There’s no shortage of fly pattern tutorial videos these days. Many of them are an impressive display of the fly tyer’s art, but one has to wonder if some of them actually catch fish. I get on a creative streak from time to time, whipping up experimental patterns that look great but most of them
Category: How to start
Tough as Nail Knots: Mental Toughness and Fly Fishing
If you want to catch more fish, think like an endurance athlete. A full day of fly fishing is a marathon, not a sprint. Mental exercises and techniques used by high-performing runners, rowers, cross country skiers, cyclists, and swimmers can be used by fly fishers too. Specifically, the two components of mental fitness that I
Get the Most Out of Your Mop
There’s no denying the effectiveness of the infamous Mop Fly. What other fly has been featured in the Wall Street Journal? “Fake news!” say the purists, and they’re right – literally. We love to theorize what the Mop might represent; crane fly larva, caddis larva, beetle grubs, cigarette butts, Cheetos, the list goes on. If
A Casting Lesson with Sheila Hassan
Like shooting free throws in basketball, casting a fly rod is a repetitive motion that requires diligent practice to maintain proficiency. Disappointed in my inconsistency at making long, accurate casts, I recently took a private two-hour casting lesson with Fly Fishers International Master Casting Instructor Sheila Hassan of Cast 90 to get expert assistance. I walked