It was one of those perfect evenings on the Pere Marquette River in Baldwin, Michigan — the sun was sinking below the trees, stream temperature was in the mid 60’s, current flow was moderate and the canoe hatch was far downriver. As my fishing partner and I stood by the river to contemplate our plan…
Albright Knot, Arbor Knot, Bimini Twist, Blood Knot, Dropper Loop, Duncan (Uni) Knot, Improved Clinch Knot, Palomar Knot, Perfection Loop, San Diego Jam Knot Surgeon’s Loop. There are more than 30 different knots that a fly fisherman can use for attaching lines, leaders, tippets and flies. All of them have a reason for existence but…
Fly fishing methods are as varied as the number of anglers. If you examine any of these methods you realize that no matter what the method, there is always a thing called a “leader”–which is the all important connection between the fly (the part that catches the fish) and the fly line (the part that…
One of the current military strategies is to “Rule the Night”. Basically, this means that you take away from the enemy the ability to control the darkness and make it an advantage to you. While I never thought of trout fishing in a military sense, the thought might work if applied to the Michigan Mayfly…
Bugs, insects, and critters are all an integral part of the fly fishing process. If it wasn’t for the insects, fly fishers would be casting giant imitations of frogs or worms, in other words they would be bass fishermen. Its not that I don’t like bass fishermen, its just that they scare me in those…
It is currently popular to criticize the “gub’ment” for just about anything. Unfortunately I cannot blame them for many of the stupid things I’ve done in the last 65 years. In fact, ever since the Department of Defense developed the Internet, I think we should thank it profusely. Without GPS I can think of a…
The longer I fish the more I’ve realized there is always a trout willing to prove me wrong. I suppose if I always had their number, the pursuit and hopeful success would be far less grand than it is today. In the game of catching trout, presenting the right fly in the wrong manner will…