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…
A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entitled New to Fly Fishing? What Flies Should I Use? It was my way of suggesting a dozen dry flies to start filling your fly box. And for full disclosure, they were a list of DRY flies. Well, someone asked “what about NYMPHS”? Thanks for asking! So I…
Yes, it’s that time of year. It’s time to pull out your hopper fly patterns and start fishing them. What are your favorite patterns? My favorite hopper fly patterns have changed over the years as creative fly designers started using foam in their creations. I used to fish hoppers tied with deer hair and heavily…
Do you remember the first flies you used when you began fly fishing? I remember some of my first flies. Oh my, that was years ago! Let’s see…there were the Woolly Worm, Zug Bug, and Hare’s Ear. Those are names I remember. How about the flies in this picture? That must be my early attempt at an…
One inch long and green. What? Yup, if there’s any question about what lake flies to use, a friend of mine always says “Try something one inch long and green.” Dennys Stillwater Nymph I like simple flies for a variety of reasons, but even that recommendation is a little too simple for me. It’s like saying…
Do you use fly patterns with CDC feathers in them? Hopefully, your fly box has a few of ’em. CDC is a marvelous material. It’s like magic. What is CDC? It stands for cul de canard. It’s French for “ducks arse” or loosely “butt of the duck”. While I don’t speak the language, I found that…
Have you ever fished with adult damsel flies? Talk about exciting! These bugs are quick, so when a fish takes your fly, it’s more like a toilet bowl flushing…a big ring from the fish taking the fly with gusto! At times, there can be massive hatches or swarms. Here is a recent picture of a…
Well, here it is again. I keep making changes to my webpage and thought I’d highlight a few recent changes you might have missed. Seems like whenever I write a new blog, I need to develop and provide links to new fly pattern sheets. Remember, even if you don’t tie flies, there may be some…
