Fly fishing the Upper Sacramento River in Fall means two things: October Caddis and unpredictable weather. Here are some strategies and tips for success.

The fly fishing world is awash in them — the endless “Ten ways to be a better nympher and score more babes” articles. You’ve seen them:
Seven Secrets to Catching Bigger Fish.Ten Tips for Better Split Shot Management. The 20 Places You Must Visit if You Need Dumber, Bigger Fish Than You’ve Got at Home. And […]

From Opax (our Finnish finny blogger friend) comes this photograph without comment:

Well damnit, we’ll comment. Drying or cleaning a fly line on the toilet roll is sheer genius.
And imagine how nicely it might work in a hotel room (assuming you stay in a hotel offering indoor plumping — never a sure thing on a fishing […]

The Winehiker blog reminded me that it’s tick season again.
I haven’t had many problems with them up here, but fly fishermen are seriously at risk for the little bloodsucking critters like Nestle who burrow into your skin and transmit pretty debilitating diseases.

Blood suckers of the worst order. Remind you of Nestle anyone?
He’s posted a short […]

Here’s what you get when you combine a scuba diver, a couple fishermen and the South Platte River: 11 different observations about fly fishing that may or may not surprise you.

From the diver:
I’m in the middle of an experiment to find out what trout really do under the river surface. The only way to truly […]

The Fly Fish NorCal site - in addition to having the good taste to run some of my material - also showcases articles from other writers, including this thought-provoking little beauty about fly fishing the surf from Ken Hanley.
Fly fishing the surf isn’t perhaps the first thing that leaps to mind when you hear the […]

It’s that time of the year when long leaders are part of the game - especially when fishing small bugs in the low, clear flows.
And when the Underground talks leaders, it talks to Underground Montana Correspondent Sully, who has spent a lifetime testing leader formulas to a state of perfection. (Well, not a whole lifetime. […]

Trout aren’t stupid. They might be brainless and lack creativity (a lot like the creators of Gilligan’s Island), but they’re survivors. And they didn’t get that way by offering themselves up as a meal for every predator that wanders by.
Which – if you stop to watch most fly fishers on the water – begs the […]

The Trout Underground isn’t exactly awash in “how-to” information, but every once in a while I get all helpful and nice, and something useful gets put on paper. This is one of those moments.
Because I’m going to reveal one of my Secret Fall Patterns.
Bees. Those buzzy, stingy things.

Fishing in the Fall? Dieing bees might be […]

It’s growing dark and your dry fly is getting very hard to see. But there’s one good fish rising in that far seam.
Under these conditions, even setting the hook is difficult - but you won’t get the chance until you get the drift right. And the odds of that are pretty slim if you can’t […]