An autumn New Jersey rainbow trout that fell victim to a soft hackle.  The time is now to enjoy some fantastic trout fishing in the garden state.  Many of our trout waters have received fall stockings of broodstock fish.  Recent rains have given area streams a well-needed boost, and fishing conditions are excellent.  So dust off that rod and reel and visit your closest trout stream.  You will not be disappointed ..read more

Lou DiGena's CE Crayfish The CE Crayfish (Close Enough) is a very simple crayfish pattern developed by my friend Louis DiGena for trout and bass.  When he designs flies, he follows the K.I.S.S. rule (Keep It Simple Stupid).  He will usually focus on one or two triggers when developing a pattern, here the claws and the swimming action.  At rest, the marabou claws spread and flutter giving the impression of a crayfish in a defensive position, claws flared out and moving.  When swimming this pattern, the marabou claws collapse like the natural and the dumbbell eyes g ..read more

The Crackleback - "Expect near instant success." I recently wrote something about an evolution of this fly that became a very effective warm water pattern.  Not that there was anything wrong with the original, it just sorted morphed over the years into something else.  But it did get me thinking about the fly, how I came to discover it and the number of trout it has caught over the years. Many years ago I picked up an old aluminum fly box that contained many examples of one fly, the Crackleback.  The original owner was obviously quite fond of this pattern, he (or ..read more

Here is your weekly warm water fix from the Panfish On the Fly - The Bream Killer ..read more

This chunky rainbow was my first trout of 2017.  It was a great afternoon on the water today.  The air temperature was in the mid-40's, the water temperature neared 40 degrees and the fish were actively feeding.   ..read more

I'm in the process of restocking last season's fly boxes and I am working through warm water boxes at the moment.  This pattern was a big producer last year.  I wrote about it on The Panfish On The Fly last year and thought I would share it here. It's no secret that bluegills and other members of the sunfish family are attracted to color.  The exact color that turns them on may vary from day to day or even hour to hour.  In my neck of the woods, orange is a long standing favorite day in and day out.  This particular pattern was created during a tying session w ..read more

Central Jersey Trout Unlimited is offering fly tying classes for fly tiers of all experience levels. They are offering a beginner's class as well as an intermediate/advanced class for more experienced individuals. For the beginner's class, all tools and materials will be provided. Individuals taking the intermediate/advanced class will need to have their own vice and tools. The classes will run for 6 weeks starting on Wednesday, February 1st, 2017. The classes will take place on Wednesday evenings starting at 7:30 pm and run until 9:30 pm. Cost of the beginners class is $75.00 (all tools ..read more

It's that time of year again!  The NJ Fly Fisherman of The Year Contest ..read more

The Spring 2016 edition of Tenkara Angler has hit the virtual newsstands.   This edition contains one hundred and twelve pages of tenkara goodness.  The magazine covers a broad range of topics with articles on fishing, fly tying, casting techniques, destinations, as well as other subjects such as art, interviews and camping.   As tenkara has taken hold here in the United States, I have seen the use of the technique expanded far beyond the coldwater mountain streams where it originated.   Over the years, it has become one of my favorite ways to pursue panfish.  In fac ..read more

Delaware River In continuing the posts on the upcoming shad season, I thought I would share what I know about locating the fish.  Shad are different from most warm water fish I target since they are anadromous. This means they spend the majority of their lives in salt water, returning to fresh water to spawn.  They are only available to anglers for a short window of time and during this period, they are always on the move.  What was a productive spot one day may be a waste of time to fish the next. First a little about the fish themselves.  When I refer to sh ..read more