It’s my birthday week, and I took an official vacation day to fish. I resolved to fish dries until I found success. So, I headed to the Swift with my 000-wt. fly rod, long leader, and small flies. I was incredibly happy to land five trout in the morning on dry flies. I’ve been working
Category: Flies and fly tying
A Killer Pheasant Tail Fly Pattern
If fishing sub-surface, it’s tough to beat the good ol’ Pheasant Tail nymph. That’s because it mimics many bugs. You sometimes have to go super-small, but it’s a go-to pattern. Color contrast, moreover, is a strike trigger for trout. I usually put a “hot spot”‘ of ice dub or fluorescent thread on my nymphs, with
The Two Walts
I’m always on the hunt for effective flies that also are easy to tie. I tied up some Walt’s Worms and Sexy Walt’s and have found that they work well. During a recent 80-trout long weekend, the Sexy Walt was particularly effective. I think the pattern looks buggy, has some ribbing, and offers a thread
Westfield River East Branch Report: Landed 52 Trout
As I drove to the Chesterfield Gorge catch and release area before dawn, I became more excited. With the lack of rain this summer, I’ve been staying away from our freestones. But, this morning, I was returning to my favorite river: the East Branch of the Westfield. I had looked up some nearby water temperatures