Category Archives: Techniques

You've heard it before: trout spend most of their time feeding below the surface. But how do you catch what you can't see? Seeing a trout eat a dry fly might be what we all dream about and what originally brought us to love fly fishing, but mastering your ability to fish a fly where you cannot see...

Streamer fishing can be one of the most exciting ways to catch fish when fly fishing. It is also a successful way to target large trout. Anglers who regularly fish streamers know the rewards may not come as easily as when fishing tandem nymph rigs or when a hatch is thick and the trout are hungry...

So, you’ve got a rod and reel, waders, and boots and fallen completely in love with fly fishing. You’ve spent late evenings on the Madison River casting caddis patterns to trout at last light. You’ve hiked long trails into the mountains in search of the elusive golden trout. And then one day your...

Catching a fish is the result of several things all coming together at the same time. To have success in fly fishing, most people talk about fly rods, flies, casts, and presentations. But an often overlooked component to catching a fish is choosing the correct leader. With an abundance of lengths...

Mastering the cast is perhaps the most important skill in fly fishing. Whether it is being able to drop a dry fly in front of a rising trout at 50 feet on the Missouri River, double-hauling a bonefish fly at 70 feet in Cuba, or a bow and arrow cast on a small stream, the ability to have an accurate...

River canyons conjure up angling adventure: Yankee Jim, Bear Trap, the Gorge, the Black Canyon, Land of the Giants, and the Narrows are a few of the named canyon sections of some of the great fly fishing rivers for trout. In these canyons lie some of the most productive fly fishing waters in the...

The Smith River in Montana is one of the state’s prized fly fishing rivers. The main season for floating and fishing the Smith River kicks off in April and runs into July. In some years late September and early October can also provide floating and fishing opportunities. The Smith River is managed...

Fishing the Smith River in central Montana is one of the most anticipated Montana fishing trips of the year. The river’s 60-mile journey from Camp Baker to Eden Bridge features carefully managed floating and camping regulations. Only a few outfitters are specially permitted on this river and private...

We have all heard it, “you should have been here yesterday.” Such a statement begs the question, “Why yesterday?” The reason yesterday was better most often relates to the environmental conditions of yesterday. A myriad of conditions heavily influence the behavior of trout. Where trout are found...

There’s something to be said about spending time at the vise preparing a number of flies for your next fishing trip. While relaxing, tying a few bugs, and daydreaming about future fishing days is a nice way to spend a couple hours, there are also times when you need to go into full-on production...