Top 10 Trout Flies For The American West
I HAD A CLIENT COME INTO THE STORE THE OTHER DAY ASKING ME TO SET HIM UP WITH THE BEST PATTERNS FOR FISHING THE WEST.
He was planning on traveling around Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana this summer and his goal was to put together a selection of flies that would allow him to catch fish on every river. After setting him up with a fairly comprehensive selection of dries, terrestrials, nymphs and streamers, we started debating what the 10 best patterns are to cover all types of western trout water. We assumed you could fish the same pattern in different colors and sizes which I guess makes it a lot more then 10 patterns, but anyway this is what we came up with. Let us know what you think and send us your top 10!
#10- The Hair Sculpin
The Hair Sculpin is an awesome streamer. It moves, it can be tied in all different colors and sizes and most importantly it catches fish. You can throw it on a sink tip and fish it deep in lakes or my favorite, bounce it off the shore from a boat. It’s good liven.
#9- The Panty Dropper Hopper
The name alone makes this fly awesome. It comes in various colors and sizes and its got very realistic looking legs. If you fish anywhere that has hoppers, the Panty Dropper will get the job done.
#8- Zebra Midge
Go to any tailwater and generally on the “Hot Flies” list in the local fly shop is a Zebra Midges. They are super simple to tie and best of all they work. You can tie them in any color and size you want from a miniscule #28 to a #12.
DeGala’s Hula Damsel
By Herman deGala
It’s the time of year when the rivers and creeks around Colorado are blown out because of run-off but the weather is just gorgeous. What is a body to do? Of course, you could head to some tailwater. Until you get there and find everyone thought the same thing.
Or you could head to your nearby lake or pond. It’s all filled up. You can see dragonflies and damsels dancing in midair. You might even see a bass come up and just crush a dragonfly as it drops its eggs.
This Hula Damsel is my favorite pattern for this time of year. It is articulated to give it an extra bit of movement as you strip it through the water. It dives when you pause, which is a definite trigger.
I typically fish this along the shore along the reeds and weed line with an intermediate line. It sinks very slowly and stays in the feed zone as you strip, strip, pause.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND LEARN TO TIE DEGALA’S HULA DAMSEL.
Read More »The Fight Isn’t Over When You Get a Tarpon Boat-Side
Catching a tarpon on the fly is a feat most fly fishers dream about but never experience. Some fly anglers get lucky right out the gates, but for most of us, catching one of these beasts on the fly often takes several trips to accomplish. My good friend Capt. Bruce Chard is one of the most competent tarpon guides I know and has taught me a great deal about chasing the silverking. When he put me on my first 125 pound plus tarpon he made a point to let me know that the fight isn’t over when you get a tarpon boat-side.
Bruce Chard explained to me that many tarpon
Read More »Who’s ready for an Amazon adventure with Nomadic Waters?
We are extremely excited to announce our newest hosted trip with Nomadic Waters! Join us October 18-27, 2024 as we travel to the Brazil interior to chase big Peacock Bass throughout some of the Amazon River’s fish-filled tributaries. The Peacock Bass of the Amazon are known as some of the most aggressive, and beautiful, fish on the planet. Found on most anglers’ bucket lists, they live within the watersheds of the largest, most biodiverse rainforest on our planet, making this a trip of a lifetime. Over the past several years, the Nomadic Waters crew has developed a fly fishing experience that offers amenities and hospitality unrivaled by other operations in the Amazon. Through their dedicated work they have built strong relationships and gained support from the local Amazon communities, helping grow their program to become an increasingly popular fishing operation that welcomes many repeat guests, and hosts, yearly. Yes, the fishing in the Amazon is amazing, but it is the attention to the finest details, professionalism, and their hard-working staff that made us choose to travel and fish with Nomadic Waters. Location: Rio da Lua, Brazil Trip Dates: October 18-27, 2024 Price: $6500 – A 50% non-refundable deposit will hold your spot Our trip will focus on the prime time of year to fish the waters of the Rio da Lua (September through October) when the water is low enough to bring the fish out of the deep cover of the jungle. Nomadic Waters is the only outfitter that has gained access to fish this area of the Rio da Lua, and this exclusivity means that you will be casting in water that has not seen any anglers since the previous year’s trips, literally 365 days prior. On top of that, this region is so large that the Nomadic … Continue reading
Read More »Cuda VS Shark: Video
By Louis Cahill
Barracuda Vs shark, who will win?
What happens when you hook a big barracuda on the fly, and you’re in the fight of your life, and a hungry shark shows up right at the boat? Glenn Ancelet found out at the January Bonefish School in South Andros. Fortunately, I got the whole thing on video!
Who’s your money on, the cud or the shark?
Read More »Muscle Tension in the fly Cast: Video
You can’t make a good fly cast if you are tense, but muscle tension is necessary, at the right time.
Do you squeeze the grip of the fly rod when you cast? At some point, you should be. I’ve seen a lot of casters who use a white knuckle grip when they cast. You can’t make a good cast that way. It’s important to be loose and relaxed when you’re casting, but if your grip doesn’t tighten at the end of the stroke, you’re leaving casting power on the table.
A good fly caster’s grip pulses with the cast, becoming firm at the end of both the forward and back strokes. Not just the grip but the muscles of the arm and core should come tight for an effective stop. It’s all about timing and when you get it right, the line just goes.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR SOME TIPS ON MUSCLE TENSION IN THE FLY CAST.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Too Much Mending Can Ruin Your Drift
One of the most critical techniques of fly fishing that anglers often lack knowledge in, is understanding how to properly mend fly line during the drift.
