December 23, 2018
in BLOG
Video: Contrasts
The contrast between the frenzy of everyday life and the beauty of fly fishing is portrayed in this great short film. Enjoy!...
December 16, 2018
in BLOG
Video: One Simple Tip to Catch More Fish in Winter
Here’s a smart and simple tip from the folks at Fly Fishing and Dreams that will help you catch more fish in the cold, clear water of winter, when you’re probably chucking very small flies. By dropping down a single tippet size, you make a stealthier approach, the fly sinks more quickly, and the fly moves more naturally in the water. Of course, light tippets require the angler to exercise good judgment during the hook set and fight, so it’s not all fun and games. Below are tying instruction for the fly used in the video above, a pattern that seems pretty effective. Here’s a smart and simple tip from the folks at Fly Fishing and Dreams that will help you catch more fish in the cold, clear water of winter, when you’re probably chucking very small flies. By dropping down a single tippet size, you make a stealthier approach, the...
December 9, 2018
in BLOG
Video: Potrait of A Fisherman
Here is a great short film about fly fishing. There is no talking just a little bit of fishing. It does a great job of conveying the feeling of simplicity and solitude that we all love about the sport of fly fishing. Enjoy! ...
December 2, 2018
in BLOG
Video Pro Tips: How to Set Up a Fly Reel
</Setting up a fly reel is not difficult, but you may run into problems if you don’t do it correctly. Here’s a great, three-part series of videos from Fly Fishing & Dreams that walks you through the process. The first video shows you how to connect the backing to the reel, the second is about how to connect the fly line to the backing, and the third completes the process by connecting the leader to the fly line. All that’s left for you to do is string up a rod and then tie on a fly. You’ll note that in the second video, the presenter explains that he doesn’t like a welded loop at the rear end of his line. While there are plenty of anglers who feel this way, I have never had a problem with one of these loops, not to mention the fact that most trout anglers never...
November 25, 2018
in BLOG
Video Pro Tips: How to Use Floatant Properly
There’s a new fly-fishing “expert” on the Youtube scene, goes by the sobriquet Huge Fly Fisherman. The man behind the Buff is actually Ben Sittig, a guide from Colorado, whom we’ve seen before, in Unicorn Valley.In this video, he offers some valuable advice about how to use floatant and dry shake in a two-part system to keep your flies high and dry on the water for as long as possible. Use one, then the other until your fly sinks. Then tie on a new fly and repeat. Like Ben, I know how painful it can be to watch someone smear gel all over a waterlogged fly. There’s a lot of other tomfoolery going on, but the real lesson comes in the clip from :34 to 1:15. The rest of the video is pretty fun, but his advice is dead-on: “If you’re gonna be a dry-fly snob, please do it right.”...
November 19, 2018
in BLOG
Pheasant Hunting Season
It's November and the pheasant season is well under way. The weather is perfect and the birds are flying hard. A day in the field with us is an experience you don't want to miss. We get a lot of people that ask us what they can expect on a pheasant hunt with us. Here's how the day usually plays out.Meet guide at the clubhouse where you will discuss what kind of hunt you can expect. The pro shop is stocked with whatever you need in case you have forgotten something Your guide will go over safety procedures and how to hunt your particular field. Our guides have amazing dogs that will work hard all day. You can bring your own dogs too. Meet up for lunch at the clubhouse after a good morning in the field. Continue to hunt after lunchThe great thing about hunting with us is...
November 18, 2018
in BLOG
Video Pro Tips: How to Get Started Nymphing
One of the great things about fly fishing is that there are so many ways to do almost every part of the sport. For instance, I am not a huge fan of split shot and rarely use them, but I have tons of fishing buddies who use strategically placed shot to create very effective nymph rigs. It’s really a matter of personal preference. Here’s an easy-to-follow tutorial, from Jeremy Charchenko of Streem Outdoors in Utah, on how to fish two nymphs at once. He starts with the very basics—how to straighten your leader as it comes off the reel—to tying a simple tandem rig. He explains how to attach the two flies, where to put the split shot, and how to determine where the indicator should go. Then he goes right out and catches a rainbow with this completed set up. One thing he doesn’t do is explain how to cast this...
November 10, 2018
in BLOG
Video: A Light in the Dark, or Why We Fly-Fish
Here’s a cool, ruminative video from Wesley Johnson that ponders the question of why fly fishing is so important to so many of us. As the video features beautiful shots of the water, birds, and anglers, the voice-over gets at the heart of the matter: “We say, ‘It’s the fish we didn’t catch that brings us back.’ No doubt, it is. But it’s everything else, too.”Written By: Phil Monahan...
November 4, 2018
in BLOG
Video: “Memories Never Die,” from Black Fly Eyes
For quite some time, we have been huge fans of Nerijus Rupciauskas and Vaidas Uselis, a. k. a. Black Fly Eyes. Both are from Lithuania, bu they live, work, and fish in Norway now. Last summer, they traveled back to their home waters and made this gorgeous film. Here’s how they describe it: A short story about a man who many years ago left Lithuania, traveled around the world and finally took advantage of the opportunity to return to his native place where still remaining natural habitats for mayfly and wild brown trout. I think you’ll agree that the film is both gorgeous and profound, and it includes the kind of astonishing cinematography that we’ve come to expect from BFE....
October 21, 2018
in BLOG
Classic Pro Tips: Tandem Streamer Rigs for Fall Trout
Written By: Phil MonahanBig brown trout like big flies, especially in the fall. Photo by Shawn CombsWhen the nights start to cool and leaves start to change colors, the thoughts of brown trout turn to procreation. To build up energy for the spawning ritual and to put on weight before the lean winter ahead, even big trout start to feed more aggressively, abandoning their notorious wariness in the process. Because spawning can be extremely competitive—as the fish battle for prime beds and mates—browns also become more territorial, attacking anything that invades their staked-out home turf. The combination of these behaviors makes fall the prime time to cast big streamers, which the trout see as both high-calorie meals and alien invaders. And, as many streamer fanatics have discovered, throwing two streamers together not only catches more fish, but the tandem rig will often draw strikes when a single fly won’t. Twice as Nice When...