• Timberline Emerger TBT

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Timberline Emerger TBT. The Timberline Emerger is one of Randall Kaufmann’s flies I read about and tied many years ago. It’s another great pattern from his Tying Nymphs book, published in 1994. Kaufmann’s book was one of the first color fly tying books I ever owned, along with it’s…

  • On the Road to Montana

    We got up yesterday, packed the last few items and now we’re on the road to Montana. I’m a “just in time” fly tyer on occasion, and yesterday was no exception. I took the wheel for the first three hours or driving and got into the passenger seat. What to do? You guessed it…tie a…

  • Wilson Ant

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Wilson Ant. I haven’t tied a Ray Bergman fly recently, so I thought I’d pull out his book Trout (1938) and the Wilson Ant spoke to me. You’ll find this fly on Plate No. 9, page 254. I like the elegance and simplicity of a Ray Bergman wet fly. I’ve…

  • Montana Fly Fishing Road Trip

    In a week, I’ll be headed out on another Montana fly fishing road trip. I live in a beautiful place called Central Oregon, but there’s something about Big Sky country that makes me want to return. One of our destinations in Montana will be the International Federation of Fly Fisher’s Fair in Livingston. My wife…

  • Steelhead Caddis

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Steelhead Caddis. The Steelhead Caddis was created by Bill McMillan in 1975 as a low-water variation of the Muddler Minnow. This fly is fished dry on the surface with a trailing wake, making a commotion to get the steelhead’s attention. Use a riffling hitch or cast the fly…

  • Next Cast Flyfishers Master Class

    Last week I helped my wife lead what I’m calling the Next Cast Flyfishers master class outing at East Lake. Six flyfishers between ages 11 and 15 were invited to attend the outing, the first of it’s kind for our club. These kids have participated in numerous Next Cast activities, including multiple Fish Camps, river clean-ups,…

  • Girdle Bug

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Girdle Bug. Frank McGinnis of Anaconda, Montana is credited with developing the Girdle Bug, sometimes call a McGinnis Rubberlegs. The fly was first fished on the Big Hole River in the 1930’s and 1940’s. You might recognize this fly if it used a variegated chenille body and…

  • Black Gnat Dry Fly

    This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Black Gnat dry fly. I had an earlier Black Gnat wet fly as a TBT fly, but Dancing Trout found this fly along the river and it’s been in her fly fishing pack for a while. It looked like a good candidate for today’s TBT post. To…

  • Davy Knot

    I bit the bullet and started tying and fishing the Davy Knot recently and wanted to provide a review of my experience with this knot. If you’re a regular reader of RiverKeeper Flies, you might have seen a recent post about Testing Fly Fishing Knots. The main subject was how I’m preparing to teach Making Effective…