Small Flies for BIG Steelhead

Mia and the gang at oregonsteelhead.com have a great post about some very cool and small steelhead flies fished in the film with a greased-line technique. The proof the technique works is in the video above. Check out their site for more about the technique, photos of the flies, and other jaw dropping videos for steelhead junkies and all fly anglers to enjoy.

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Picture of the Day: Smallie Smile

Seth Smallmouth

Seth Daughton, age 7, with one of eight smallmouths he caught to his father’s measly two.

photo by Tim Daughton

Do you remember what it is like to smile this big when you catch a fish? For many of us, myself included, our fishing becomes an extension of our day-to-day life, stressful.  “Lets go, I want to get to that spot before somebody else does!” or “Just one more fish…” are phrases that are all too common. Don’t get me wrong: I love to fish, but somewhere along the way I may have lost some perspective. For the last couple of years, I have been blessed with the opportunity to fish with my kids, though, and my overall attitude has shifted.

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Fly Fishing History Part VI: 1941-1952

[Editor’s note: For the next few months, we will be featuring entries from Gordon M. Wickstrom’s The History of Fishing for Trout with Artificial Flies in Britain and America: A Chronology of Five Hundred Years, 1496 to 2000. In this chronology, Gordon marks significant events—the publication of seminal books, tackle developments, important social changes, the dissemination of trout species beyond their native ranges, etc.—on both sides of the Atlantic.]

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Tying the Yellow Stimulator

Most folks think of Randall Kaufman, famed West Coast angler and shop owner, as the inventor of the Stimulator dry fly, but the question seems up for debate. The fly’s true originator may be Jim Slattery, who claims that he first tied the stonefly pattern to fish the Musconetcong River in central New Jersey in 1980. Based on the Sofa Pillow, Slattery’s fly was originally called the Fluttering Stonefly, but he renamed it the. . .

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Tuesday Tip: Dam Streamers

Fly fishers spend a lot of time trying to achieve the perfect presentation—the right dead drift or swing or retrieve. But there are times when an ugly presentation is actually more “natural” and will catch more fish. A good example is when you’re fishing at the base of a dam or a waterfall. One of my favorite tactics for this angling situation requires virtually no casting or . . .

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Picture(s) of the Day: Guide’s Family Outing

Matthew Long and his daughters

Guide Matthew Long with daughters Catherine (age 7, L) and Elizabeth (age 4, R) on Armstrong Spring Creek, in Paradise Valley.

photo by Carolyn Long

Matt got stuck sitting on two Armstrong Spring Creek rods one Sunday last month. With the Yellowstone blown out (still) and folks canceling trips, we figured this would happen at some point. So, Matt said, “Let’s take Catherine and Elizabeth fishing.” I had doubts, concerns, and worries galore—mosquitoes, deer flies, 50-degree water, cold little legs and toes, boredom from not catching a fish every five minutes. I mean, this was one of the spring creeks, not exactly your first choice fishing destination for small children. I figured whatever happened, we’d be okay with a good. . .

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Fly-Fishing Week in Review 08.08.11

This is Fly Aug/Sep 2011

The cover of the latest issue of This is Fly.

Welcome to our new weekly roundup of news from across the world of fly fishing. Every Monday, we’ll bring you up to speed on interesting stories, new records, important conservation news, and anything else we think you should know about.

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Cutthroats of Colorado

A few months ago I flew out to Colorado on business and was able to tack on a day of fishing. I talked Tucker (Fishing Manger at the Orvis Park Meadows store) into sharing his ‘spots’ and chauffeuring my co-worker and I on his day off. We opted for starting the day at the South Platte on the ‘Dream Stream’ section. After a few hours on the road (and a quick stop to photograph pronghorns), we arrived at the parking area where two vehicles’ worth of anglers were already gearing up. We pulled on our waders, strung up our rods, and made sure to give the other anglers a wide berth. We dodged gopher holes and navigated our way over to the water. Tucker put me into a stretch he knew to be fairly successful and suggested a two-nymph rig on 7x tippet ending in a black size 22 midge.

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REPOST: Picture(s) of the Day: “Beat That!” Bonefish

Pelican Point Bone

Capt. Neil Sigvartsen displays an 18-pound Grand Bahama bonefish—one of the
benefits of being the first one out of the truck at a new fishing spot.

photo courtesy Capt. Neil Sigvartsen

Editor’s Note: This one needed a correction so big, I thought it worth a repost. In the original post on July 22, Captain Sigvartsen’s fish was initially listed at 13 pounds, when, in fact, it was 18 pounds. That raises the “Holy Moly!” factor to another level entirely.

We parked at Pelican Point on the East End of Grand Bahama Island. I was rigged and ready, so I was able to beat my buddies to the flat. Before I even got in the water, I looked down the sandy flat to see about eight fish coming toward me. At first I thought they were ‘cudas because of their size, but as they got closer I realized that they were the biggest bonefish I’d ever seen.

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