• Lee Wulff’s Hitch Specials

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Lee Wulff’s Hitch Specials. Four flies make up Lee Wulff’s Hitch Specials – Silver Blue, Red Squirrel, Haggis, and Blue Squirrel. These are very interesting flies, built with a molded, plastic body. A friend loaned the flies to me for my Throw Back Thursday Fly posts. Lee Wulff’s…

  • Filling the Provider Box

    November 1st is right around the corner and I’ve talked in previous posts about how fishing changes at this time of year. In the last week or so, I’ve noticed it’s come a little early.  What’s a fly fisher to do? It might be too early to begin filling the provider box, but that’s exactly…

  • Lee Wulff’s Surface Stone Fly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Lee Wulff’s Surface Stone Fly. This is a very interesting fly, one built with a molded, plastic body. It’s one of several plastic body flies a friend loaned to me for my Throw Back Thursday Fly posts. In Lee Wulff’s Trout on a Fly (1986), he states he came…

  • Importance of Mayfly Spinners

    I sometimes forget about the importance of mayfly spinners. I was on the river the other night with no visible activity. I decided to blind-cast in a couple locations where I know trout live. What fly should I tie on? I remembered PMD’s had been hatching recently and knew from past experience a Rusty Spinner would…

  • Stewart’s Black Spider

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Stewart’s Black Spider. Stewart’s Black Spider is from his book entitled The Practical Angler (1857). Copyright laws no longer apply and you can download the book by clicking HERE. Be sure to check out my Links to Free Old Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Books. One of my readers…

  • Odds and Ends

    This week’s post includes a few odds and ends. First, the fishing. It’s been a top priority because I know it will end in the near future. Why do I say that? I think the fish gods flip a switch on November 1 (OK, maybe there’s a grace period of a week or so) and…

  • Fishing and Tying Flies

    I’ve been fishing and tying flies in the last couple weeks. You’re probably not surprised I’m fishing, because October is the last month of great fly fishing and I usually spend a lot of time on the river. But I’ve received several new fly tying orders I’m trying to complete, plus I’ve lost a few…

  • Shakey Beeley Soft Hackle

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Shakey Beeley soft hackle. The Shakey Beeley is another wonderful fly pattern from Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, MT. And this specific fly  was purchased there a few years ago for a pattern for me to use. It’s one of THE flies used when fishing for…