The Mayfly Adult In our last article titled Mayfly Nymph. We covered the basics of the nymph stage of this crucial insect in the world of the freshwater game fish and fly fisherman. We now will cover the adult phases of the mayfly. Although most of its life is indeed spent as a nymph dwelling at the river or lake bottom. It is the adult insect that has truly captured the fancy of fly fisherman. It's the adults that were given the colorful names that we listed in the Mayfly Nymph article. And it is the adult that fly fishing elitists consider the only form worthy of imitation. After spending a year or so as a nymph, the mayfly emerges to the surface. On the way, it shucks its outer skin, and pumps fluids into it's wings. This emerging stage has caught on in popularity in the fly fishing world, as the mayfly emerger is extremely vulnerable. Many mayfly species are clumsy swimmers at best, and combine that with shucking their outer nymph skin, they become a flailing treat for the waiting trout. [Read More]

General overview about Trout Senses When fly fishing for trout, it is of crucial importance to understand their senses. Trout are fish, after all, and make different use of their senses than we do. Understanding these senses can greatly increase the prospects of a successful fly fishing trip. Many anglers make the common mistake of thinking trout are not very smart. As far as hatchery born fish are concerned, this is mostly correct. However, in Montana and many other prime rivers in the world, most of the rivers are not stocked with hatchery born fish. Instead, the trout found will generally be wild trout. And wild trout, whether they be rainbows, browns or brookies, are always smarter than their hatchery born counterparts. [Read More]

Do-It-Yourself Building your own Fly Rod Every so often somebody handy at creating things wonders “hey can I build a rod myself?” normal response has been, "Get a bunch of books." Here are a few additional observations, some gained from the rich experience that only comes from making mistakes, which can be far more instructive than doing things right the first time. Doing something right and you only learn one way to do the job; do it wrong and you learn two ways AND why the right way is the right way. [Read More]

Deep Jigging
One of my favorite ways to fish is with a jig - a big jig - in deep water. We call it deep jigging. In water from 100 to 200....