If I tallied up all the time I spend each day instructing clients on various fly fishing techniques, teaching the art of mending fly line would easily rank number one on the list. I bet I say the word “mend” a thousand times a day. It’s not that difficult to mend fly line, all it takes is a little practice and time on the water to get the hang of it. In my opinion, it’s much easier to learn how to mend than the art of fly casting. The main reason mending takes so long for fly anglers to master is because the timing of the mend, the direction of the mend and the size of the mend can change from one presentation to the next. Two of the biggest mending problems I see on the water is bad technique and mending fly line too much during the drift. When mending is done correctly, you usually only need one or two mends per drift to get the job done.
Read More »Small Stream Casting
By Jason Tucker
Of all the challenges to small stream fishing (access, obstacles, wary fish, biting insects, hillbillies) casting must rank as the most frustrating aspect of small-stream fishing.
I have coined several swear words you have never heard casting in small streams. It is that frustrating. When you go to small streams you need to bring a double dose of patience. Some days and some places I have simply turned around and walked out rather than suffer a stroke due to the frustration of casting in tight quarters.
Picture this. You have already had a frustrating day. You’ve caught some fish, but also lost some flies to the bushes. You have tied on the last ‘hot fly’ from your box. Quietly you wade up around the bend, moving slowly so as not to push water, because upstream you can hear a good fish feeding. Sure enough, when you round the bend you can see a fifteen-inch trout noisily slurping flies off the surface completely unaware of your presence. It is the biggest fish you’ve seen all day. Problem is, the fish is twenty feet away and you only have an eighteen-inch space between the tag alders to land the fly. You also don’t have much of a backcast due to the brush behind you, so you’re going to have to steeple cast the fly above you but still get it to lay out quietly just in front of the fish.
“You’ve got this” you whisper. You make that steeple cast by flipping the fly out in a tight arc, then pop the rod tip up to the sky, feel the glass rod load, start your forward motion and change the direction of your arm movement forward toward the fish, shoot just a little line for the distance, then just as your loop extends toward the fish, the slightest breeze puffs it into the tag alders high overhead. Seeing this, you yank your rod back in an effort to stop it, only to pop your fly off in the top of the tree. The fish, seeing the commotion, scoots for cover. This is the challenge of casting on small streams. Some days you will spend more time untangling line and flies from the brush than you will fishing.
I can and do make that cast successfully from time to time. A steeple cast in tight quarters is just one skill that is helpful to have on a small stream. My disclaimer that I will now make is that I am no casting instructor. I’ll do my best to describe some of the skills you should cultivate.
Read More »What Does The Trout See?
DID YOU EVER WONDER WHY FISH EAT BRIGHT PINK WORM PATTERNS, OR THINGAMABOBBERS FOR THAT MATTER?
Ever watch a trout refuse your dry fly and wonder what he saw that he didn’t like? A trout’s eye serves the same purpose as ours but it functions in a very different way. The subject of how trout see the world is a complicated one but the basics are well worth your time. Understanding how the fish eye works can help you imagine the watery world they see, and it may give you some insight that will help you catch them. The following are some simple principals to keep in mind.
WATER AS A VISUAL MEDIUM
Water is a poor conductor of light at its best. It affects the way fish see color as well as their visual acuity. Water absorbs light at different rates depending on its wavelength or color. Long wavelength light, colors like red and orange, are absorbed quickly while short wavelengths like blue and violet are absorbed more slowly. This means that as light passes through more and more water, warm colors fade to black while cooler colors fade more slowly. Overall, as a fish moves into deeper water his environment becomes darker, at which point the biology of the fish’s eye affects his perception of color as well.
It is not necessary however for a fish to be in deep water for its vision to be affected by the absorption of light. The rules hold true for a fish in shallow water, viewing an object at a distance. A red streamer, for example, that is running at a depth of one foot, where there is plenty of red light, will appear black to a fish viewing it from fifteen feet away. As the fish closes on the fly, however, the red will become vivid. The same would not be true at a depth of fifteen feet. At that depth the fly would remain black to the fish, even at close range.
Ultraviolet light, which we do not see but trout do, is scattered in water. Colors like white and reflective materials like flash are visible to fish at long distances but may appear blurred by this effect. These flies will get a fish’s attention from a distance and become sharper as the fish draws near.
Color perception and visual acuity are both affected by the chemical composition of the water as well as what foreign matter is present. Tea stained water, which is present in many mountain streams, absorbs UV light quickly, changing the rules dramatically. In these conditions warmer colors become more important and while fish may see less color overall their visual acuity will improve. When water is dirty, light is scattered by foreign particles and the fish’s environment becomes darker with little visual acuity.
THE BIOLOGY OF A TROUT’S EYE
The biology of a trout’s eye is similar to ours in some ways and very different in others. Their eye has an iris, a lens and a retina with both cone cells and rod cells, much like our eyes, but
Read More »Life Is Too Short To Fish In Ugly Places
I was recently reminded that the places we fish are as important as the fish we cast for.
I was tagged in a Facebook challenge on nature photography by my buddy Tim Romano. (#challengeonnaturephotography) I don’t think of myself as a nature photographer, but once I started looking through photos the evidence built up quickly.
I floated the Snake River many years ago with a guide from Jackson. As we floated past the Tetons, I tucked my rod under my arm and grabbed the camera for a quick shot.
“Sightseeing trip’s a hell of a lot cheaper,” my guide groused from behind me.
I feel sorry for that dude. I’ve never lived in Jackson, but I can’t picture myself growing tired of looking at those mountains. So, if you’ve been spending too much time staring at a bobber (or dry fly, let’s not start that again!) here a little reminder to look up once in a while.
Here are 8 photos of some beautiful places i’ve fished. Enjoy.
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