This week’s Throw Back Thursday post is about Hoffman Super Capes. The image above is of two grade 1 Hoffman Super Capes from many years ago. For perspective, I placed them beside a Whiting bronze grade cape I purchased last week. The Hoffman Super Capes are grizzly dyed brown and black. The cape on the…
It’s the first week of November and fishing, or more like catching, is changing. I always say it’s like someone throws a switch on November 1. Some years there is a bonus week as the mild weather continues. But usually, the first week of November is my transition week where I get back to tying…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Pray’s Silver Demon steelhead fly. C. Jim Pray (1885 – 1952) of Eureka, CA is known for starting fly fishing for salmon and steelhead on the heavy winter waters of the Eel River and other Northern California rivers. Joseph Bates, Jr in his Streamers & Bucktails The Big…
I’m putting together a few flies for a new fly fisher. The question is, which ones do I send him? There are so many effective fly patterns to choose from. I’ve thought about a list of flies for a while. The problem I have is it depends on where and when he plans to fish….
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a Pray Optic Fly. This is another fly in a friend’s collection with a note on the fly stating it was tied by C. Jim Pray (1885 – 1952) of Eureka, CA in 1947. The Optic series of flies were some of the popular steelhead flies he tied….
Why do fish eat our fly imitations? I have a few observations I’d like to share today. I marvel when a trout rises to my fly. Sometimes you barely see a ring when the fish breaks the surface and slurps the fly underwater, like using a straw. Or all of a sudden, a fish head…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Silvius Gold Comet. This is a fly a friend of mine had in his collection. His notes state it was tied by Lloyd Silvius of Eureka, CA in 1970. While living in Eureka for many years, Silvius (1902 – 1973) was a baker, worked for Chicago Bridge…
Here we are back at the Madison River. We had some spectacular fishing in July (Fly Fishing the Madison River in 2020) during a caddis hatch and wanted to return for the legendary Baetis hatch, hoping for another wonderful experience. We’ve grown to love this Valley, not only for the fishing, but the beauty as…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Driscoll Midge TBT. It happens that we were driving through West Yellowstone, MT yesterday and I stopped at Blue Ribbon Flies. I remembered one of my RiverKeeper Flies followers suggested I use the Driscoll Midge as a Throw Back Thursday Fly. I had planned to tie one,…
We headed over Chief Joseph pass into the Bitterroot Valley after leaving Salmon, ID. As I mentioned in my last Fall Fly Fishing Road Trip post, this trip was spontaneous. We ended up fly fishing the Bitterroot, Big Hole, and Beaverhead rivers on our way east. Yellowstone National Park was a destination as well. We…
