When applying sun screen and insect repellent use care not to get it on your fly line or bamboo fly rod. These can [...]

“Sometimes twitching a dry fly for smallmouth bass improves its effectiveness.” New thought?? Actually the late great angler Ray Bergman wrote this in [...]

Moss covered sloping underwater ledges can quickly dump you in the river when you step on them. Boulders and vertical ledges that stick [...]

When you get back to your car after fishing the first thing you should do is to put your fly rod in its [...]

This late great gentleman of “Taps Tips” fame in Field and Stream Magazine had a knack for successfully solving the most complex angling [...]

Why doesn’t your fly turn over properly on your presentation casts but the leader lands in many curls? Usually this is because your [...]

The late Dr. Donald Duboise was one of the most intelligent anglers I’ve every known. He was a great help to me when [...]

As we floated down the Yellowstone River the late Ray Hurley (my guide for 17 years) had a stock answer for the many [...]

Yesterday I was fishing the rainbow trout section of Big Stoney Creek west of Edinburg. Some of the trout were coming up to [...]

Ben looks back at his fishing partner in the back of the canoe as they fish their way down the Shenandoah River on [...]

You’re fishing up a high gradient mountain trout stream and the water is high and the stream is fast. The trout are hitting [...]

Yes, some specific fish are easier to catch than others. I discovered this years ago when I was tagging smallmouths on the North [...]

When you are tying your own dry flies there are several things you can do to be assured they will float well. 1. [...]

In the spring and on receding Smallmouth Rivers after very high water many large bass move into the back eddies and “bank bays” [...]

When a Smallmouth River becomes discolored and too high to fish watch it closely as it drops. When it gets clear enough to [...]

Why take the chance of missing the largest fish you’ve had up all year because you have a dull hook? I sharpen my [...]

When I’m on small streams with spooky trout I use my “flip cast” to prevent scaring the trout. Hold the fly in your [...]

Don’t break your fly rod by jerking at a fly hung in a tree. Point your rod straight at the fly and pull [...]

You are standing in the middle of the river and you would like to change reel spools to switch from a floating to [...]

The North Fork of the Shenandoah has started to recede as of this evening. We still have quite a way to go before [...]

Can a trout catch you? According to Ray Hurley, my Montana fishing guide of 17 years, yes. More than once when we were [...]

Which hand should you use your wading stick with when you are crossing a fast run? I strongly encourage the upstream hand because [...]

I am certain that everyone reading this post with a conscience already does: Pack it in, Pack it out! Please take the time [...]

My compact rental car scraped and dragged badly as I drove down an old ranch road which was in terrible shape as we [...]

The old hand-twist is a good way to slow down your retrieve for those times the fish want a nymph or streamer crawled [...]

How long a cast do you need to make when fly fishing? Only long enough to get your fly to the fish without [...]

Being a pharmacist I hear many good stories in this field, but this true story is one of the best. Sue, a pharmacy [...]

When setting the hook on strikes on mountain streams with low hanging tree limbs use a line hand strike rather than a rod [...]

I have 3 rules for myself in rattlesnake country. 1- Don’t walk through laurel or deep weeds when you can’t see where you [...]

This nice 12 inch smallmouth bass decided a Chartreuse Shenandoah Chuggar looked interesting enough to eat! Notice the Redbud tree in the background [...]

Buggy looking flies catch fish. Fancy looking flies catch fishermen. [...]

When you are tying your own flies use very snug tight thread wraps to hold all of the materials in place. This, more [...]

Southwestern Montana presently has 100% to 110% of the normal snow pack. Anglers there believe this will afford better stream levels than they [...]

Experienced anglers know there are two types of waders, those that leak and those which are about to leak. [...]

Wade especially carefully when fishing small shallow streams. When you fall when wading deep water you get wet; but when you fall in [...]

In order to assure strong knots replace your tippet material from 0X down to 7X each year. This could save the largest fish [...]

After a sermon on the fallacies of superstitions reverend Ben Coe replied to a query from his fishing partner about his practice of [...]

When making long casts with large underwater flies you will improve your percentage of solidly hooked fish if you set the hook quickly [...]

If you are tired of having your split shot slide up or down your leader from where you put them there is a [...]

“Oh, I can’t believe I did that,” was the embarrassed utterance of the beginning angler in my fly fishing school when he hooked [...]

Check out American Rivers. Get involved to help protect our nations rivers. They have a good newsletter if you are interested in joining, [...]

As the rivers warm in April the large bass get hungry. Hit them with deep running nymphs and streamers and you just might [...]