tuesday tips

See All Orvis Learning Center Fly Fishing Video Lessons

When you’re standing on the bow of a flats boat, things can happen pretty fast. One of the keys to success is good communication with your guide. Because he (or she) is better trained and has a higher vantage point, he’s probably going to see the fish before you, which means that he has to explain to you where to look and where to cast. By establishing good rules at the beginning of the day, you can ensure that you’re both on the same page when it’s time to leap into action.

Click here for the full “Saltwater Flats” chapter on the Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center.

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See All Orvis Learning Center Fly Fishing Video Lessons

One of the more common mistakes that trout fishermen make when they first fish the saltwater flats is to try to set the hook by raining the rod tip. Guides call this the “trout set,” and it usually results in a lost bonefish or permit. In this video, my friend Jason Franklin, of H2O Outfitters, explains why it’s so important that you make a strip set on fish in saltwater. He also offers the ins and outs of. . .

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A couple weeks ago, when I posted the video about stillwater fishing, I called on the expertise of Phil Rowley because he knows more about fishing lakes than I do. This week, the topic is fly casting, so who better to instruct us than Pete Kutzer of the Orvis Fly-Fishing School in Manchester, Vermont. You are already familiar with. . .

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See All Orvis Learning Center Fly Fishing Video Lessons

For the next few months, as hatches become few and far between, most anglers will be fishing with subsurface nymphs or streamers. When you can’t see your fly, detecting strikes can be the difference between. . .

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See All Orvis Learning Center Fly Fishing Video Lessons

In this week’s excerpt from the Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center, Tom Rosenbauer discusses where you should focus your attention when you’re looking for salmon or steelhead in a river. It’s important to remember that the fish need both. . .

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See All Orvis Learning Center Fly Fishing Video Lessons

In this week’s excerpt from the Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center, Tom Rosenbauer explains why fish are found in front of midstream rocks and logs as often as they are found behind suck obstacles. So the next time you’re on the water casting to the slick behind a rock or tree, remind yourself to make some casts to the front side, as well. There’s usually a. . .

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Not everyone can tell you how to “slap it and snap it” when the PMPDQs are hatching. Luckily, Hank Patterson, Guide Extraordinaire, is willing to share his expertise via Youtube. In this episode, you’ll learn two different ways to create your own hopper hatch, as well as what you should do if you get. . .

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Fishing a tandem rig with a streamer and a nymph can be very effective. photo courtesy the Orvis Learning Center

Streamers are fantastic fall patterns, especially for catching big trout, but it’s worth remembering that there are many ways to fish them. Although most anglers strip or swing these patterns, they can also be deadly when fished on a dead drift. As Tom and Molly Semenik show in the video above, trout will often jump on what they see as an. . .

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In this excellent clip from his video Casts that Catch Fish, New Zealand fly-casting instructor Carl McNeil discusses several ways to deal with wind. At about the 2:20 mark, he discusses the problem with a crosswind, something many casters struggle with.

Wind is a constant nemesis for fly casters, but this is especially true when it’s blowing directly into your casting arm. Every time you lay the line out in front of or behind you, the wind blows it toward you, putting your fly on a collision course with your skull or any projecting features, such as. . .

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