In the past year, I relocated from Vail, Colorado up to Portland, Oregon. I’m lucky enough to have access to dozens of quality steelhead and salmon fisheries. After decades of trout fly fishing, the transition to steelhead fly fishing has been quite the learning experience. There is a big learning curve. It seems like you have…
Tips and Tricks
93 posts
One of the most critical aspects of fly fishing and often one of the easiest to overlook is the fly line itself. Anglers regularly look to their fly rod for casting performance. When that falls short, they reach for the rod rack to alleviate their lack of proficiency. In reality […]
One fellow guide once said to me, “I don’t like streamer fishing because there’s not much to it. You don’t have to break down the entomology, read the water, crack that code that you normally have to when fishing dry flies or nymphs. You just chuck a heavy fly on […]
Before I discovered my passion for fly fishing, I was a diehard spinner fisherman. A diehard is defined as “a person who strongly opposes change or who continues to support something in spite of opposition.” For me back then, the ‘opposition’ was the world of fly fishing itself. I was […]
Whether it’s the aggressive takes, visual eats or an on average bigger fish being caught, fly fishing with streamers is by many a very enjoyable way to catch trout. By all means, streamer fishing is not necessarily the easiest technique to catch trout. The casting, line control, retrieving and setting can […]
Things started on a Monday evening. I read a post about a new Fly Fishing company from Boulder, Colorado named Riversmith. The Riversmith Company is producing a line of roof-top rod racks called River Quivers. Intrigued, I poured into all the information I could find. Two days later, a Vail […]
With fall weather already beckoning anglers to “wader up” and only colder weather on the horizon, it’s key to have a decent pair of non-leaking waders to endure these conditions. As many anglers know, leaks in waders happen and can happen quite frequently. It is not fun. Anything from a […]
Colorado, much like it’s neighboring states Wyoming and Utah is known for quality trout fly fishing. Most people that come to Colorado to experience fly fishing, go trout fishing. The rivers and lakes, for the most part, are chock-full of trout. In the local angling community, most of us start […]
Who doesn’t love late summer fly fishing when we can tie on a giant size 6 hopper pattern only to watch a big fish race out of a cut bank and suck down your fly? On the local rivers here in Colorado we see grasshoppers throughout the riparian zones starting […]
As the PMD hatch peters off, my buddy informs me that he’s having success with his Top Secret Midge rig. I fumble through three fly boxes and finally locate a lonely size 22 in that pattern. A little annoyed, I scour the boxes a second time. I know I have […]
Golden Stoneflies are the most abundant larger stonefly hatch that we have here in the west. Golden’s thrive in both freestone and tailwater fisheries. While the presence of golden’s are an indicator of good river health, the bugs don’t need as pristine conditions like their distant cousins the Salmon Flies. […]
Part 1: Why this adventure is right for you… Part 2: Time to gear up! By now, you hopefully have the itch to try backpack fly fishing. And with all the gear essentials laid out, there are only a few more key pieces to the preparation puzzle. You may be […]