Caddisflies are often flying over the water in springtime, yet imitations of these adults, such as an Elk-Hair Caddis, don’t seem to work very well. But according to Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions, the trout do . . .
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Video: How to Tie a Super Simple Cicada
The cicadas are coming! By now, you’ve surely heard that this year, the Brood X cicadas will be hatching across the East and parts of the Midwest. Fly fishers are salivating at the prospect of big trout coming to the surface to . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie a Quill Gordon Dry Fly
The Catskills dry fly is considered the ultimate fly-tying challenge (unless you’re into full-dress salmon flies). Getting the proportions correct is the key, and you need the finest materials . . .
Read MoreHow to Tie a Catskills Classic: The Conover
“It’s the most popular attractor pattern we sell here at the shop,” Joe Fox said during my recent visit to the Dette fly shop in Livingston Manor, New York. Of all the flies Joe could have selected from the hundreds . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie the Furled Chimarra Caddis Larva
The Chimarra caddisfly, also known as the little black sedge, is prevalent throughout the eastern and Midwestern United States, hatching in the spring. In the months leading up to the hatch, fishing a bright yellow or orange . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie the Dark Hendrickson Wet Fly
The Dark Hendrickson Wet is a great all-around pattern for springtime fishing, or at any time that there are dark mayflies available to trout. The pattern is production fished on a traditional wet-fly swing, dead-drifted, or . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie the Pink Squirrel Variant
The Pink Squirrel is the creation of John Bethke of Wisconsin, who says that the pattern was born of his desire to create a nymph that wasn’t an exact imitation of anything but would catch trout nearly all the . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie the Buzzball
The Buzzball was created by legendary fly tier Gary Lafontaine to imitate midge clusters on the Missouri River. It’s clearly a variation on the classic Griffith’s Gnat, but adds a second color and a different . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie the Yuk Big
The Yuk Bug is the creation of Al Troth, who is best known for his Elk-Hair Caddis dry fly. But before he moved to Montana from his native Pennsylvania in 1973, Troth was probably familiar with Russell Blessing’s Woolly . . .
Read MoreVideo: How to Tie Bastian’s Floating Caddis Emerger
Today, I learned of the passing of well-known Pennsylvania fly tier Don Bastian, who was known especially for his work to re-popularize wet flies. Anglers outside the Northeast may be familiar with Bastian for his . . .
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