Pro Tips

One of my favorite dry flies for searching small streams is this variation of the Au Sable Wulff. I first used this pattern with success in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales in the middle of a plague of small light coloured moths. Since then I have used this pattern regularly and it has now...

This fall we had several weeks of great fishing for School Bluefin Tuna. These fish were averaging around 100 lbs. We had the opportunity to hook and land several on the Scott Bluewater 15 weight. This is the fourth season for me on these rods and they are still going strong. I had an angler hook...

In the accessory-rich world of fly tying there are all manner of whip finish tools. The best whip finish tool is your hand – you can place a whip finish anywhere along the hook shank, and even use it to fashion a ‘needle-less nail knot’ to connect your leader to fly line. And...

Eyes are an important feature of many fly patterns. Check out a baitfish next time you see one swimming past, and the pupil is usually most prominent. Many pre-painted or stick-on eyes have tiny pupils. Next time, try making them larger for better results.

Stripping baskets are a necessity in a number of fishing situations. They allow you to get maximum casting distance, keep the line from tangling around your feet and keep your lines cleaner. No one basket will do it all, so check them out and find one that suits your style of fishing. What seems...

Want more hook ups in salt water????   Try using a non slip loop knot. It is easy to tie, extremely strong, and allows the fly to have a lot more action. Flies tied with synthetic or natural materials (especially craft hair and rabbit fur) really perform well using...

Start short. Use a rod and line combo that will load well in close. Try and keep as much line off the water as possible to eliminate drag. Keep your rod and arm high to assist. Remember to use your arm as an extension of the rod. I like to make 5-10 casts per pocket to search.   On...

Try and work upstream if possible (especially in low water). Map out a course (not unlike picking a line in skiing) to wade. If it's anything like the West Branch Ausable, and the wading is tough, try to economize your position and fish all vantage points from where you are at the time. The key...

“DUDE, SWEET BACK CAST”   Now, that is something you don’t hear often when one is perusing the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. More along the terms of “just a little farther”, mend it, and so on and so forth. Yet when it comes down to it, the perfect back...

I’m not afraid to learn from my anglers. One thing I noticed was how well good trout anglers controlled their lines in heavy current. Subsequently I now use reach casts and mends for line control in heavy current. I can dead drift the fly better, and I have no downstream belly in the line....

Life as the Anti-Matcher of Hatch has served me well, and there¡¦s no better time for that philosophy to shine than springtime. Common knowledge, combined with life experience, should tell you that good or bad, the attention always goes to those that opt to be different....

IT'S ALL IN THE RETRIEVE The striped bass is a predator, an eating machine that maims and then devours its prey. Whether fishing Clousers or whistlers for these trophy game fish I ask one thing of my clients: make sure you pause the fly. All my flies are weighted in the front so when we pause them...

CASTING THE HEAVY LINES You've just purchased that casting machine S4 9 Ft. 9 Wt. and now you have to cast a lead core shooting head that weights 375 grains and a huge black over chartreuse whistler fly that is nine inches long and weighs a whopping 110 grains to catch that lunker 30 pound striper...

Planning your trip Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures is a destination angling booking company that sends hundreds of anglers a year all over the world. Over the years of booking trips and fishing the world ourselves, we have learned one very important lesson about destination trips —...

The Yellowstone is the classic western freestone river and the only major U.S. river to escape damming. It starts in the Teton Wilderness, a stones throw away from the Snake River, flows into Yellowstone Lake, through Yellowstone Park, and cuts through Montana before meeting the Missouri at the...

I tie two epoxy sinking ant patterns, the TransparANT and the Attract-ANT, both of which are carried by Umpqua. They sink very slowly, usually only a few inches below the surface. I often fish them by themselves either to rising fish during a hatch or lightly weighted and with an indicator. What...

CENTRAL TEXAS BASS FISHING If you enjoy wade fishing crystal clear streams with healthy populations of native fish and float fishing scenic rivers lined with lush vegetation, I have a wonderful place for you. Some of the waters are spring creeks with abundant aquatic life and dense hatches....

The last time she and I fished together I learned a new fishing strategy. I remember because she wore a bikini top in the bow when the sun came out, and I became distracted because that is one of those things I really like, bikini tops in the bow of fishing boats. I also remember this day...

“Leave the stripping to the girls at Fred’s Lounge- dead drift your wooly buggers” Well, I guess it’s a little more complicated than that. But, I have never in fifteen years had a new client step in my boat that fully understood how I wanted them to fish a bugger, so I...

“Double Haul Camp Coffee” AKA “Rotator Cuff Coffee” Ingredients needed: A little cold water, a lot of centrifugal force, and a splash of faith. Forget the eggshells, mule spit and all those other secret tricks that are said to settle the grounds in a pot of camp...