Some fly-fishing scenes are universally appealing. Trout moving on a dry fly. The rise. Even the refusal. Cheers to the folks at Carpe Diem, the Swedish YouTubers who occasionally present some really great fly-fishing videography like the short film below. Chasing trout isn’t always about catching trout—most of us get that. But it generally is … Read more
The “upstream and dry” approach is a commonly accepted method—and on some European waters, it’s required—for fly fishing. Here in the U.S., we’re blessed with a lot of trout water, and, thankfully, a lot of public lands on which we can fish at our leisure rather than being forced to pay rod fee, walk a … Read more
Reading the water is an acquired skill. It’s an ability that’s honed over time, and one that takes into account not only a river’s physical characteristics, but how certain stretches might fish at certain times of the year … or even certain times of the day. Above, RIO’s Simon Gawesworth helps shorten the learning curve, … Read more
Foam flies revolutionized dry-fly angling a couple of decades ago. Flies that absolutely must float—think grasshoppers, big salmon flies and other terrestrial flies, like ants and beetles—got a big boost from the foam incursion into the fly-tying arena years ago. While foam can be really effective to use in any number of patterns, it can … Read more
Those long, featureless gravel runs that can be found on a lot of western rivers–and freestone rivers throughout the country–might often be trout “dead zones,” but as Orvis’ Dave Jensen points out in the video below, during hatches, these stretches of water can be very productive. Otherwise nondescript habitat, these gravel shelves can be anywhere … Read more
You wouldn’t tackle a math problem—even the simplest of equations—without first taking a second to figure out the variables and determining where to start with your efforts to solve it, would you? Now, apply that logic to fly fishing. It’s always a good idea to take a look at a stretch of water, just as … Read more
If you ever have doubts that ocean-going fish like shad, herring and salmon can recover with just a little help, take a quick look at the video below, produced by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In Maine’s Damariscotta River, in the community of Damariscotta Mills, the restoration of a 200-year-old fish ladder has increased … Read more
It’s stonefly season in the West—the big, adult bugs will be popping on a river near you before you know it. And, while the dry-fly imitations are easily the most popular—and the most fun to fish—it’s the nymph patterns that likely catch more trout. And there are some great stonefly nymph patterns out there. But … Read more
The news out of Ashton over the weekend was pretty encouraging. The big stonefly nymphs were moving around, heading to streamside rocks in anticipation of a little sunshine. Any minute now, the fabled salmonfly hatch on the lower river would start to pop. The big bugs that crawl out of the river in late spring … Read more
Here’s one for you western anglers who are wondering, with all the late winter snow and the spring rain, if we’re ever going to see fishable water levels anytime soon. The answer is, the water’s already fishable. We just need to find the places where trout are holding amid the near-constant temperature changes and water … Read more
