There are two fly tying materials I have confidence in – peacock and grizzly hackle. For some reason, they catch fish. I just like the multiple colors of each material. Whether you are tying your own or purchasing flies at your favorite fly shop, think about adding flies with these magic materials. Here are a…
Here’s my first attempt at a classic Atlantic Salmon Fly – the Golden Butterfly (1810 version). I tie dozens and dozens of trout flies, but nothing like this. I’ve got some work to do!
Do you fish a hopper-dropper fly rig? It’s a method of fly fishing which utilizes a large fly that can be seen (think strike indicator) and tying a dropper to the bend of the hook. The dropper could be a nymph or an emerger. But what about a dry fly? Why not? A traditional hopper-dropper fly…
November 1st is a time when seasons change for me. I just finished tying 100 dozen flies for the year. Whew! Finally got ‘em done. Wasn’t sure if I would meet my goal this year. Had to tie about 10 dozen the last two days to reach that goal. So here is my 1,200th fly…a size…
The Serendipity and $3 Dip, originally known as the $3 Bridge Serendipity are effective patterns to have in your fly box. I posted the following picture on my RiverKeeper Flies Facebook recently to share its effectiveness… …and received a comment asking two questions: I thought about it for a few seconds and said “there’s the topic for my next…
The Griffiths Gnat is this week’s Throw Back Thursday. The fly was named after George Griffith, one of the founders of Trout Unlimited. George was one of 16 men who gathered at his home on the Au Sable River in 1959 to create TU. It imitates midges, midge emergers, and midge clusters. Still works
Last weekend, I was honored to participate in a Casting for Recovery retreat at Black Butte Ranch as a River Helper. Black Butte Pond The goal of Casting for Recovery (CFR) is “to enhance the quality of life of women with breast cancer through a unique program that combines breast cancer education and peer support…
This week’s TBT fly is the Prince Nymph. It originally was known as the Brown Forked Tail and created by Doug Prince from Monterey, CA in 1941. It’s a great pattern today anytime you want to put a nymph on your leader. The original pattern used black ostrich herl instead of peacock. I began tying…
What flies do you carry in your fall fly box? Fall is a wonderful time of year and in my opinion, one of the best times to catch some great fish. Here’s one of them. There are still bugs that need to hatch and only so many warm days left for them to complete their…
This is a Deschutes River steelhead picture from my fishing trip last week. Here is another Recent Updates post to highlight additions you may have missed. I’ve added an About Me page. Added a few new Fly Patterns: Updated the Resources tab with the following items: If you are on Facebook, check out and LIKE my RiverKeeper Flies page. I’ve continued my “Throw…
