For me to be comfortable leaving a bulging vest behind, this single fly box that can slip into a shirt pocket must contain everything needed to guarantee success on the water.
Read moreFly Tying Friday - The Marabou Perch
My favorite way to target pickerel during the warmer months is with topwater flies. Pickerel are suckers for frog patterns! However, when the weather cools down, it is time to change tactics. My go-to flies are streamer patterns. While there are many effective streamer patterns to choose from, my favorite streamers are those that imitate yellow perch.
Read moreWet Fly Swing Podcast - Episode 265
I had the pleasure of appearing on the Wet Fly Swing Podcast. In this episode, Dave Stewart and I go deep on panfish.
Read moreFly Tying Friday - Floating Dragon Fly Nymphs
During the dog days of summer fish often hold in deeper water. To be successful you need to able to put a fly in front of them. This can be a challenging situation for the fly fisher.
Early in the season, to reach fish holding deep, weighted nymphs and streamers usually get the job done. However, as the season progresses, many of the watersheds I fish become choked with aquatic vegetation. As a result, fishing standard subsurface patterns are an exercise in futility as these flies become hopelessly mired in weeds and muck on every cast. What's needed in this situation is a fly that gets below the surface but stays above the weeds.
Read moreFly Tying Friday - The Panfish Pazooka
A chunky little bluegill caught on the wet fly version of the Panfish Pazooka.
I often get inspiration from other fly tiers. There are so many remarkable fly tiers in the world that the inspiration I speak of seems endless. I particularly enjoy adapting flies designed for other fish species for use in targeting panfish.
Read more