Q’s Betta Bendback
The Bendback is a versatile fly pattern popularized in the 1970s by my old friend, veteran Florida angler…
Tips & Techniques
684 posts
Swinging Soft Hackles for Trout, plus Thoughts on Spey Rods
Back in the days of tweed-wearing anglers, cane rods, gut leaders, and silk fly lines, casting dry flies…
The Art of Angling: Sam Smith
Sam Smith was born in the community of Paradise (yes, that Paradise) in 1947. He subsequently lived in…
Gearhead: Knot Epiphanies
Most of the time, I have a pretty good idea what I am going to write before I…
Just One More Cast… Keeping Balance in Your Angling Life
Last November, I had the good fortune to spend a long day fishing Hot Creek. The air was…
The Bird’s Nest
Cal Bird was one of the greatest California fly tyers ever to spin fur and feathers on a…
Skunked Again
As every fly fisher knows, the angling life has its share of disappointments. Some positive thinkers urge us…
The Stillwater Fly Fisher: Chasing California’s Top-Water Bite
For most stillwater fly anglers, the technique of choice is enticing fish to take flies at the surface.…
At the Vise: Rusty Rat
Few things capture the spirit of fly fishing quite like the school of thought that directs us to…
Designing Flies and Tweaking or Crossing Fly Patterns
Many years ago, when I first started to tie flies, I found that I learned much more from…