Commentary

The entire sport of fly fishing is based on questions: Where are the trout holding? What insects are hatching? What stage are the trout eating? And on and on. Writing in Hatch Magazine, Todd Tanner tries to identify the most important question any angler can ask: “What fly should I fish this evening?” “What’s your favorite rod?” “Can you explain...

My friend Todd Tanner is a man of many strong opinions, which he often shares in his writing. In his latest for Hatch Magazine, he takes on a set of commonly-held beliefs about everything from flies to rods to overall views of the sport: We should never want [fly fishing] to be easy. Why? Because when we fish with a fly rod, we are consciously choosing to...

The healing power of fly fishing is well documented, and the sport is used as a sort of therapy for veterans, cancer patients and survivors, and other groups in need of spiritual and physical healing. A moving story in The Nashville Banner is one of the rawest, most honest articles about teens who struggle with addiction, and the way that Arch Academy uses...

Even though fly fishing is a global sport, I think many of us—myself included—forget how much of an impact it has on other people. It's not just the North American market that dominates fly fishing. In fact, a recent story from The Times in London claims that "fishing, and in particular fly fishing" is Britain's favorite sport and a "new youthful...

Places like Ennis, Montana; Durango, Colorado; or Roscoe, New York regularly make the lists of "best trout towns in America." These are places to move to and fish if you're an aspiring trout bum. The trouble is, those places aren't secrets anymore, and they can start to feel a bit crowded with drift boats, guides, and fishing dogs. There's one town that...

Does the fly you fish matter more than how you fish it? That question is the crux of Dom Swentosky's latest story over at Troutbitten. I agree with Dom's premise that " I think how you fish your handful of flies is usually more important than what those flies are." I carry just over two dozen different patterns with me, and I'm able to fish well enough...

I've seen this question pop up a lot this year, and I commend Ross Purnell over at Fly Fisherman Magazine for bringing up at his publication. In a short post, Purnell talks about his experience fishing New Zealand's South Island, and how he had to use 22-24 foot leaders to make a decent presentation to the island's notoriously wary fish. In many cases...

In a recent episode of the Quick Strike podcast over at Outdoor Life, Joe Cermele sat down with Miles Nolte to talk about the "fall feedbag myth" they say permeates fly fishing. Now, Joe and Miles are two very accomplished anglers, and both know what they're doing. According to them, the modern belief that fall is the best time to target big trout is just a...

When trout reject a fly, do they do so because the drift isn't right, or because it wasn't within their window? That's the question Dom Swentosky tries to answer in this recent post over at Troutbitten, and it's a fantastic thought exercise. I've copied a bit of Dom's article below to give you a taste of just how he tackles this problem. You can read the...

I spend a lot of time working with beginner fly anglers, and one thing almost all of them share in common is a bit of "paralysis by analysis." That is, they let the amount of options and choices in fly fishing (how should I rig this fly? What's the best way to cover this run?) paralyze them into inaction. I wonder if that same problem doesn't afflict us...