Marshall Cutchin

When Fishpond acquired Nomad Nets in 2013, I was thrilled to know that Kevin Best’s lightweight, almost-indestructible nets would find a home with one of the most conscientious brands in fly fishing. Having spent some time talking about environmentalism and conservation with founder and co-owner Johnny Le Coq both on the water and at trade shows, I knew...

What Fly Fishing Gear Does a Beginner Need? To the uninitiated, fly fishing seems to require a large amount of equipment. From picking fly rods to fly reels, to choosing fly lines, fly fishing flies, and tippets, the amount of gear you need looks daunting! However, it's much simpler than it looks, and you don't need to buy thousands of dollars worth of...

Choosing Flies Size Matters When choosing trout flies, the relative importance of fly characteristics in your selection, in order, should be: size, shape, color, and action (for stripped flies). In saltwater, action is often more important than exact size and shape. Dropper Flies or Tandem Rigs Dropper flies are a trout angler's secret weapon. A simple...

Tailing loops are the bane of both novice and experienced casters, and they can almost all be traced to problems with the timing of the casting stroke. A tailing loop is one where the front of the fly line and the leader cross below the plane of the cast as the forward cast rolls out, often causing a tangle in the line or a wind knot in the tippet or...

Perhaps you are new to fly fishing, or maybe you're an experienced angler who's always wondered what the right amount of backing is for your favorite fly reel.  We're going to answer that question and more and put you on the path to a solid setup. Knowing how much backing to spool onto a trout reel can seem a little tricky. Not only do fly reels come in...

No doubt you've heard of Euro or tight line nymphing by now.  You might have even heard some fellow anglers question whether it is fly fishing. (Fly fishers are fond of rule making.) But if you take all the variations of "fly fishing" practiced by anglers in the last hundred or so years, Euro nymphing is very close to the core of what fly fishing is...

John Juracek, former owner of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Montana, could easily pass for an ex-Marine.   He stands tall in a crowd of unkempt fly fishing experts.   And when he speaks, it's with a certain natural authority that folks of his kind seem born with. "All right," he intoned on a cool morning on the banks of what is by any measure...

I last spoke to Russell Chatham three years ago. He was working on the PR for Roger Keckeissen's book on Art Flick and bemoaning--with my full cooperation--the trajectory of fly fishing away from an art form closely connected to protection of wild places to a mere occupation where trophyism and greed prevail.    Russell had a habit of aiming at a target...

A STORY I like to tell about tipping involves a gentleman known among his friends, appropriately, as Wild Phil. Phil used to place a $100 bill in plain sight on the console of my skiff, and whenever he jumped a tarpon, he would get down and hand me the hundred dollars. One day, after we had jumped 9 tarpon in just a couple of hours, I was struck by the...

There are two main categories of trout fishermen. First, there are the anglers who enjoy spending time on the water in the company of family and friends, and who fish well enough to catch the occasional trout on a fly. When these folks have the financial wherewithal to hire a guide, they’re happy to follow that guide’s instructions to the letter. It’s...