Tip of the Day

Do you remember the greatest fly fishing movie of all time?  Yeah, I'm sure you do - A River........, well you know the rest.  If not, watch the video clip below.  Remember that seen where Norman is false casting away - something about enticing a fish to rise. Well, that's not reality.  In realtiy or in steelhead fly fishing reality...

  The power of the take of a steelhead is, well...... Powerful.  It can really blow you away if you aren't ready.  Hell, it can really blow you away if you are ready.  I've talked about a few techniques already that will help you hook and land more fish -  see the Open Clinch Knot and Bow to the fish. The...

  Have you ever thought about what your fly looks like to a fish under water? Yeah, I know…. we all have. But, have you figured out how to control the fly so it is displayed in the best position possible to entice a fish to strike? Do you know what the best presentation is for fish?  Hint: Allowing the fish...

When I started out swinging flies with a spey rod, my cast wasn’t great.  In fact, it pretty much sucked.  But, because mending the line with the spey is pretty easy (think length), I was able to turn a bad cast into a great cast. After I piled my crappy cast out there, I only needed to pick up and turn over...

Why do steelhead take a fly?  Becasue they are looking for food - Maybe?  Because they have instincts from their juvenile self from 2 years previously - Likely?  Because they are aggressive fish and just get pissed that there is this little nagging thing in front of them - Oh Yeah...... All of these scenarios are likely correct at some...

Over the years, I've taught a lot of people how to cast a single handed fly rod.  By far, the biggest issue I see is breaking your wrist.  Don't get me wrong, there are times when you will move your wrist, and I'll talk about that in a bit. But, for right now, if you are struggling with your cast...

  Are you wasting time swinging for steelhead by taking little baby steps and fishing too slowly through a run? Or are you missing fish by taking too many steps and passing possible fish because you are moving to fast through the run? Is there a perfect speed that you can fish and cover all of the water effectively in all water...

It sometimes sounds like a good idea to get out in your boat and cover as much water as possible.  But Trey Combs noted in a recent interview I did with him that one of his biggest tips is to get to know one steelhead run so well that you can identify each pebble. So you can identify each boulder...

One of the things you will learn about steelhead fly fishing is that sometimes you can put in a lot of time for one shot at a fish.  That one pull that you put in 40 hours for.  You will likely be logging a lot of time and effort until you get that next hookup. I want you to be ready...

Do you sharpen your hook on a regular basis?   A fish's mouth is hard and tough.  Although steelhead often hit like a freight train, they can also take super subtly.  Just as light as a tip-tap is sometimes all you feel.  Take a look at Tip #1 here for clarification. A sharp hook can mean the difference between just getting...