In December, I wrote a post entitled What Flies to Tie. I talked about checking my list of flies I tied in 2018 to determine where to begin. A gentle nudge came to me in the form of a fly order which included a variety of Sparkle Dun mayflies. Not only am I tying dozens…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Stalcup’s Emerging Dun TBT. You may have seen a couple Shane Stalcup flies in previous TBT posts. I received a Comment of appreciation for highlighting Shane’s flies from a friend of his, Jimbo Busse. I always enjoy receiving Comments about my TBT posts because I’ve stirred a thought…
Did you happen to read my post last week entitled Simply Identify Bugs Fish Eat? I explained the three basic insects you’ll find on the river, a caddis, mayfly, and stonefly. This week’s post takes the next step to help create your first fly box with flies to imitate these bugs. If you’ve fly fished…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Quigley Cripple PMD version. The Quigley Cripple was developed by Bob Quigley in the late 1970’s for Northern California’s Fall River. As the story goes, Bob was fishing a Humpy and catching fish with it. The wing got chewed up and he caught many more fish with…
If you are a new fly fisher, sometimes the sport can be intimidating. Which rod, reel, and line should I buy? What fly should I use? How do I simply identify bugs fish eat? The questions never end. I always tell new fly fishers to just get out and fish. You’ll learn by doing. Start…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Shane Stalcup’s Adult Green Drake. I’m getting to ready to tie some Green Drake flies for an order and remembered I had seen Stalcup’s Adult Green Drake recently. The fly can be found in Shane’s book titled Mayflies “Top to Bottom”. Here are a couple comments about the fly design: Other…
Can you believe the 2019 NW Fly Tyer & Fly Fishing Expo is coming soon? It’s only six weeks away and you may have seen some advertisements for this year’s event. The NW Expo website is now open and you can visit the Store to sign up for classes, purchase Friday night Reception Dinner tickets,…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Gary LaFontaine’s Flex Dragon. LaFontaine’s Flex Dragon is another of the flex-style flies highlighted in LaFontaine’s Legacy (2008), by Al and Gretchen Beatty. Al relays the story in this book about how Gary talks about a variety of subjects while they are trying to get information to create fly tying…
I had a terrific time at the 2019 Western Idaho Fly Fishing Expo last weekend in Boise, ID. It was my 7th year tying flies at the Expo and I always enjoy seeing the friends I’ve made in previous years. On Friday afternoon, I decided to demonstrate a variant of the Braided Butt Damsel. And…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Gary LaFontaine’s House Fly. LaFontaine’s House Fly is one of the flies highlighted in LaFontaine’s Legacy, by Al and Gretchen Beatty. I know what you’re thinking…a House Fly imitation? Yes, that’s right. Here is another fly pattern from the mind of Gary LaFontaine. If you need a challenge someday,…
