Fly Fishing Tips & Tutorials
The Flies We Love and The Tips That Helped Us
These are the patterns that earn a spot in our fly boxes and tips that helped us put more fish in the net.
Stay Warm in Winter
Layers, gloves, socks and timing: how to keep fishing when there's snow on the banks.
The Elk Hair Caddis Story
Knots & Rigging
Leaders, tippet, knots and dropper rigs. The setups we use for dries, nymphs and streamers.
The Adams
The classic all-purpose dry fly. When you are not sure what is hatching, an Adams in the right size usually gets eaten.
Midges & Small Flies
Tiny flies catch big fish, especially in winter and on spring creeks. How we fish midges and small mayflies when the trout get picky.
Seasonal Tips
What to fish and when, from winter spring creeks in the Driftless to summer hoppers in Wyoming.
Reading the Water
Where trout hold and why: seams, riffles, banks and the soft water behind rocks, plus the surface clues that give them away. Find the fish before you cast.
How to Fish an Elk Hair Caddis
When to tie one on, how to pick the right size and color, and four ways to fish it, from dead drifts to skating at dusk.
How to Catch Trout
The 5-step plan for catching more trout on a fly rod, from finding fish to setting the hook.
How to Set Up a Fly Rod
Backing, fly line, leader, tippet and fly: how it all connects, and how to string your rod in two minutes.
How to Choose Flies
Matching the hatch made simple: what trout eat, how to tell what stage they want, and the flies to carry.
How to Read a River for Trout
Riffles, runs, pools, seams and banks: where trout hold, why, and how they move with the seasons.
How to Fish Streamers for Trout
Where big trout hold, how to retrieve a streamer and the flies that get the biggest fish to chase.
Fly Fishing Leader and Tippet Setup
Leader length, tippet sizes and how it all connects, with a printable tippet size chart.
How to Dry Fly Fish
Reading rises, matching the hatch, presentation and the drag-free drift that gets trout to eat on top.
How to Nymph Fish: A Complete Guide
Rigging, depth, drift and strike detection for catching more trout underwater, indicator and euro style.
How to Cast a Fly Rod: A Complete Beginner's Guide
The casting stroke, timing, loops and the mistakes that trip up most beginners, with step-by-step graphics.
How to Tie Fly Fishing Knots: 7 Essential Knots Every Angler Should Know
Strike Indicators 101
How to Pick A Fly Rod
What's in Each Tip
Every tip comes from our own time on the water and at the vise.
- When and where we fish it
- How we rig it
- Our favorite sizes and colors
- The sticker it inspired
Every Tip, Newest First
We add new fly patterns and fishing tips as we write them. See them all in one place, newest first.