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How to Drift a Soft-hackle
Last week, RIO Product's Simon Gawesworth showed us a great way to swing soft-hackle flies for big-river trout. This week, Simon shows us how to drift a soft-hackle for working trout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTvbWsBLY_U There are some notable differences, obviously. First is the technique. When swinging a soft-hackle, you're interested in line tension and the action of…
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The Sulphur Comparadun
With the sulphur hatch in full swing in the East, sometimes matching the hatch can be impossible. Instead, offering something just a little different to picky trout can be exactly what the doctor ordered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp4rV1PYPHM Above, Tim Flagler ties his Sulphur Comparadun, which could be that "something different" when hundreds (or thousands) of mayflies are…
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Skating flies for summer steelhead
If “the tug is the drug” for anglers swinging a fly for wild steelhead, then bringing a surface-snarfing summer steelhead to a skated fly is crack cocaine. There is no bigger adrenaline dump than seeing the glass-smooth surface of a tailout explode as a 10-pound native summer steelhead pounces on your hapless little skater. “Skaters”…
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How to fish a soft hackle
I became a soft-hackle devotee about five years ago after a visit to Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Mont., on a fly-buying binge for a trip to the Firehole River. The shop's proprietor--and fly fishing legend--Craig Mathews convinced me to give soft hackles a shot that blustery fall day, and I've been a believer…
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The Girdle Bug
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…
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Use floatant and desiccant together
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…
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Entrenched in the salmon cycle
“We are products of our environment.” There is much truth to this adage, and I know I am a product of my Alaskan fly-fishing environment and exposure. Six years ago when I arrived in Alaska, I was still a mere "padawan" with the fly rod. With time, I found more seasoned anglers to fish with, picked up some tips at the…
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