Techniques

The aerial ballet performed by a group of spinner dolphins had us all mesmerized when a warning from the bridge alerted everyone to assume battle stations. “Left rigger, left rigger!” shouted Capt. Chico Alvarenga. From his vantage point, he was the first to spot the shadow lurking behind the bait. An instant later, the dorsal of a big Pacific sailfish...

As the first cold nights of autumn leave their first frosty kisses on the grass and leaves begin to change from green to fluorescent oranges, reds, and yellows, we trout anglers begin to get excited. Cooling water temperatures bring new life to the river. Trout become more active as they feed heavily preparing for winter or, depending on the species, as...

It was a May Saturday morning in Big Pine Key, and tarpon were our intended target. As anyone who has chased silver kings in the Florida Keys during peak season would imagine, we were not alone. Five other skiffs were keeping us company on the same oceanside flat hoping for a score. And the start of the daily jet ski hatch, which inevitably happens shortly...

Everyone is a little afraid of the dark. Whether you needed a nightlight as a kid or just get nervous walking down a dark alley, there’s something unnerving about the night. It’s an inherited fear, left behind from when our ancestors lived in caves and built their fires high for protection from the things that lurked beyond the flickering flames. Now...

If you ordered a hotdog in a restaurant and the waiter brought you a giant T-bone steak, would you send it back? Hell no. You’d inhale that thing faster than a starving Labrador eats his kibble before someone comes to take it away. At least I would. That’s exactly how trout feel about hoppers. The large terrestrial insects are such a hardy meal for...

1. Understand the Target Learn your intended target species’ range and its high and low temperature tolerance limits. Study its preferred habitats (including favored structures and depths) and forage, as well as the seasonal movements of both the fish and its prevalent prey, to figure out where to focus your efforts. Also study the likely telltale signs...

A wise man once said, “Love is a hole in the heart”, but for me, love is a hole in the grass flats off Homosassa, Florida. Sand holes on the vast turtle grass meadows that stretch some 80 miles between Port Richey and Steinhatchee are big, white fish magnets, impossible to miss, and they require very little on the part of the angler except the ability...

Maybe you’ve been attending fly fishing shows and were inspired by some of the demonstration tiers. Maybe you’ve been fly fishing for a couple of years and now want to “customize” some flies because the local shop only carries black and white wooly buggers but your friend who ties has more success with olive. Whatever the reason, a month before...

A member of the USA Casting Team, 38-year-old Audrey Wilson has found her way on a journey to the World Champion of Fly Casting in Norway this August 2022. Growing up in Roy, Utah, where she fell in love with the outdoors as a small girl while camping, hiking and canoeing with her parents and brother, Wilson initially became intrigued by fly fishing after...

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...