• Galloup’s Compara Spinner

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Galloup’s Compara Spinner. I stayed at Galloup’s Slide Inn on the Madison River during our 2017 fly fishing road trip and I thought it appropriate to feature a few of Kelly’s flies for my Throw Back Thursday Fly feature. I spent some time with him at the shop…

  • Quigley Victory Drake

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Quigley Victory Drake. I saw this fly for the first time a little over a week ago during our trip on the Upper Columbia River. If you haven’t seen the post, be sure to read my story of dry fly fishing with Green Drake mayflies is BIG…

  • Effective East Lake Flies

    I haven’t fished any lakes yet this year, but hopefully that will change this week. I think East Lake will be my fishing destination in a couple of days. I thought I’d use my own resources to refresh my memory for a few effective East Lake flies I need in my fly box. I created…

  • Mayfly Spinners

    On one of my fly fishing trips to the river last week, I was waiting for the fish to begin rising and I was curious about what flies were in the drift and available to the fish. A good place to find out is on the edges of an eddy. So I walked downstream to…

  • June Fly Box

    Perhaps you saw last week’s post entitled Fishing the Lower Deschutes. I drifted the river twice last week. My fly box was full of Salmonfly and Golden Stonefly imitations. So I returned to my home river today and found many more PMD’s hatching and thought I better get my June fly box in order. Where…

  • May Fly Box

    Wow! The weather has changed dramatically this week. The forecast shows 81 degrees on Thursday. The anticipation of some major hatches is very exciting and I decided I have to get a May fly box ready for the river. This is what I hope to catch. I’ve found the fish to be a little more…

  • Spring Fly Fishing

    I can’t lie. I’ve been a little frustrated lately with spring fly fishing. It always happens this time of year for me. Winter is over and I have expectations of going to the river and see a few mayflies hatching. I love mayflies. There is something elegant about that bug. I enjoy watching them float…

  • Confusing Mayfly Names

    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…

  • Stalcup CDC Loop Wing Emerger

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Stalcup CDC Loop Wing Emerger. This fly was the creation of Shane Stalcup, a talented and innovative fly tyer. The fly pattern sheet can be found HERE. I first learned of Stalcup’s flies in his book Mayflies “Top to Bottom” (2002). I thought it was interesting looking at the…