An albino peacock? I’ve gotta think this baby would tie a lot of cream midges.

Found via the 37signals blog , this beauty would have to make an interesting source of fly tying material, even if its only real use is generating bragging rights.
“Sure, the Underground Midge Pupae is effective using everyday peacock, but the original–and most  […]

Save money tying your own flies?
That’s the hilarious contention of John McCoy (staff writer for the Charleston Gazette), and I wonder if his employer shouldn’t immediately administer a drug test - lest John suffer another drug-induced flashback.
I gaze at the piles of expensive fly tying materials, expensive hackles, machined HMH vise, chemically sharpened hooks and […]

By Sully, Underground Correspondent in charge of arcana.
EVERYONE has a few Pheasant Tail Nymphs in their box. Frank Sawer’s deceptively simple pattern has developed a worldwide following.
Precious few anglers, though, have even heard of the Sawer Killer Bug. As with the P.T., Sawer chronicled the development, tying and fishing of the Killer […]

I’m in that delicate space where I’m trying to quickly tie a few #22 flies (you can’t hurry too much because you’ll botch the flies), getting my gear together, and getting it in the car - all without seeming too anxious to run away from my beautiful bride.
Of course, I’m not running from anything as […]

Years ago I toyed with the idea of fishing all season with only one kind of fly. Back then it was a soft hackle, but I seem to remember stumbling on this idea pretty much every winter, and wonder a little about what it means.

The world’s simplest, most effective fly? (Hare’s Ear soft hackle)
Is it […]

Winter means different things to different people. Some bundle up like the Michelin man before heading out to fish, while others fire up the vise and re-stock depleted fly boxes.
In the interest of speeding your winter tieing, the Underground’s asking for something never in short supply around here: an opinion. What is your favorite fly […]

A leading Montana Fly Fishing Blogger recently posted a “suspicious” [ahem] October Caddis pattern suggestion on the Underground - the third such questionable pattern suggestion from a Montana-based Undergrounder in 18 months.
Clearly, it’s time someone in the outdoor media stood up and asked the question that others don’t have the guts to ask:
Are all Montana […]

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 […]

Every once in a while I stumble across a site that represents so many hours of work that I wonder at the sanity of the builder.
The Troutnut is just such a site - a compilation of a mind-boggling 2392 stunning photographs of trout food (bugs), and truckloads of information about those same critters. The builder’s […]

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 […]

Undergrounders! I’m sorry for the lack of posts. My dog ate my computer.
OK, truth is I’m the Ride Director for the Shasta Summit Century bike ride - a very challenging fundraiser that a few of us conduct each year. For a few days, the job that becomes more than a fulltime endeavor - this year […]

Fly fishing isn’t exactly life or death (though the trout might disagree), but sometimes it can seem that way. At least it can when the fish are eating dries and for some unimportant reason (and they’re all unimportant when the hatch is on) you’re not out there trying to catch a few.
It’s OK; there’s another […]