As I reflect on the 2024 fishing season, one word comes to mind: exceptional. This year, we landed an incredible 406 salmon on the Mýrarkvísl, making it one of the most successful seasons in the river's history. For those of us who have fished and guided here for years, this was not just a season—it was a celebration of what makes this river so special.
Read morePrepare Like a Pro: 5 Essential Tips for Your Guided Fly Fishing Trip
As a full time guide for multiple species in multiple states throughout the year and a world traveling angler, I find it to the utmost importance that when you’re booking your fishing trip of a lifetime that you want to be prepared. Lack of preparation or unrealistic expectations can lead to dissatisfaction. The last thing you want to spend your time and hard-earned money on is the wrong experience, so I’m here with offer tips to help you find the one that fits your needs and gives you the experience you’re looking for.
Read moreTop 5 Steelhead Flies for Lake Erie Tributaries: Must-Have Patterns for Success
Steelhead are an amazing species to target, especially if you’re in the Great Lakes region! This stunning fish was caught during an incredible outing with my friend Josh Miller from Trout Yeah Guide Service.
As many of you know, I live in Pennsylvania…so how are there steelhead? In my neck of the woods, huge rainbow trout are stocked in the tributaries of Lake Erie and spend most of their life in the lake. This time of year, they run upstream in tributaries, and are an amazing species to target with a fly rod. Are they steelhead? They are a migratory fish, though don’t spend any of their life in saltwater. Are they fun? Absolutely! More importantly, many of the flies and techniques we use are effective not only for these steelhead, but also for trout.
Read moreFly Fishing Gear for Dry Flies
The Sulphur (PMD) hatch is one that many anglers look forward to. Don’t just show up and fish, instead invest in your fly fishing time on the water with this gear to make for a more enjoyable experience.
Poetry in motion for fly fishers is watching a trout rise to a dry fly. This visual aspect of fly fishing is a style many prefer, especially apparent by the number of anglers that chase epic bug emergences like blanket caddisfly hatches on Montana’s Missouri River, the Hex mayfly in Michigan, and Penn Creek’s Green Drake hatch in central Pennsylvania. The simple approach is to show up and fish, yet the following pieces of gear will increase the number of fish you catch, plus make for a more enjoyable experience.
Read moreCan Fly Fishing and Social Media Coexist?
What really helped me catch this brown trout: Social media, experience on the water, or doing my homework?
When looking at that gorgeous brown trout I caught while fly fishing, do you really think Instagram “helped” me catch it? That’s a good question, though many will argue that the wild trout was caught because of time spent on the water and doing my homework. Where do platforms like Instagram and TikTok come in? Continue reading as I make the argument that they did contribute to that trout.
Read moreDoes Fly Tying Save You Money?!?
So you’re thinking about getting into fly tying! You’ve done some research, checked out some YouTube channels (hopefully MINE), and even talked to a friend. But you have that one burning question: Is fly tying worth it?!? Trust me, you’re not alone, so let’s find out if tying flies is right for you.
Read moreThe Fly that KILLED Fly Fishing?!?
The Sucker Spawn was truly the first fly that nearly KILLED fly fishing for me. It’s a simple pattern that I originally tied for steelhead…but other species couldn’t resist. I talk about this fly specifically in this video: The Fly that KILLED Fly Fishing!
Let’s be honest, can a fly really KILL fly fishing? Of course not! Yet in fly fishing, many hold true to the belief that there is that perfect fly, the magic bullet, one that will catch EVERY fish in the water. Once finding that fly, will the experience be ruined for you…or enhanced? Let’s find out!
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