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Trout Tips: Fish the Edges
Steve Zakur of Connecticut fishes the edge of a stream bank on a small stream in Montana. My buddy Mike Sepelak is a thoughtful angler. He's got a steady cast, a smart approach to fishing, and, perhaps most importantly, he's great to travel with. Over the years, he and I have fished in four countries…
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Fly tying: The Insult
Some flies are so simple to tie that you wonder how, with such little effort at the vise, they can be effective. The Insult, tied below by Tim Flagler, is such a fly. Designed to imitate active nymphs that either swim or end up in the current quite often, The Insult is a great pattern…
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Fly tying: SBR Sulphur Nymph
Nymphing has come a long way over the last couple of decades—many fly anglers will start with attractor nymphs on new water, simply because they make great searching patterns and tend to be top-of-mind when nothing is obviously hatching. But, even searching with attractors like a Prince or a basic hare's ear or pheasant tail…
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Skills: Cording and uncording fly-tying thread
Those of us who tie flies have dealt with the challenges of uncooperative thread, and it's possible that many of us don't even know that "we're doing it wrong." In the video below, Tim Flagler shows us how to cord and uncord tying thread for various situations. Corded thread—or twisted thread—is smaller in diameter and…
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Trout Tips: Wood is good, foam is home
Beverly Smith is TU's vice president of volunteer operations, and she's a heck of an angler who spends a lot of time on waters like the South Fork, the Henry's Fork and the Snake River through Jackson, Wyo. Her tip in TU's latest book, "Trout Tips" is spot on. You'd be wise to heed the…
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Fly tying: The Last Walt’s
Attractor patterns occupy a special spot in my heart—I love flies that are versatile and might represent any number of buggy possibilities, but no one bug in particular. Such is the case with the Last Walt's, a fly Tim Flagler ties in the video below. As he notes, this bug doesn't match anything specific, but…
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Trout Tips: Pay attention
Sometimes you have to get the trout's attention. Often, the simplest advice is the best. And when it comes to fly fishing, with all its trappings and the intimidating vocabulary ranging from fly sizes, line and rod weights, tippet sizes and sink ratings, simpler is better, particularly for folks who are just starting out. That's…
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