Pale Morning Duns, otherwise known as PMDs, are an important hatch for fly fishers. These flies are a size 16 -18. The hatch begins in late May and will continue through September. Generally, they will hatch in the afternoon. Mayflies in general spend much of their life as a nymph, rummaging around the rocky stream…
Golden Stoneflies were out in force along the Lower Deschutes River when I floated from Warm Springs to Trout Creek last week. Goldens are a very important part of a trout’s diet. A couple species are lumped under the heading “Golden Stonefly” – the Hesperoperla pacifica and Calineuria californica. Who cares what the scientific names are,…
Chubby Chernobyl flies are a newer iteration of the old Chernobyl Ant pattern used by many fishermen several years ago. This odd looking fly is a go to fly when the Salmonflies and Golden Stones begin their annual hatch, which is mid-May into June. This is one of the best hatches of the year. Check…
As promised, here is another look at one of the antique fly wallets in my collection. This leather Deluxe brand fly wallet is well used. Check out the “notebook” style to allow different types of “pages”. Felt leaves are included to soak moisture out of the flies after use.
Yup – it’s time for Salmonflies to hatch. We all wait for this time of year when these BIG bugs become active and the fish go crazy. As in reckless with voracious appetites. Trout have already seen March Browns and Caddis this spring. But these bugs are BIG! Have you ever looked into the gullet of…
Old leather, sheepskin, metal. Those are the materials for what was a very common sight years ago – fly wallets! We didn’t have the plastic containers so many of us use today. Many of our fly boxes consist of foam slots or clear plastic, materials unavailable decades ago. A friend of mine recently gave me this…
How many fly fishing leaders do you use in a year? Here’s a tip to make your fly fishing leader last longer. The problem: you connect a standard 9′ leader to your fly line and go fishing. How many times do you change flies? If you’re lucky, you catch fish on the first fly tied…
This is a size 16 Pale Morning Dun Sparkle Dun Mayfly or PMD for short. One of my favorite flies. It’s in the top 5 of many fishermen in the know. The Sparkle Dun is a Craig Matthews pattern from Blue Ribbon Flies. I tie this simple, yet effective fly in size 22 Blue Wing Olive…
Sometimes, I’m a “just-in-time” fly tyer. This video was shot on a Montana road trip. We’re headed east from Spokane towards the Big Hole river and I was trying to tie up some Spruce Moth patterns. Well, we seemed to find a section of bad road on the interstate with lots of bridges. As you…
OK, so I’m walking up the river trail yesterday and something caught my eye. Floating down the edge of the river was this little guy: My immediate thought was, why is this mouse floating down the river? Secondly, I wondered what would happen if a Bull Trout was near?
