I was at Micheal’s the other day browsing the craft supplies for potential cheap fly tying supplies. I hit pay dirt when I found packs of 10 yards of silicone cord on sale for $1.99. They had a few colours available, but I settled on hot pink for tying this really simple silicone worm fly, as … Read more
This is a pattern that was initially intended to mimic a sand shrimp. Once I got out on the water and actually fished the pattern, found that it did a much better job of mimicking mummichogs and/or killifish. You can bounce it along the bottom like a sand shrimp, or swim it in the upper middle part … Read more
It’s that time of year where for many of us, the fishing season is coming to a close. While some may be tempted to throw their fishing gear in the closet or garage and call it good enough, I can speak from personal experience that you will not be happy with yourself in the spring. Rusted … Read more
This weekend I was fortunate enough to land a gorgeous female 22″ steelhead that weighs in at 5.5 pounds. The large steelhead from yesterday is tied for the title of my personal best rainbow trout. The steelhead shares the title with a bulky male steelhead I caught October of last year from the same pool. The … 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 typically spin cast for mackerel, but there are actually many wharves around here where the mackerel come in range of a fly rod. Unfortunately there are only a few locations with room enough to cast a fly comfortably. When fishing these spots, it’s a blast to target mackerel on a fly, and this is my … Read more
The black Mohair leech is my go to streamer pattern for sea run brook trout and Steelhead. It’s a well known pattern, with many tying tutorials around the web. Pictured above is my variation on the mohair leech. I make a few additions in the tying process that really help improve durability as I feel that when … Read more
Looking for some new striped bass flies to fill your fly box? Many striped bass anglers have clousers, deceivers, flatwings, Tarbory snake flies, or some variation of these flies in their fly box. I’ve put together a collection of some striped bass patterns that will hopefully vary from the usual suggestions. Hopefully you discover a new pattern … 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