Sunday Classic / The Bimini Twist
The Bimini Twist may be the the most mysterious knot in fly fishing. I love the look you get when you tie one. It’s as though you pulled a rabbit out of your fishing hat. In reality, the Bimini Twist is not a difficult knot. Once you understand it it’s very easy to tie and it can not be beat for strength. It is the best method for attaching you backing to your fly line and a knot every angler should know how to tie. Here’s Capt. Joel Dickey to show you how easy it is.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Sage Light Saber & A Bloggers Wager
Although totally worth your time, this weeks Shoutout is admittedly self-serving.
I have a little wager going with my good friend Andrew Bennett at Deneki Outdoors. Kent and I feel like our readers are the best and most loyal readers on the web. We did a Shoutout to Deneki a while back, and felt pretty sure that we would show up as Andrews #1 referring site. Sadly, we are stuck in the #2 position.
WE DON’T LIKE BEING # 2!
I made a bet with Andrew that we could change that and I’m counting on your help. Please, let’s show these boys what the G&G family can do. Follow this link to read Andrews awesome review of the new Sage Light Saber.
Thanks!
Read More »2014 Redington Waders
2014 BRINGS WITH IT NEW REDINGTON WADER LINES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
The Super Dry Fly Waders for men feature nano-technology and come in standard, zip front and pants. These options have you covered for every wading scenario. The new Siren waders and boots for women offer style, performance and more options for fit with the Marilyn and Kate models.
Cool new wading products with the quality and innovation you expect from Redington. Check out the video for all of the details.
Read More »Fly Fishing the Trico Hatch & Spinner Fall
The first major spinner fall that I ever witnessed and had the pleasure of fishing took place many years ago on the South Platte River in Colorado.
I’ll never forget the excitement I felt as I watched countless trico spinners floating downstream in the surface film. Never in my life had I seen so many bugs on the water. With one scoop across the surface of the water with my hand, I held dozens of tricos. I was so amazed by the density of bugs on the water that it put me in a frozen trance. Unable to wet a line, I remember thinking to myself, “This must be what fly fishing in heaven is like.” Growing up in the Southeast, I’d never seen a spinner fall of such magnitude. I’d only read about them in books. Looking back on that day now, I believe my reluctance to start fishing that morning had a lot to do with me just taking it all in, and appreciating the true beauty of nature at work. Only after I took the time to pay my respect to the bugs and wild trout, did I feel worthy enough to begin fly fishing such a beautiful place.
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Flathead Mayfly Nymphs Rule
If you take the time to to flip over enough rocks in moderate moving water you’re bound to find lots of Flathead Mayfly (Heptageniidae) clinger nymphs of various sizes. These three and two tailed flat bodied nymphs, with robust legs and broad heads are very important for fly anglers. Quill Gordons, March Browns, Hendrickson, Light Cahill, Pink Quill and Gray Fox are some of the popular species that belong to the flathead family. To date, there’s been fly patterns created for over 45 different species in 10 different genera of the flathead family. Because there’s usually multiple species found in any given watershed, I typically find trout keep them on the food menu year round. The subsurface nymph patterns seem to produce nice trout for me even when fishing conditions are really tough. Oddly enough, I rarely find a good variety of patterns that imitate the nymph stage in my local fly shops. Below is a pattern I tie as a general all-around nymph imitation for the flathead “clinger” mayfly. It’s designed to mimic the bold features of the flathead, and it’s landed many big fish for me the past few seasons.
Read More »Saturday’s Shoutout / Fly Fishing Guide Trevor Covich
This week’s Saturday Shoutout we showcase Trevor Covich, a veteran Alaskan fly fishing guide at Alaska West. Trevor recently put together a really cool fly fishing and tying video about one of his signature sculpin patterns. We also have provided links for two other fly fishing articles written by Trevor that we think you’ll find very informative. I hope one day I’m able to fish with Trevor. I know I could learn a great deal from him.
