pool several weeks later, although she was wise to me by then. I’m certain it was the same fish. There couldn’t be two just alike in that little pool. It’s one more thing to carry but having a Coke on hand is a great idea.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Bob White on Fly Dreamers
PAINTER, ANGLER, MENTOR, GUIDE
There are not many names in the sporting world as recognizable as Bob White. And for good reason. For many of us, myself included, Bob defined the look and feel of the angling world. In my minds eye, him images often replace those of the real.
Bob’s gentle nature, his respect for land and waters, his humor, all come thru in his work. He has taken us place we might otherwise never go.
This week we’re sharing a great interview with Bob from Fly Dreamers. Some good words and great images for your Saturday.
Bob White on Fly Dreamers
Read More »Sunday Classic / Feel the Tarpon Burn
The first step in landing a big tarpon is getting a really good hook set. If your hook fails to penetrate the hard boney mouth of the tarpon, it almost always will be spit out after the first or second jump. My previous trip to the Florida Keys I experienced just that, walking away with a 0-2 record, all because my hook-sets were piss poor. I wasn’t hitting them hard enough after the eat, and I made a pledge after that trip, that the next time I got a big tarpon to eat, I’d focus 100% solely on making sure my hook set was absolutely perfect. Believe me when I say, it’s humiliating as hell having a guide stare you down after you blow a hook-set. It makes you want to go find a hole to crawl off into.
When Capt. Bruce Chard put me on the biggest tarpon of my life
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Tight Line Video Gets Competitive
TIGHT LINE VIDEO PRODUCES SOME GREAT FLY TYING VIDEOS.
I’ve been a fan for some time. But this video was not what I was expecting, and in a good way.
I’ve never liked the idea of competitive fly fishing. I guess you either love it or hate it and I hate it. That’s another topic, but in this video the guys from Tight Line made me think twice. There is a lot to learn from competitive fly fishing.
There’s a tons of great info here for the trout angler looking to improve their skills. It worth a look and while you’re at it, check out the Tight Line Video YouTube channel. There’s plenty more goodness where this came from.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM COMPETITIVE FLY FISHING
Read More »Summer Is Coming
THE RIVERS MAY BE MUD, BUT I CAN SMELL IT IN THE AIR.
You might even be getting in a little late season skiing the way this year has been, but it’s right around the corner. Here in Georgia we’re already fishing terrestrials, it’s almost here. My buddy Cody Dutcher just posted his first Alaska salmon of the season on Facebook with the message, “Summer, it’s official.” It could already be here!
Summer might mean hundred degree temps in my part of the world but nothing says summer to me like this photo from the Dean River in British Columbia. I had just landed my biggest steelhead to date, a forty-two inch buck, when I saw this chinook salmon breach.
I climbed the mountain side to get a better angle, and waited. When he breached again I
Read More »Tie Twice the Flies in Half the Time
If you tie flies and you’re looking for a way to increase your fly output, I’ve got a great fly tying tip for you today. I personally don’t have the luxury of extra time on my hands these days with running two companies and managing my family time. When my fly boxes start getting bare, I have to restock them as fast as possible. For years, I’ve been an advanced fly tier but I’ve never been one of those guys who can rip out a dozen flies in thirty minutes. I take that back, I can bust out a dozen san juan worms in thirty minutes, but that goes for most of us. For more complex fly patterns, it can be very beneficial to us if we take the time to get organized prior to wrapping the thread on the hook.
A while back, I took a serious look at the clock during my tying sessions and I found out that I needed to make some serious changes if I wanted to get the most out of my tying efforts. The first thing I realized is
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