I get asked the question all of the time what's my favorite place to fly fish? Some may find it weird but I always have a hard time answering that question. I've had the opportunity to fly fish so many unique and beautiful places in my life that there's no way I could settle on one place as my sole favorite. If you're wanting a quick answer, a much better question to ask me would what's my favorite hatch to fly fish. I'd have no problem giving you a straight answer on this question. If I could spend all my time traveling around and planning out my fly fishing for one specific hatch it would be ..read more

THIS DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE FLY IS ALL ABOUT THE ACTION. Connor Jones, from Cohutta Fishing Company, ties this versatile baitfish pattern for bass and trout here in the southeast. It's a simple fly with a clean profile and it's easy to tie in a variety of colors. The secret to the jerk minnow is it's action. Connor builds a hard, hollow head, from Senyo's Laser dub and Clear Cure Hydro, which captures air and gives the jerk minnow an erratic darting action, when stripped hard. Big predatory fish can't resist it It's a fly that will produce fish on lakes and rivers. Tie it in the colors and size to ..read more

THE HALLMARK OF WELL-TIED FLIES IS NATURAL PROPORTION. This is never more true than when tying tiny trout flies. Trout are visual feeders and there are three primary criteria that a fly must meet to elicit a positive response. It must match the natural in size, color and profile. Of these three, the hardest to match in tiny flies is profile. There are several elements to a fly's profile. It must have the appropriate style of wing and the right size hackle, for example, but where most of us miss the mark is in the proportion of the body. Primarily because most tiers, often including myself, use ..read more

By Herman deGala This fly came about because I was changing out my cannula for my oxygen when I noticed that it looked like a shrimp. At the time I was also working out a grass shrimp pattern that a friend had asked me to take a look at for those double digit o’io(bonefish) from my home in Hawai’i. I adapted my technique for crimping the abdomen with a heated pair of hemostats from my mysis shrimp and just increase its scale. You can purchase cannulas off of the web get them from a friend who is on oxygen. As for me I’ll have a lifetime supply. Watch the video and learn to tie deGala’s Cannula ..read more

By Herman deGala A new twist on a classic trout pattern. In escrima, Filipino Martial Arts, we have what is called a “Colonial Mentality”. For years escrima languished in obscurity in the Philippines while martial arts from other countries grew and became very popular. It hasn’t been until the last 15 years that escrima has come in to the limelight and become cool again. Like everyone, I love seeing the new flies as they come out. The innovative use of materials and technique has been amazing. With better access to quality materials and the proliferation of technique videos on the web, there’s ..read more

WANT TO CATCH BIG BASS? How about really big bass? Striper fishing rivers in the south during the summer can be off the hook but it can also be challenging. Those big bruisers can get pretty damned selective and you a pattern that will get them moving. Nobody knows this game better than Garner Reed. Today Garner is going to share a pattern he developed for catching big striped bass and spotted bass on the Etowah River. He calls it Garners White Trash and it gets the job done. Watch the video and learn to tie this great bass fly. The post Garner’s White Trash Bass Fly first appeared on Fly Fish ..read more

I HAD A CLIENT COME INTO THE STORE THE OTHER DAY ASKING ME TO SET HIM UP WITH THE BEST PATTERNS FOR FISHING THE WEST. He was planning on traveling around Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana this summer and his goal was to put together a selection of flies that would allow him to catch fish on every river. After setting him up with a fairly comprehensive selection of dries, terrestrials, nymphs and streamers, we started debating what the 10 best patterns are to cover all types of western trout water. We assumed you could fish the same pattern in different colors and sizes which I guess makes i ..read more

THIS PAST WEEKEND, ON ONE OF MY HOME TROUT WATERS, I WAS FRESHLY REMINDED HOW IMPORTANT IT CAN BE TO CARRY DIFFERENT WEIGHTED VERSIONS OF MY FAVORITE NYMPH PATTERNS DURING TOUGH FISHING CONDITIONS. The low and gin clear water had the trout extra spooky and cautious. All it took was one wrong move, like my shadow briefly being cast over the water, or a presentation made a little too hard, and the trout ran for their lives like they were being chased by a pack of starving otters. I use split-shot most of the time with my nymph rigs to get my flies down in the strike zone. It works great for me a ..read more

The Isonychia Nymph is a pattern that should be carried in the fly box of every traveling fly angler. Although these aquatic mayflies do not inhabit all streams in great density, where they are found in abundance, they are shown great favoritism by foraging trout who will often key in on them exclusively. The Isonychia usually hatches during the summer months, with some locations in the United States and abroad, returning a second time during the fall season. These beautiful mayfly nymphs are olympic class swimmers, and fly tiers should try to tie their Isonychia fly imitations with materials ..read more

By Bob Reece Dunnigan’s P.D. Nymph is a trout magnet. As I’ve moved further into my fly tying and fishing journey, I’ve been blessed to meet some outstanding people.  Casey Dunnigan happens to be one of them.  A skilled welder by trade, his ability to create with his hands is evident in his fly tying as well. Casey’s inspiration for designing his Panty Dropper (P.D.) nymph pattern, came as a result of extensive time collecting live specimens.  He wanted a highly accurate P.M.D. imitation that combined realistic traits, like the fibbett antennae, with enough subtle flash to set i ..read more