Fly Fishing

The crane fly larvae are among the largest sub-surface insect forms in a trout stream. These sub-adult forms of the crane fly can grow up to an inch long. They are of interest to trout because...

EP fly-tying materials are the invention of Enrico Puglisi, one of the most innovative contemporary fly tiers in the world. His specialty is saltwater flies, and the materials required for this...

Both saltwater fish and their environment conspire to wreck flies. As a result, tying flies for saltwater fishing requires special consideration of materials and techniques. Regardless of the size...

Big fish, including tarpon, require big flies. The problem with big flies is they can be difficult to cast with a fly rod. The strategy is to use materials that give the appearance of bulk without...

Redfish, considered a game fish, live in saltwater flats and estuaries in warm climates. "Outdoor angler enthusiasts love to find redfish tailing in the shallow water flats," says Capt. Mark Ward,...

Besides speeding the process of adding line to your reel, a line spooler also allows some tension to be applied to the line as it spools on, giving a better lay. That allows for improved casting...

Fly fishing is an extremely refined sport that requires at least two different types of line. The fly line is weighted so you can cast the fly, and the leader or tippet is extremely light so it is...

McCune's Bandit Leech is one of the quickest streamer patterns to tie, and it is one of the most productive flies for pulling big trout out of their deep holes on North American rivers year-round....

The Meat Whistle is an extremely easy to tie, productive streamer pattern that works well all year long. It is used for both bass and trout found throughout North America on warm water lakes and...

The brown beetle is an extremely productive, easy-to-tie, terrestrial dry fly pattern that works well during the hot summer months when fished near the banks or shores of rivers and reservoirs....

The advantage of conehead flies is they can be fished deeper than unweighted flies. Some patterns specifically require a conehead, but almost any sinking fly can be adapted to take a cone. The...

Choosing the correct backing for your specific fly fishing need prevents problems. Large diameter line backing means less reserve line under your fly line. This limits your control of a large,...

Building your own fly rod saves you money compared with buying a factory-built model. There are two ways to go: Purchase a complete kit or purchase all the materials individually. A kit is the...

The original sheep fly was tied by Dave Whitlock. He wanted a fly that was "meaty" looking but without too much bulk so that it could be cast easily. He also wanted a material that would have...

Scud patterns are easy to tie and extremely effective flies on most tailwater fisheries. They provide a protein-packed meal for fish to key in on all year long. They can be tied in a psychedelic...

The crayfish or crawdad is a favorite food for many different species of fish. Every species--from trout and panfish to bass, salmon and steelhead--love them. The crayfish is also an easy fly to...

Many anglers use a shooting basket when fly fishing in fast currents. A shooting basket is a basket attached to your chest that permits you to store your excess fly line where the current will not...

Saltwater fly fishing generally requires a more specialized reel than freshwater fly fishing. When pursuing larger saltwater quarry, the most important characteristics of an angler's saltwater fly...

Turk's Tarantula might be one of the best attractor trout flies ever invented. It was developed in 1990 by Guy Turk and was used to win the prestigious Jackson Hole One-Fly Contest. It has a...

The muskellunge (muskie) is one of the largest and most exciting freshwater fish in North America. Many fishermen specialize in fishing for them. One way to increase the variety and excitement of...

The crease fly is a category of flies, not a specific pattern. It gets its name from the process of folding or creasing the material that forms the major body component. It can be tied to imitate...

Choosing the right fly fishing rod is a game of decoding sometimes confusing numbers. Manufacturers have agreed on some standards related to weight and length. The angler looking for a fly rod has...

Flat wing-style streamers differ from the more familiar hackle wing streamers in two ways. First, the wing feather rests flat over the hook shank rather than upright along the shank. Second, flat...

Fly fishing is enjoyed by millions of people every year. Many of these fly fishermen enjoy tying their own flies. A fly-tying station is important to these fly tiers because it holds most of the...

Walleye are one of the most sought-after gamefish in the northern United States. Walleye are usually caught on spinning rods using jigs or live bait, but they can be caught on fly rods. Walleye...

