Confidence in Fly Fishing Three quick stories come to mind illustrate this. First off let me say there have been plenty of times when I have been on both sides of the confidence equation. A few years ago, I was steelheading with a couple of fly fishing buddies. Unlike me, though there guys weren't purists. And we were using terminal gear. Although were just dead-drifting jigs, very similar to fly fishing, I felt about as coordinated as a monkey performing brain surgery. As the day wore on more and more steelies were caught. Huge steelies, the biggest I had ever seen! None by me. I could feel my confidence shrinking. And I mean my confidence in all kinds of things, like being able to read the river, being able to detect a strike. Things that had no connection to me using unfamiliar gear. The pressure inside my head built, until I HAD to catch a fish. I didn't catch one fish that day, although I finally had a strike, and set the hook so hard I jerked it right out of the fish's mouth. And I fished longer and harder than anyone else on the trip. [Read More]

Where To Find 10 Fly Fishing Tips In A Single Paragraph Remember that when dry-fly fishing first made its appearance here in America from England it came without instructions. That's when anglers such as Emlyn Gill, George La Branche, Theodore Gordon and Samuel Camp, just to name a few, came up with their own set of instructions for dry-fly fishing. Yes, they were the true pioneers - and they wrote the first books about the artistry and craftsmanship of what it took to successfully fly fish in these American waters. [Read More]

Selecting Flies for Pacific Steelhead I keep several fly boxes stocked just for steelhead, I always think I'll leave a few home, before I head out, but rarely do. How many flies you decide to carry is up to you, but there a few things to consider when selecting an assortment of flies. The most popular colors for Steelhead flies are as follows: black, orange, purple, red, and chartreuse. The key is to have a variety of colors in the fly box before heading out. Although the old adage “bright days, bright flies, dark days, dark flies,” is a decent starting place. One also remember the time of day one will be fishing. Summer steelheading is done mostly in the darker hours, and therefore dark flies are popular like the aforementioned Green Butt Skunk, and its variations. As fall begins and water becomes murky and bright marabou patterns are often the ticket. And in the winter I use lots of egg-sucking leeches, bunny leeches, and bright egg patterns like the Sucker Spawn. As water becomes more murky, the brighter the pattern one can get away with. [Read More]

FISHING TOURNAMENT TRAIL (Kansas City Star)
The Fishing Tournament Trail will be published each Tuesday of the fishing season. To report results, call (816) 234-4319 on Monday morning and leave name, location and date of the tournament and name, spellings and hometowns of the top two finishers an.

The Kelvin alas….
The Kelvin, alas, is still out of action after all that rain. So last Sunday was a bit of a non starter when it came to trout rising and flies hatching. I mean the water had settled from the day before- a little lower and clearer but there was very lit.