When fishing stillwaters, attractor flies are extremely under utilized here in the states. I think because of two things; most stillwater anglers don’t know how or why to use stillwater attractor flies, and because the materials to tie them and the flies are not usually stocked in fly shops. This […]
trout
23 posts
Buoyancy is an incredible principle that as fly anglers, we need to take more advantage of. Buoyancy can be achieved through a variety of materials like cervid hair (deer, elk, moose, caribou), dubbing (like alpaca), yarns (like poly yarn), and foam. I’m going to talk about foam in this article. […]
I went and fished East Lake in the Newbery Crater last year in June. The fishing was tough but we squeaked out a few fish and a couple of them were browns! If you have any questions leave them down below.
So I was back at the Santiam Fly Casters a few weeks ago and spoke there about some stillwater strategies. I specifically talked to them about strategies for a new angler to approach a stillwater. I broke down gear, locations, terms, where to find fish, and more. There are some […]
Last fall I fished Diamond Lake and was able to squeak out a Diamond Lake Slam. It was a fun but tough day of fishing. I was able to get 3 out of my 4 fish on film, missed the brown because I wasn’t recording, and luckily my fiancee was […]
Heading back to see if we do a repeat of the previous week!
In this video I head out to an Oregon lake in search of tiger, brown, & rainbow trout. Luckily in this video we find all three! Watch as we fish using loch style tactics where we pull flies, use indicators, and washing line techniques.
Stillwater fly fishing has become my hyperfocus within fly fishing. Don’t get me wrong I still hit the rivers for trout or jetty for rockfish or some of the best smallmouth bass water in the world, from time to time, but stillwater trout has been so much fun and produces […]
I am a podcasting machine apparently. I was back on the Fly Fishing 97 podcast this time not talking about me and the shows I’m going to but all about fly tying thread and how I think it is the most important tool in your fly tying arsenal. We dive […]
I’ve been going around Oregon speaking at fly fishing clubs. Where I have been covering topics like searun cutthroat, euro nymphing, fly fishing off the jetty, and much more. Recently while speaking at the Santiam Flycasters in Salem, Oregon they recorded my talk about stillwater flies. I don’t have much […]
I love to tie flies. Clearly. I’ve been tying flies for 14+ years and almost every day of those 14+ years. I might be able to count on one hand how many flies I have bought to fish with and if I use my other hand I can add the […]
Pulling flies is verbiage from across the pond. They use that term whenever they are fishing stillwaters and presenting the flies in a cast and retrieve style. I like the term pulling better than cast and retrieve or stripping for the reasons that it describes the action and presentation accurately. […]
Bead Chart I wanted to develop my own bead chart for those tiers who wanted to get into the weeds on density and which beads to choose. Most bead charts are vague and don’t give all the information that I would want and I would have to search in multiple […]
The blog doesn’t have a lot of trip reports but I thought the fly fishing community should have a modern report on Diamond Lake. I was recently out at Diamond Lake to do some fishing with a buddy of mine. It was a great trip that you’re here to […]
This year I’m going full bore into the fly fishing competitions scene. Last year (2022) I dipped my toes into it and participated in a couple of comps in Central Oregon on two stillwater venues, Crane Prairie Reservoir and Paulina Lake. This year’s season will have competitions in Oregon, California, […]
Most anglers interested in competitive fly fishing only think of rivers when they think of a venue for a competition. This isn’t the case at all. Rivers play a massive role in the competitive scene and are integral to the success of an individual or the team, but there is […]
The other other factor that goes into hook choice is the shape. This can be inconsequential or it can matter a lot. To me when the stakes are the lowest is when you are tying nymphs and you are tying to get the shape correct for just aesthetic purposes. It […]
As a fly tyer who geeks out hard about tying, materials, and flies it would be totally justified to think hooks would be top of mind for me when deciding how to tie a fly. Hooks are the foundation to every fly tyed, but criminally overlooked, especially when it comes […]
This past weekend was my first fly fishing competition. I’m going to go over the prep work I did for this comp, gear I brought, gear I wish I had brought, how fishing went, my mind set, and the results of the comp. I’m hoping this is the first of […]
As a competent euro nympher you need to adapt to different waters. This means when you encounter deep runs, fast water, and steep rivers, like the West Coast and Rocky Mountain states offer, you need to have the right flies for the situation. For me it is having a diverse […]
As the industry changes it looks like the trend for bigger and more audacious flies is sticking around. I’m definitely part of the movement to go big with the flies. Tying and fishing deer hair flies and poppers on 4/0+ hooks isn’t your typical fly. Fish eat them and especially […]
I need a wading jacket The Middle Fork of the Willamette is one of the most under fished trout fisheries in the Willamette Valley if you asked me. There are others, but this is up there. I never make any sense to me. It’s not far from population centers like […]
I love seeing other peoples fly tying work. It offers inspiration and motivation. Instagram an excellent source of fly tying inspiration. Be sure to follow Garrett and Garren on Instagram and here are some other accounts that are recommended to follow. avkrokar – Mathias Aberg Mathias has some amazing trout […]