Have you ever had a problem trying to find a comparable fly fishing hook? You’ve used a certain manufacturer for a while, but can’t get that hook now and want a similar model? Or you found a new fly pattern you’d like to tie, but it references a hook you don’t have. That’s one of…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the McKenzie Caddis dry fly. This odd looking body color matches the real insect found on the McKenzie River in Oregon. I found this fly pattern in the 1980’s when I tied a few of these flies for the first time. These caddis flies begin hatching in mid-May and…
I’ve had an opportunity in the last month to help with two volunteer activities by planting Spring Chinook in the Deschutes basin. It started with planting several thousand Spring Chinook fry. My wife and I were part of a group planting small fry in Lake Creek, a tributary of the Metolius, while others planted them…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Griffith’s Gnat Emerger fly. This is another great fly pattern from Craig Mathews at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, MT. He created a variant of the Griffith’s Gnat with his Zelon Midge and the result was the Griffith’s Gnat Emerger fly. If you are a frequent RiverKeeper Flies reader, you…
Do you know the names of all the bugs you see on the river or lake? Do you need to know these names to catch fish? Not at all. Fly fishers have developed their own common names over the years for many bugs in order to share information about recent fishing trips. I have to…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is an old aluminum fly box! OK, it may be a little strange to have an old fly box rather than a named fly, but it’s just to interesting to pass up. A friend of mine sent two old aluminum fly boxes to me in the mail to check…
Last week I was honored to receive the 2017 Stan Walters Memorial Fly Tyer of the Year at the NW Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo in Albany, OR. The annual award is presented by the Oregon Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers “in recognition of your skills, teaching and innovation in the…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Poxyback Baetis. This is an older fly pattern I found in Randall Kaufmann’s book Tying Nymphs (1994). Kaufmann’s book, along with his Tying Dry Flies, was one of the first color fly tying books I purchased. Tying Nymphs taught me new techniques, materials, and flies to tie. The Poxyback…
I’ve been out on the river only a couple of times since the first of the year. It’s that time of year when you decide if you’re a die hard winter fly fisher because many days the temperatures hover around 32 degrees or colder. March is the month of transition. Spring weather is right around…
I’ve been out on the river only a couple of times since the first of the year. It’s that time of year when you decide if you’re a die hard winter fly fisher because many days the temperatures hover around 32 degrees or colder. March is the month of transition. Spring weather is right around…
