All about the fundamentals of fly fishing for trout. 25 year trout fishing veteran.
Joined May 2022
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Carl: “I’m out of flies”
John Dutton (Costner): “Yea, well. I lost my fly 20 minutes ago Carl. Doesn’t matter.”
Yellowstone - Season 1 Episode 6
Stonefly nymph - If you see these ugly bastards crawling around the river bank, tie on a girdle bug (also affectionately called a turd) and cast up near the bank for a good chance at big trout.
“Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration”
- Isaac Walton, The Compleat Angler, 1653
Casting tip - Go sidearm like Dan Quisenberry if necessary (maybe not quite that low though). Great for getting under trees or if you are having problems with line tangles on overhead casts.
Silver Creek, Idaho - Near Picabo, Idaho. Legendary spring creek dry fly fishing in amazing scenery. Public access is available at the Silver Creek Preserve.
Girdle Bug size #8 - First tied during the depression on the Big Hole River in Montana. Named for the bits of a woman’s girdle that was used to create the rubber legs. Great fly for late spring and early summer when stoneflies are going to the bank to hatch.
Left hand retrieve vs right hand retrieve - Left hand retrieve is for casting with your right arm and reeling in with the handle on the left side of the reel with your left hand. This is generally the position for someone right handed in everyday life. Southpaws do the opposite.
Ruby River, Montana - Great wadable stream with surprisingly big trout for the stream size. Good public access available in the National Forest in Cottonwood Campground near Alder, Montana. Makes for a good side trip if you are already fishing the Madison.
“I taught Brad Pitt to fly fish in my pool” - Melissa Etheridge
They both were living in Los Angeles when Brad Pitt was auditioning for the part in the film. Etheridge knew how to cast and taught Pitt in her pool to help him get the part.
Humpy - Invented in the 1940s, and was promoted by Dan Baileys fly shop as the “Goofus Bug” in the 1950s. Great attractor pattern that imitates lots of trout food worldwide including caddis, stoneflies, mayflies, and grasshoppers.
Happy Fathers Day!
Below is Thaddeus Norris the “Father of American Fly Fishing”. His 1864 book “The American Anglers Book” was widely regarded as the Bible of fly fishing of its day, and taught the usage of light one handed fly rods and dry flies for American streams.
Deceiver - Invented by legend Lefty Kreh in the 1950s. Catches anything that feeds on minnows including trout, bass, panfish, and saltwater fish. Such a productive fly it was put on a U.S. postage stamp in 1991.
Slough Creek, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming - The Slough Creek Trail goes through three meadows that make for an amazingly scenic fly fishing back country experience. Becomes fishable July through September. Remember your bear spray and make noise on the trail.
Dave’s Hopper - A great hopper pattern designed by Oklahoma native fly fishing legend Dave Whitlock in the 1950s. It remains a top producing hopper pattern to this day known for the splat sound it makes on the water, buoyancy, and how it rides low on the water.
