• Odds and Ends

    I have a few thoughts I need to express and they don’t fit neatly into one topic for my usual post. Hence, another post entitled Odds and Ends. We are in a different time as coronovirus impacts all of us. While my wife and I are conducting our own social distancing, here are a few…

  • Gartside Sparrow Fly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Gartside Sparrow Fly. This is a fly my friend purchased from a fly shop in Big Sky, MT in the 1970’s. He fished the fly on the Gallatin and Madison Rivers, MT. The Sparrow Fly was created by Jack Gartside. I have heard the name Gartside before,…

  • March Brown Mayflies are Coming

    It won’t be long before fishing season begins for many fly fishers. That’s because March Brown mayflies are coming soon. This is the first of the larger mayflies trout will see in the coming months and an emerger or dry fly is a lot of fun to fish. Western March Brown mayflies (Rhithrogena morrisoni) are in…

  • Norm Wood Special TBT

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Norm Wood Special TBT. I’ve fished the Norm Wood Special off and on for many years on the Lower Deschutes River, OR. It’s an effective fly for the Golden Stone hatch. For some reason, it’s always intrigued me, perhaps because of the “odd” color wing, a tangerine…

  • Skwala Stonefly Fly Patterns

    I’m getting ready for our first road trip of the year and think I should tie up a few Skwala stonefly fly patterns. You may not believe it, but I really haven’t concentrated on fishing this hatch before. I have a couple of fly patterns a friend of mine taught several years ago at our…

  • Roxey’s Red Squirrel Tail

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Roxey’s Red Squirrel Tail streamer. I was contacted by a customer in early January asking if I would tie a few streamer fly patterns someone in his family had developed many years ago. I like a challenge, so I responded with interest and he provided a couple of…

  • Fly Tying in Kauai

    I’ve been in Kauai a couple of weeks and have taken the opportunity to tie a few flies during the rainy and windy days. Fly tying in Kauai isn’t the first time I’ve tied flies in paradise. What was so unique this year were all the chickens running around our condo and the beach! It…

  • Herter’s Fly Tying Manuals

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday post is about some old Herter’s Fly Tying Manuals. Inside cover I’ve had several Comments about Herter’s since highlighting the Herter’s No. 4 fly tying vise a couple of week’s ago. This should bring back some of the same memories…a couple of Herter’s Fly Tying books from the 1960’s. My…

  • BWO Fly Box

    In mid-December, I wrote a post about Choosing a Fly Box. I still need to fill a fly box with BWO flies, so it’s timely for me to highlight a few important flies I plan to place in the fly box. I’ll provide some of my favorites to help you create your own BWO fly…