Read More »The New CCFX2 Fly Reel From Nautilus
I’M PRETTY BRAND LOYAL WHEN IT COMES TO FLY REELS. I HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT BRANDS OF ROD BUT ONLY A COUPLE OF NAMES SHOW UP ON MY REELS. NAUTILUS IS ONE OF THEM.
Quality is important in any gear you use but when it comes to reels, it’s really important. “A fly reel is just a line holder!” How many times have you heard that BS? Ask the guy who’s fighting the fish of a lifetime how he wants his line held. “Very carefully!” will likely be his answer. Fly reels take a lot of punishment and we expect them to perform flawlessly, every time. It pays to buy quality.
Nautilus reels are known for quality. While they aren’t the most expensive reel on the market, they aren’t cheep. The new CCFX2 reel was designed to bridge the gap between performance and price. It sports many of the features of the high end Nauties at a price that won’t make you grimace.
In this video Kristen Mustad shows off the features of the new CCFX2 fly reel.
Read More »Fishpond Westwater Large Zippered Duffle Review
There’s a lot of fly anglers that look at the price tag of fly fishing travel luggage as say, “Good God, that’s expensive”. I’ll admit that most of the fly luggage isn’t cheap. Most large pieces will set you back at least a couple hundred dollars before tax. But before you go writing fly fishing luggage off for only the rich snobs that have plenty of money to blow, you might take a minute like I did to check out the current pricing on traditional travel luggage. I found that luggage of similar size and quality was actually quite a bit more expensive. On average, it was priced a hundred dollars above most fly fishing luggage. Furthermore, just about all of the traditional travel luggage brands I researched weren’t waterproof.
These days, all the old boxy travel luggage I’ve acquired stays hidden away in my stairwell closet collecting dust. Just about every trip I take now, whether it’s for a fishing trip or a family vacation, I use my fly fishing luggage. Quite frankly, its lighter, just as durable if not more, and like I said before, it’s waterproof (that’s a mandatory feature for me). If you’ve been interested in purchasing some new fly fishing travel luggage but found yourself hesitant, I encourage you to do the reasearch like I have and then go out and talk with some anglers that own some. I’ve been 100% satisfied with all of my fly fishing luggage with the exception of one piece that had some minor defects.
This past year, I was provided the opportunity to try out the new FishPond Westwater Large Zippered Duffel. Timing was perfect because I had been needing one more large piece of travel luggage for my extended fishing trips. I put it to use right away and it has served me very well on my past five trips.
Read More »Falling in Love Again, With My Winston
I DON’T KNOW HOW IT HAPPENED. I HAVE NO EXCUSE, BUT SOME HOW MY WINSTON B2X 6 WEIGHT SPENT THE LAST TWO YEARS IN THE TUBE.
I have a lot of fly rods and I’m always getting new ones to try out, but there is still no excuse for neglecting such a great rod. I got that rod specifically to fish the Green River in Wyoming during hopper season. A trip I used to make every year. I’ve passed on the Green River trip the last couple of years for various reasons and I guess I just forgot about the Winston in the process.
I made it back to the Green this year. Only for a day and not during hopper season but it jarred my memory and I took the old green stick along. Man am I glad I did. It was like falling in love all over again. Not just for me as it turned out. Kent and I fought over that rod the whole trip. Several days, it was the only rod that got fished.
We had a pile of rods. We each brought five and added to that several that we’re sent to us to evaluate for clients. Still, the Winston carried the day and I’ll tell you why. While the B2X has been languishing in the tube, the world of fly rod design has changed. In this case, I’m not sure we can call it progress.
In recent years, rod companies have been beating cheeks to make the
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Double Figure 8 Loop knot
Loop knots give your fly superior action in the water. There are several good options for creating a loop knot but tied in heavy salt water tippet, like you use for tarpon, most get quite bulky. In the first of three videos on better salt water knots, Capt. Joel Dickey shows us how to tie the Double Figure 8 Loop Knot. An excellent choice for strength, size and action.
Read More »