Fly Tying Features

A four foot waterfall emptied into a 20 foot pool. I was there in autumn and leaves and debris churned in the underwater blender with bits of foam flecking the surface. Knotting a #14 Humpy to my tippet, I made a roll-cast to the edge of the swirling current. A rainbow rocketed to the surface,…

Some of the best trout and steelhead flies are not imitative of any one insect. Rather, they are suggestive of many different fish foods. The Girdle Bug, a wet fly, falls into this category. On the Deschutes, tied in black or brown, a large Girdle Bug might entice a trout that has been eating stonefly…

In late May and early June, the Deschutes River stoneflies and salmonflies turn toward shore to complete their transformation into the winged adult phase. At this time of year, if there is no hatch visible and dry flies prove unproductive, trout may be feeding on the nymphs. If you can see fish rolling close to…

The fish were coming up with regularity now and my shaking hands fumbled with the knot to the sound of swirls and heavy splashes as trout took the big salmonflies and stoneflies that drifted to them on the current. I cast upstream and along the bank, setting the fly down along the seam where the…

The sun was behind the canyon wall but there was still enough light to knot a #14 Royal Wulff to my line. I had a boulder for cover and could see a few trout taking dries in the riffles and slack water. I worked out line and set the fly down on the far side…

The sky is deep, dark and blue. Puffy, white clouds drift on the horizon. Your boat glides on aquamarine over the sandy bottom just four feet beneath you. The breeze and the sun feel good on your face. A school of bonefish is spotted and your guide stops the boat with his pole while you…

It was April and the Crooked River was high but dropping. I had a #12 Orange Scud knotted to a dropper, fishing in tandem with a bead-head peacock nymph. Casting up and across, I let the flies bounce and tumble with the current. At the end of the drift, I fed line to work another…

It was 30 degrees and the temperature was dropping as afternoon slipped into evening. I let the Prince Nymph tumble with the current, trying to keep sight of it as it drifted. A trout moved to take it then turned away. Crouched behind a stump, hiding from the fish in the clear, cold water, I…

The wind had died and just as the sunset paled in the evening sky, trout began to rise. Rings dotted the lake and the slurps of trout feeding at the surface could be heard. I saw what it was they were taking, then knotted a #18 Adams to my 2-lb. tippet. Kneeling at the water’s…

The steelhead lay in a pocket of water about eighteen inches deep. I approached from downstream to within ten feet of where it lay and cast a Green Butt Skunk, letting it tumble down with the current. The fly was swept along the far side of the fish and I cast again. This time the…