In theory, fly-fishing is a simple sport: Pick a body of water, choose a fly-fishing rod, select your “fly” (or bait), tie a secure knot, cast your line and, hopefully, land a fish on the other end.

What flies are working? This is the question that you hear most on the stream, talking to other anglers, and definitely in every fly shop. The answer is not an easy one, as it changes month to month, ...

In the rivers around Vail, 4, 5 or 6-weight fly rods make up the common fly-fishing arsenal. Depending on your favorite style ...

Some people live for the blow of a big largemouth creaming a swimbait. Others can’t get enough of smallmouth erupting on Spooks walking across the surface. And, sure, I love those things too, but come ...

Decisions, decisions. If you’re a fly angler, you have lots to make. Yes, there are plenty of different lures on tackle-shop shelves, but not nearly as many as there are different fly patterns in well ...

With thousands of fly patterns available these days, finding ones you can rely on day in and day out becomes daunting. Every angler has those “confidence patterns” in their fly boxes that they can ...

On July 20, 1969, as Neil Armstrong was becoming the first man to put bootprints on the moon, I was getting my first introduction to the sport of fly-fishing on an icy mountain stream in Idaho. It ...

As seasoned fishermen know, tailoring your fly box to the region and river you are fishing is important when angling for trout. Trout’s feeding habits change throughout the year and can be affected by ...

Deborah Carlson’s German shepherd, Frieda, is obsessed by bugs, so much so that she recently swallowed more than a dozen fishing flies. “She has been eating bugs in the backyard all summer. She is ...

On July 1, 1924, Carrie G. Stevens cast a homemade fishing fly into the outlet of Mooselookmeguntic Lake and netted a 6-pound, 13-ounce brook trout. Her Gray Ghost — featuring white hairs from a ...

Fly tying and football season go together like peanut butter and jelly. For me and many fly tyers in the valley, not much is better than setting up a vise in front of a TV screen with a football game ...