Knowing the stages of development in a bug’s life is a critical component to successful fly fishing. Deciphering the hatch on a river is a challenging game. Larva, pupa or adult stages have been ...

Secure the thread on a size 16 dry fly hook and dub it with a blend of olive and grey dubbing. “The Mother’s Day caddis is a black caddis, but when you see it on the water it is more brown or tan than ...

Watching water temperature helps to determine when to fish certain insect imitations. If fly fishers haven’t seen the bugs, water temperature can still tell you they are there. With the way water ...

Emergers and nymphs are often lumped together because they’re both fished subsurface, and they both imitate aquatic insects in pre-adult life stages. Some nymphs and emergers may look similar, but ...

Two big cutthroat finned just below the surface, snacking on a buffet of nymphs and emergers with the same carefree attitude of kids riding bikes down to the local ice cream shop. I don’t know if the ...

If you are refilling your depleted fly boxes this winter, having all of the usual insects is important, but having the proper fly for each stage of that insect’s life cycle is even more so. Most of ...

Certain dry fly patterns have proven effective for decades, the author keeps several boxes of these favorites in various sizes. Credit: Courtesy of Bill Graves With so many shooting options in early ...

April means many things to fly fishers. For most, it rings in the fair-weather fishing season, as the first waves of blue winged olives and caddis arrive with those April showers. If you’ve ever ...

When I fish a trout river that’s new to me, I often stop into a local fly shop to pick up a few dry flies. Every river has its own special patterns, and I’m a sucker for these. I thought it was a ...