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
Previously, I talked about some great ideas for a Christmas gift for the fly fisher in your family. There’s a good chance that the fly angler in your family is also a fly tyer, is so here are some great gift ideas for the fly tyer on your Christmas list. It might be a good idea to … 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
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
Shrimp are great because pretty much every fish that swims wants to eat them. This makes shrimp flies a good choice for multi species angling in salt water. There are also some types of fish that have a strong preference for shrimp, In Atlantic Canada these include sea run trout (either steelhead or brookies) and winter flounder, … 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
I’m sure many of us have said at some point “I’ll tie my own flys! It’ll be much cheaper than buying them”. O how wrong we were. You would have to tie many, many flies in order to make tying your own cheaper than buying them. Fly tying materials can be so expensive. Sure it’s often … Read more