Is it your first time fly fishing for smallmouth bass? Perhaps you’ve been chasing smallies on the fly for a while, and are looking for new fly pattern ideas? Let’s look at some of the best flies for targeting smallmouth bass. Smallmouth bass are perhaps the perfect gamefish. Not only are they pound for pound … Read more
Fly anglers live for hatches, and cicada hatches are no different. When we get on the river and a large mayfly, caddisfly, or stonefly hatch is going on, we know we’re in for a good day of fishing. There’s some great cicada fly patterns listed further down and I touch on how to tie cicada … Read more
Mice may seem too large a meal for trout, indeed many anglers think of them more as bass prey than trout food. Many trout populations do indeed feed heavily on mice and other small rodents though. Despite trout’s reputation for being picket eaters, they are often quite opportunistic. Large trout occupy a spot relatively high … Read more
Adult dragonflies are an interesting prey species. It’s one of those prey items that many trout anglers think are too big, and bass anglers think are too small. As an angler that targets both fish, I’ve found that both trout and bass will eat dragonflies (and damselflies). I’ve personally caught both sea-run brook trout and … Read more
I love fishing caddisfly patterns, you can usually get really aggressive takes from trout, especially while skating them. This foam caddisfly pattern takes inspiration from the tried and true goddard caddis. While the goddard caddis is one of the more buoyant flies out there using natural materials, it still can become water logged after enough time on … Read more
As a fly angler, chances are you have invested a significant amount of either money or time (most likely both) into your fly collection. It would be nice to get as much use out of your invested time and money by having your flies last as long as possible. Here’s a few tips and tricks … Read more
There’s very little in fly fishing that will get me as excited as a large hatch of stoneflies. A female stonefly bouncing along the surface of the water and laying eggs will provoke absolutely savage strikes from hungry trout. Trout will recklessly slash at the surface to grab these large insects before they can escape. This is … Read more
This past weekend I got some decent footage of a nice sized brook trout (The one pictured above) taking a size 10 Goddard Caddis I was skating. While I catch less trout skating a dry fly than on a dead drift, the trout I do catch tend to be larger, more aggressive, and fight harder than … Read more
I remember as a kid seeing hundreds of flying ants at certain times in the summer. My grandmother called them pismires, which I thought was hilarious as a little kid (piss-mires). Fast forward twenty years and I suddenly find myself thinking about these pismires again, this time as a potential forage food for trout. There … Read more
Fly anglers are well aware of the importance of dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, but often neglect the airborne adults version of these insects. The adult forms of damsel and dragonflies are strong fliers, and are rarely available to trout or bass since they don’t fall in the water all that often. That being said, they … Read more