Look out your window and you’ll be convinced it’s a good time to attend a winter Fly Tying and Fly Fishing show. If you get a chance, attend one of the shows in your area and learn new techniques or check out new fly patterns and gear. I just returned from the Western Idaho Fly…
It’s the holiday season, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! My wife suggested we take this net to the river the other day hoping we’d catch some rainbows to use on our Christmas card. Well, the first day the pressure was too much I guess as I lost…
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I talk about Craig Mathews and Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Montana. Craig and the rest of the guys in the shop are responsible for many of the flies I fish. The flies they develop fit my description for success – simple to…
As I sit down at my fly tying vise today, I decided to tie a few flies imitating a Blue Wing Olive mayfly. It’s timely because these bugs are still popping out of their nymphal shucks and I hope to go fishing this week and find a few fish sipping them. But the main reason…
Yes, I’ve been tying spey flies and I’m scared! If you read my post Seasons Change, you’ll see that my fly tying year just ended on October 31. While I’ve tied a few trout flies since then, it’s a time to venture out and try other types of flies. I’ve wanted to try tying spey…
Seasons have definitely changed! I’m back to fly tying. It seems like it was just fall and I was fishing several days per week. We had close to two feet of snow in a couple of days and still have snow on the ground. All that is to say I haven’t been fishing for a while….
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…
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…
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…
Summer’s over. It’s Fall and the weather is just beginning to turn. My wife doesn’t like hearing that. But what does that mean to a fly fisher? Well, October is just around the corner and I saw a few October Caddis on the river last week. I thought about how important they are to the…
