Video: How to Tie a Simple Scud Pattern


In some watersheds, scuds make up a large part of a trout’s diet.

Scuds, crustaceans known as Amphipods, are on a trout’s menu year-round—especially in many tailwaters, spring creeks, and stillwaters. Trout love them because scuds are usually plentiful, easy to catch, and they have high nutritional value. There are almost. . .

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Video: How to Tie the Ray Charles Sowbug

The Ray Charles Sowbug has been around for at least a couple decades and is a staple on Western tailwaters, especially the Bighorn and the Missouri. There are tons of variations of. . .

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Video: How to Tie the Tungsten Torpedo

Kevin Compton is a fly tier and competitive angler from Cleveland, Ohio, who loves nymphing for trout. He created the Tungsten Torpedo, an attractor nymph that sinks quickly and. . .

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Video: How to Tie the Bird’s Nest

Cal Bird owned a small fly shop in San Francisco in the 1940s and ’50s, and he created the Bird’s Nest in 1959 as a caddis-pupa imitation to use on the Truckee River. Most anglers now consider it an. . .

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How to Tie the Tungsten Surveyor

Written by: Tyler Befus


Althoigh it doesn’t look like normal winter trout fare, this heavy nymph is a proven winner.
All photos by Tyler Befus

Winter can be one of the most challenging times of the year to fish. Whether they live in a spring creek in the Upper Midwest or one of the countless Colorado tailwaters, trout become very slow and. . .

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Video: How to Tie JC’s Electric Caddis Pupa

Here’s a great video that walks you through a somewhat complicated pattern from well-known New Jersey tier, John Collins. About this fly, Collins says, “I created this pattern to imitate caddis larvae found in many rivers. After photographing numerous natural insects, I observed that. . .

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Video: How to Tie the (gasp!) Sucker Spawn


Tim Flagler claims he’s only a “recreational user” os Sucker Spawn. How about you?

Fly fishing sometimes feels like it’s bound by a lot of rules. Some are truly old-school: thou shalt fish a dry fly upstream only, for instance. But even in the 21st century there’s a lot of hair-splitting about. . .

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