by Johnny Spillane HAVE YOU EVER SHOWED UP AT A RIVER AND FOUND THAT INSTEAD OF THE CRYSTAL CLEAR WATER YOU WERE EXPECTING, YOU’RE STARING AT CHOCOLATE MILK? Here in the Rocky Mountain this is a relatively common experience. It can happen for a number of reasons, huge rainstorms, someone doing river work above you or just your normal spring runoff. Don’t fret; while it might not be ideal, here are a few tips that can help you find some fish. If the water is only slightly off color, you can basically use the same flies that you would if it was clear, just make everything a size or two larger. I ..read more

If I looked backed on my early fly fishing days and had to grade my fish fighting skills, it would yield a discouraging report card. I lost way more fish than I actually landed during those first few years after picking up a fly rod. I'll never forget how tense and anxious I was every time I'd find myself hooked up with a nice trout. It seemed like every second of the battle I was terrified that I was going to lose my trophy. In turn, I constantly second guessed my fighting instincts, I wouldn't follow after my fish if it swam upstream or downstream of me, and I knew very little about the corr ..read more

I spend the majority of my time teaching fly casting when guiding my clients, but the art of mending fly line is a close second.   A perfect cast can quickly become obsolete if you don't understand the concept of mending fly line. When mending is timed correctly and executed properly it allows fly anglers to maintain a drag-free presentation, keep their fly in the target zone, and prolong the length of their drift. Developing good mending technique my friends, translates into more fish being hooked and landed. If you're lucky enough to already have the basics of fly casting down, I highly ..read more

THERE ARE FEW THINGS I LOVE MORE THAN WADE FISHING A SMALL STREAM AND STUMBLING UPON A STEEP VERTICAL WATERFALL WITH A DEEP PLUNGE POOL. Waterfalls this size are pretty rare on small streams, but if you're lucky enough to locate one, you could very well find yourself hooked up to one of the biggest trout in the stream. Here's four reasons why I feel waterfalls plunge pools are great places to look for big trophy trout on small streams. 1. Lots of food gets washed over a waterfall, especially during high flows. Large amounts of food (tiny fish, aquatic insects, crustaceans and amphibians) are c ..read more

I was talking with a friend the other day about doing some fishing in Colorado, his home state. This is a good topic to bring up if you are trying to lure me into an extended conversation. Colorado is near to my heart. He was throwing out places we might fish and said "I know you love the Dream Stream, but I hate that place". This really took me off guard. How could anyone hate that place? If you've never fished it, trust me, the name says it all. A gorgeous high elevation tailwater, this section of the South Platte snakes thru a quant little valley between two reservoirs, bending back on itse ..read more

By Bob Reece On my home waters in Wyoming, wind is a nearly constant factor. This weather altering force can also act as a source of frustration for many anglers. However, this seemingly negative nemesis can be used as a casting ally. While I spend most of my free time fishing moving water, my days of guiding are now spent entirely on still waters. Several of these lakes and ponds lie in open areas that are subject to frequently changing winds. In an effort to help my clients maximize their time on the water, I must be able to provide them with the instruction needed to persevere in these cond ..read more

Every year, I spend quite a bit of time scouring the interweb and flipping through numerous fly company catalogs, all in the effort to stay up to date with the latest new fly pattern creations. Many are just variations of already existing fly patterns, but quite often it's a new fly tying material that's created, manipulated, or that's managed to stay under the radar and discovered, that's used to develop these new fly patterns. I usually spend my time reviewing the new flies and their recipes, and hear my inner-voice chattering over and over, "why didn't you come up with that fly pattern, dum ..read more

How do you find and catch trout on days when there doesn’t seem to be much action? When the river looks like it’s boiling with rising trout and you’re having to wipe the BWOs out of your eyes just to tie on a fly, it doesn’t take a degree in entomology to catch fish. Sadly, days like that are few and far between and we spend plenty of days on the river scratching our heads and guessing what might get a favorable response. Most days there is a combination of fly pattern and technique that will put a couple of fish in the net. If you’re struggling with finding that combination, you may just need ..read more

There's nothing worse than watching a big beautiful wild fish bleed out from a damaged gill. I found myself in just that situation with a big brown trout one day. Watching helplessly as the water turned red. Thank God Kent was with me. Thinking fast he said, "hey, did you finish that Coke?" I had not and he showed me a great trick. He opened the fish's mouth and poured the Coke down her throat. As soon as it hit the injured gill the bleeding stopped. It was like magic. I'm not sure if it's the carbonation or the acid but something in the Coke cauterized the wound. It saved that fish's life. I ..read more

Here's the Million Dollar Trout Fishing Question.... Are you putting enough emphasis on the 3 C's in your trout fishing? The availability of Current, Cover and Cuisine most often dictate where trout decide to set up shop. Being able to consistently pick them out will ultimately determine how much success you have on the water. Furthermore, if you can find a spot that has all three C's, you're probably staring at a honey hole that holds the trophy of your dreams. As a ignorant rookie fly fisher, I recall early on in my career, how I'd start out my day selecting a section of water, and go a ..read more