While sitting at the vise today, I decided to celebrate the 4th of July. Here’s what popped out the jaws.

While sitting at the vise today, I decided to celebrate the 4th of July. Here’s what popped out the jaws.


It’s been 7 years since I started RiverKeeper Flies and a lot has changed technology-wise in that time. I decided it was time for a new look for RiverKeeper Flies. In addition, this update with my new Kadence WordPress theme is designed to smoothly adjust its layout based on your screen size and resolution. This improvement…

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is Ed Engle’s Micro Soft-Hackle Fly. I’ve been on a soft hackle kick lately and pulled out Ed’s book, Tying Small Flies (2004) to see what inspiration I could find for a TBT post. It’s one of my recommended books found in the Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Books page.

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Fan Wing Royal Coachman. This Fan Wing Royal Coachman was tied by Dan Bailey. It’s one of nine flies I was able to document with my camera. Last week’s TBT fly, the Black Bivisible, is the first fly I posted that was tied by Dan. Here is…

Our first week in Patagonia found us fly fishing with Coyhaique River Lodge. We met brothers Claudio and Gaston Urrejola on our first trip to Patagonia in 2007. It was a much smaller operation in those days as the brothers alternated guiding us on the rivers and lakes around Coyhaique. The lodge was built a…

Old leather, sheepskin, metal. Those are the materials for what was a very common sight years ago – fly wallets! We didn’t have the plastic containers so many of us use today. Many of our fly boxes consist of foam slots or clear plastic, materials unavailable decades ago. A friend of mine recently gave me this…

Have you ever heard the term “variant”? It’s used a lot in fly tying and has multiple meanings. Originally, a variant used to be a fly style, similar to traditional dry flies, but the fly was supported by longer hackles and tails. Another definition is a significant variation of another fly pattern. I think in…
John,
I find the representation of the colors of our flag to be inspiring and beautiful in your hands. I suspect that patriotic fish everywhere would be similarly attracted to this fly. It is a shame that it is too beautiful to fish with, in my humble opinion. I hope you had a great Fourth of July. I enjoy the weekly RiverKeeper Flies and your other posts.
Thanks.
Jerry
Thanks for your nice comment! Pleased you like the July 4th fly as well as RiverKeeper Flies!
John