Where permitted, it is not uncommon for an angler to fish multiple flies at the same time by affixing the extra flies to "dropper strands" that branch off from the main leader at intervals....

Catching a tarpon on a fly rod is one of the most exciting saltwater fishing experiences available. Tarpon are big, fast fish that frequently makes spectacular leaps when hooked. The Coachroach...

A fishing pole storage rack keeps your rods neatly organized. More important, it keeps them from being damaged. You can make a rod rack with minimal investments of cost and time. A floor-based...

Some anglers frequently try to increase their odds of catching fish by using more than one fly at a time. In fly-fishing, the strand of monofilament connecting a second fly is generally called a...

The family of saltwater flies known as deceivers was originally developed by one of fly fishing's most prolific, contemporary innovators--Lefty Kreh. This pattern is so famous that it has appeared...

Many fly patterns utilize epoxy glue to add body and substance to the fly and to firmly fasten some components of the fly to the body. According to the web site onlineflytyer.com, epoxy has been...

Native brook trout are easily spooked. They are also fairly difficult to get to. More often than not, finding sequestered populations of native brook trout entails some hiking and maneuvering...

Fly tying benches provide a work space and organize the tools and supplies used to tie flies for fly fishing. The design of the bench will be influenced by the amount of space available and...

Spooling fly line onto a Pflueger fly reel is fairly easy. If done correctly it will prevent a large fish from pulling all your line off the reel and getting away with your line. In fishing...

A fishing vest is a handy piece of clothing, especially for fly fishermen. A spin fisherman usually is on the bank or in a boat with all of his tackle in a tackle box right next to him. A fly...

Trout flies imitate two types of fish food, insects and bait fish. Bait fish are imitated by streamer and bucktail flies. There are many patterns of each; some are local favorites, while others...

Epoxy has a wide variety of uses in tying flies. It can be used to create a glossy wing case on nymphs, as in Umpqua's "Micro Mayfly," designed by Mike Mercer, or, as in most cases, to create a...

For some fly fishermen, the goal of fishing is to catch fish using only on the most natural-looking flies possible. But for others, the goal is to have fun and catch fish on any fly that works....

If the packaging that comes with your reel does not specify or recommend the amount of backing to put on your reel, or you have simply lost those specifications, determining the amount of backing...

Fly line backing accomplishes two things: It takes up extra space on a fly reel so the line will flow out easier and it gives a margin of error when large fish are hooked. If the backing is to do...

Cranefly larvae are very large are found naturally in either a tan or olive body colors. As a weighted subsurface nymph, it may be fished very effectively under an indicator and in tandem with...

Fly fishing is a challenging and fun means to catch fish, especially if you've fished that way long enough to know how to cast right into the "circle" and entice a nice trout, salmon, bonefish or...

Lightning bugs can become some of the most productive nymphs you add to your arsenal of flies. They work during a hatch and when there is presumably nothing for the fish to eat. Their flash and...

Fly-line backing is so much more than just a lot of string wound around the core of a fly-fishing spool; without the backing, fly-fishing would be impossible. Proper fly-line backing setup, use...

Most fly rod blanks manufactured today are made by wrapping graphite or fiberglass cloth, known as "scrim", around a steel mandrel. The process causes the scrim to have a bias in direction which...

Backing line on a fly reel serves two purposes. It increases the diameter of the spool, so it takes fewer rotations of the reel to draw in the fly line, and it provides extra length for when a...

Knowing how to quickly and efficiently tie a leader to a fly with a clinch knot will increase the amount of time you spend fishing while decreasing a main component of what can be frustrating for...

Having a proper rack to store your fishing rods is essential for any fisherman with a sizable collection. In addition to keeping your house better organized, by storing your rods in racks, you...

Spey casting, a form of casting that has no backcast, is a fly-casting technique that originated in Scotland. In a sense, spey casting is a roll cast that involves line repositioning. Spey casting...

The following hopper pattern uses the best of both synthetic and natural materials to create a durable, visible, buoyant and accurate grasshopper pattern. Foam is the ideal synthetic material with...