• Bob Jacklin Salmonfly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is a Bob Jacklin Salmonfly. My friend Jim Fisher loaned this #4 salmonfly to me for this post and told me it was tied by Bob. I wrote a previous TBT post featuring Jacklon’s Salmonfly, a different version than the image above. Jacklin is a fixture in West Yellowstone,…

  • Thoughts from the River

    I’ve been fishing quite a bit lately and find myself with a little extra time for self-reflection while waiting for mayflies to begin hatching. I’ve talked about my zen fly fishing in other posts and decided to share a few thoughts from the river and how I see fly fishing through the lens of a…

  • Black Brahan Atlantic Salmon Fly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Black Brahan Atlantic Salmon Fly. This is one of five Atlantic Salmon flies my friend Jim Fisher purchased during his 1986 fishing trip on the river Spey in Strathspey, Scotland. He was successful landing a 32 inch, 12 pound Atlantic Salmon on a Munro Killer using a Winston 9′…

  • Effective Fly Fishing Knots

    I’ve had a love / hate relationship with my knots the last couple of weeks. I was surprised because I tie hundreds of knots every year. I lost some nice fish because my knot didn’t hold. Whose fault was that? Bad leader? Nope…it was all mine. Here are the effective fly fishing knots I use….

  • Barr’s Meat Whistle TBT

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Barr’s Meat Whistle TBT. I tied this fly recently for a customer and thought it a good candidate for my TBT post. John Barr started developing the Meat Whistle in 2002. He spent two years tweaking the fly and fishing it alongside his normal spinning rod jig. It…

  • More Mayfly Spinners

    A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about PMD spinner fly patterns and shared the Ellis Triple Wing Spinner as a TBT post. Spinners have continued to be a focus in my fly fishing and fly tying. I thought I’d share a few more mayfly spinners. Spinner fishing can be terrific. But locating the spinners…

  • Black Lives Matter

    I know all my subscribers expect to see a RiverKeeper Flies post each week. But it’s hard for me to focus on fly fishing content with all the protests and unrest about underlying issues in America today. I see you…I hear you…I’m learning. I may not have the right words, but I feel I need…

  • Ellis Triple Wing Spinner

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Ellis Triple Wing Spinner, which I tied to imitate a Rusty Spinner. I thought it was fitting to feature a mayfly spinner as this week’s TBT, since I wrote about PMD Spinner Fly Patterns in yesterday’s post. The Ellis Triple Wing Spinner can be found in Kelly…

  • PMD Spinner Fly Patterns

    I hope you read a recent post where I talked about going Back to the River and all the mayflies we’ve seen on the water. PMD fishing has been good for us on some days and that made me think, I need to restock my fly box with PMD spinner fly patterns. The spinner phase…

  • Bergman’s Ibis and White

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Ray Bergman’s Ibis and White. Bergman’s Ibis and White is a wet fly listed in his book entitled Trout (1940 – fourth printing) on page 64, Plate No. 4. As I’ve mentioned many times, I enjoy highlighting a Bergman wet fly because it forces me to sit down and tie…