Techniques

Question: I was reading through a recent MidCurrent newsletter and noticed the "Hippie Stomper" pattern being featured. It got me thinking about other fly names that seem needlessly crude or carry negative social connotations. Isn't it time our sport moved past these kinds of names? I can't imagine they help make fly fishing more welcoming to newcomers...

Question: I picked up Euro-nymphing last fall and now I'm catching way more fish than I ever did. Don't get me wrong—it's fun, but it feels almost too effective to be real fly fishing. Like using a cheat code or something. Am I the only one feeling like this? Answer: If you've hung around enough fly shops lately, you've probably heard the grumbling. Some...

As an avid steelhead angler, I love swinging flies on a Spey rod. The calm serenity of the casting, the hypnotic rhythm of the swing and step, all interrupted abruptly and violently when you get a grab. I honestly can't get enough of it, but the reality is there's only so much steelheading a person can do. The fish are only in certain rivers at specific...

Question: Last week during a solid BWO hatch, I was going nuts switching between different shades and sizes while the guy next to me was crushing it with a basic Parachute Adams. Made me wonder if I've been overthinking this whole match-the-hatch thing. How much does exact matching really matter versus just getting a good drift with a reasonable pattern...

Every one of us wishes for the occasional “easy button.” That small or big thing that acts as a sort of cheat code to make a difficult or trying task quicker and easier. These little “life hacks,” as they’re popularly known, exist in almost everything we do, including fly fishing. Fly fishing itself is a complicated angling style where we add a...

No matter how, where, or when you like to trout fish, nymphing is almost always the most productive method. You’re not asking the trout to rise to the surface, chase down your fly, or come to you in any way. Rather, you’re drifting a delectable looking morsal down past a trout’s nose. And like a labrador with spilled kibble, they can’t help but...

Question: Some of us don't think you answered the question. So barbed or barbless—which hook style is better for the fish and the fly fishing experience? ~ MidCurrent subscribers responding to last week’s column Answer: It depends. We heard the request for solid science. We read opinions of both the enlightened and the utilitarian fly angler. We found...

Question: I've gone to mostly barbless flies and my lost-fish rate has rocketed because of it. Now I'm hearing that barbless hooks don't make much difference for fish survival. I want to do the right thing, but I also want to bring fish to the net. Are barbless hooks truly better for the fish? Answer: We totally get the conundrum. For years now, fly fishers...

Every fly angler wonders what lies beneath. Out on our favorite rivers, where we may have caught hundreds of trout in the past, we wonder if there’s some monstrous trout lurking in the shadows of our favorite runs and pools that’s always been just out of reach. Eventually it becomes a question that needs to be answered and, aside from packing a harpoon...

Question: Who invented the Woolly Bugger? What is it supposed to be? ~ Charles B. Answer: Before we get to who invented it, let's clarify that the Woolly Bugger is more than just a fly—it's a freakin' legend. Purported to have caught more species of fish than any other fly in the world, it's likely to have caught the most numbers of fish of all kinds as...