This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Dark Caddis, a fly tied by Polly Rosborough. I found this fly on a display at the International Federation of Fly Fishers Museum in Livingston, MT. It’s is one of several flies in a display entitled Polly’s Proven Killers. I took this picture of the Dark Caddis through…
I’ve been tying small flies recently in my attempt to catch very picky, selective trout. You can read more about my dilemma in the post – What are the Fish Eating? I enjoy a challenge and these particular fish continue to test my patience. I’ve used almost every fly in my fly boxes and none…
I’m fortunate to be able to fish over 100 days per year. Why did I begin this week’s post with that statement? Well, spending that much time on the water has changed the way I fish in the last 10 years. I observe the water more. The result is I’m able to see fish rising…
The temperatures have dropped and the dog days of summer are over. In fact, rain showers are in the forecast for today. What does that signal? Changing seasons for the fly fisher. I always look forward to arriving at the river and see if fish are rising. It’s more the norm now than it was during…
Over the last few weeks, I’ve written about our Montana Road Trip where we fished the Madison, Depuy Spring Creek, Stillwater, and Slough Creek & the Lamar. I thought I’d provide a summary of the effective flies we used in our Montana fly box. When selecting flies, I always try to imitate the insects I think…
This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Swannundaze Midge. The fly was developed by Boyd Aigner of Seattle Washington in the 1980’s. The Swannundaze Midge is one I tied many years ago that I found in Randall Kaufmann’s Tying Nymphs book. Tying Nymphs and Tying Dry Flies were two important books for me and I tied many…
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…
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…
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…
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…
