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Pillar 4: Technique
Casting, fly presentation, dry flies, nymphing, streamers and more.
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No drag, just drift
Striving to get even with the flow
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Vivid indicators of life
Wading for caddis, fishing nymphs with suspenders
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Rolling your own
If you wish to make a fly rod from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
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River reads, post-hibernation edition
Grand Canyon dreaming, communing with the fishes, Jackson County's finest, Tokyo shopping, and a great smallmouth bass learning opportunity
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Watersheds and watching flies
Zoom out to conserve, zoom in to observe, zoom over to the Grand Fir tonight to have a drink and a bite.
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Read By the River, 2024
Sometimes, literally. The five favorite (mostly) fly-fishing books I read this year
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A time to mend
If you can manage your line, you can manage your life.
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Fly fishing and problem solving
Moving beyond the engineering mindset, and trying to embrace frustration as a key function of learning
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Fools rush in: on finding, hooking, and losing a trophy trout
Reflections on an epic face-plant, remembering Bill Walton
Learn
The roll cast: A basic fly-fishing cast for tight spots
Whether it's the first cast you learn or the second, the roll cast is a hard-working and versatile arrow in your casting quiver.
Learn
Fly-fishing with indicators: When and how to use them
All about indicators, floats, suspenders—whatever you call the thing every other angler calls a bobber.
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Fly presentation and drag-free drift
You've rigged up your rod, landed your cast in the right place, your fly is on the water...and, it's waterskiing. Tactics and tips to maintain a drag-free drift that's irresistible to fish.
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Streamers and triggering trout aggression
Here are two examples of videos depicting the most visible and dramatic types of eats you'll ever get: territorial brown trout going after streamers.
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Dapper Don: Stalking large browns with a long rod
Inspiration on moving to a more sight-fishing, patience-oriented trout approach.
Learn
Adding movement to your wet fly swing: Lift it like Leisenring
Once you're through the main drag-free-drift area, it's never a bad idea to try to impart some motion in your flies. The Leisenring Lift is a great way to accomplish just that.