Author: pmonahan

As Cheech from Fly Fish Food says, "Sometimes, you gotta get fancy." And this pattern features some wild and weird techniques and materials that John Goddard, the pattern's namesake, never even considered. The first time your eyebrows might be raised is when, instead of spinning the hair around the hook shank, Cheech instead uses a dubbing noodle to achieve...

Question: Why do some fly fishers (especially older guys) scoff at using strike indicators, often referring to them as “bobbers”? Is it better to fish without an indicator? If so, how do you do it? —Ryan B., via email Answer: Although indicators had been invented decades earlier, it wasn’t until the 1970s—when Dave Whitlock became an indicator...

Fly fishers love secrets–secret flies, secret tactics, and especially secret fishing spots or destinations. So when folks learn that I’ve been traveling as a fly-fishing writer since the mid 1990s, one of the first questions they usually ask is, “What’s a great place you’ve been to that most people don’t know about?” My answer is always the...

This week’s Tying Tuesday features three very different patterns and tying styles. We kick things off with a buggy pattern from English tier Barry Ord Clarke, and it looks to be a super versatile pattern, able to imitate both mayfly and caddisfly emergers. The tri-tone, segmented body and deer-hair collar are particularly cool. Next is an easy-to-tie...

I’ll start this review with an admission: I really don’t enjoy waders. They often don’t fit me well (which is my fault, thanks to all the buffalo wings I eat), but beyond that, I’ve only used one or two pairs that I’d consider “comfortable.” I’ve certainly never had any that I was fine wearing all day, whether I was rowing the boat, fishing...

I blinked and suddenly found myself staring 60 in the face. Honestly, I’m not sure how it happened. Nevertheless, here I am, at 60, with a lifetime of angling—and more than 30 years of fly fishing—under my belt and my first grandchild on my knee. And I wonder: What am I really casting for? Why strive to master the cast? Is it just to be a better...

Alvin Dedeaux of All Water Guides in Austin, Texas, has been a trout, bass, and redfish guide for decades, so he's probably heard it all. In his latest video, he answers the most common questions he has gotten over the years. If you're new to the sport or know someone who's interested in becoming a fly fisher, this is an excellent starting point. One of...

Coolers are a problem. Whether you’re packing them with beverages for a quick few hours of fishing or for a week-long float, finding a cooler that can do everything is a flat-out pain in the butt. Most large coolers are heavy and cumbersome to load and carry, while smaller ones just don’t have enough storage space. On top of that, most basic coolers...

Many fly fishers plan their entire year around particular insect hatches. They’ll mark their calendars, plan vacations, and duck-out on birthdays and anniversaries at the slightest hint that the long-awaited bugs have arrived. However, there is another type of “hatch” that is often overlooked, though under the right conditions, it can produce as much...

Winters in the South Carolina mountains tend to give us just a taste of the weather our northern neighbors get, followed by balmy days predicting an early spring. This past year was different. The cold air settled on us in January and stayed. The local small pond I fish froze over enough I could have walked on it had I been adventurous. The trout stream...