Author: pmonahan

Question: I recently underwent knee surgery, so I’m not as nimble as I used to be. I’m a little nervous about wading in rivers, especially during the high water of spring. What are the best ways to stay safe and avoid an unintentional swim? —Cody G., via email Answer: Wading is an essential skill for fly anglers seeking access to productive water, but...

Last September, historic rains brought by Hurricane Helene caused devastation in communities across western North Carolina, destroying homes, infrastructure and river courses. As the region begins to rebuild, the future of the fly-fishing industry is still a big question mark. According to an article on Blue Ridge Public Radio, trout generated $1.4 billion...

Hopper season is still a few months away, but here's the thing: You've got the time to tie these patterns now, before the the insect hatches kick off in earnest. So load up those boxes while you can; you'll thank yourself come July. In this great video, Cheech from from Fly Fish Food in Orem, Utah, teaches you to tie a cool sunken hopper imitation. "Why...

Excerpted from Tim Cammisa's Tying Euro Nymphs and Other Competition Favorites (Stackpole Books, 2025). Let’s talk about a critical component of fly fishing with Euro nymphs: confidence. This was something so many of the anglers I interviewed spoke of—their ability to select a fly they know fish will eat, then execute with it on the water. How do they...

When most anglers picture a Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii henshawi), they envision one of the giants caught this time of year from Pyramid Lake. But the subspecies' original range is much larger, involving many small, headwater streams. Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT) are native to the tributaries of what was once Lake Lahontan—a huge...

Whether you live in the Northeast or not, there are three rivers you simply can’t leave off your historical fly-fishing bucket list: the Beaverkill, Ausable, and Battenkill. Each of these rivers has played host to countless fly-fishing legends, from Theodore Gordon to Lee and  Joan Wulff, to modern legends like Tom Rosenbauer. In fact, many of the most...

Question: I'd appreciate a discussion on monofilament vs multi-strand thread. Also, How do twisting or untwisting thread help and cause the thread to move toward the eye or away from the eye? —Don from Bozeman, MT, via our online form Answer: Fly-tying thread seems like a fairly uncomplicated topic. I mean, you just wrap it around the hook to hold all the...

Here’s a fantastic mayfly imitation created by Madison Losee from Fly Fish Food in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It’s a pattern that's got a lot of cool features: a trailing shuck, a segmented body with a little iridescence, and a CDC wing that guarantees that the fly lands lightly, the body sits low in the surface film, and it all floats well. This particular...

I’ve always been sort of cursed when it comes to sunglasses. No matter how nice a pair I buy or how hard I try to take care of them, they always seem to break or disappear. My buddies joke about this strange phenomenon, saying things like, “You’d better buy two pairs just to be on the safe side,” or “I’d keep a back-up pair in my truck if I were...

This week’s Tying Tuesday features three very different patterns for fishing different parts of the water column. If you enjoy fishing dry-dropper tandem rigs, Davie McPhail's hi-vis caddisfly imitation makes both a great indicator and a tasty meal for trout looking to smack insects off the surface. Next, Matt O'Neal of Savage Flies teaches you to tie a...