Have you ever been in the middle of hatch flurry, whether it be mayflies, caddis or midges... and seen dozens, if not hundreds, of trout rising? You tie on dry fly pattern after dry fly pattern, and after a dozen fly changes you might, if you are lucky, get one trout to eat.  You see adult duns on the water everywhere, but still can’t seem to get the trout to eat your matching fly pattern. "What the heck am I doing wrong?" you ask yourself. "I am getting the perfect drag-free drift presentation every time, but still they won’t eat my dry fly!" as you mutter expletives under your breath. Why High-Floating Patterns Don't Work and Emergers Do I was in this exact situation about 5 or 6 years ago on the Missouri river, in a braided side channel where every single trout in the river was eating every other bug but mine. Frustration was get...

This year, we’ve got two recurring themes on the Missouri River. Water and wind. There has been plenty of water out there and while it may impact the options for wading anglers, it sure is good for the fish. After pushing 12K at the end of last week, the flows are back down to 9,500 below Holter Dam today. By this time last year, the river was getting choked with weeds. With our higher flows this year, they are barely even noticeable yet. While they will certainly pop up as the water drops, we’ve had several months of clean fishing. I really appreciate that. Regardless of where the water has been, the fishing has been stellar most days. Nymphing with sow bugs, caddis pupa and PMD’s will keep you entertained between dry fly sessions. Lots of flies are working and it always amazes me how many people have differing hot flies. I believ...

We are just about into the summer season here in Montana, a time when most hunters put away their hunting gear until the fall season arrives.  If you want to maximize your chances at killing a big buck or bull this fall, scouting during these summer months is a great way to improve your odds. You can buy game cams from us online here. By the end of June, Montana hunters will know what tags they will have in their pockets.  Hopefully you are lucky in the draws, and have a special tag to scout for this summer. Even if you just have general tags, exploring new or old hunting spots is a great way to spend summer days. Learning the Road System before your Hunt I find that one of the biggest advantages of summer scouting is simply learning the road systems.  Maybe it's just me, but I often finds that roads shown on maps or GPS are not alwa...

So, after a long time away from being behind the counter in a fly shop and coming back to it, my favorite topic: dry fly desiccant. I'm pretty surprised by how many fly fisherman don't use this product, there are many types and brands like Loon, Umpqua etc... Loon makes Easy Dry, Loon Dust, and Top Ride, while Umpqua has Dry Shake, Dry Magic, and many more. You can buy Loon Dust online right here. Each a bit different, and all work in a similar way.  I prefer Top Ride by Loon, but that's just me and to each his own. So, what I really want to impart here is this, don't be a "Perpetual Ginker." Yeah, I just made that up, but here's what it means: Reapplying liquid floatants like Gink or others, tend to, in most situations, make the flies sink.  It can bind the fibers, hackles and hair of your dry fly together, thus reducing the surface...

I would argue that the fly line is the most important piece of equipment you use to "fly fish".  The line carries the fly to the fish.  Even the best fly rod will not perform properly with the wrong fly line. Eventually, even a quality properly matched fly line will get dirty and wear out.  Dirty and or cracked lines are sticky.  They don’t shoot well, don’t feed slack well and don’t float well.  These are problems that will reduce your casting efficiency, increase your casting effort and reduce your ability to fish properly. As I’m writing this, Ben comes in and tells me he thinks he needs a new fly line based on everything I’ve just written in paragraph one.  Yes, Ben, you need a new fly line.  I think it’s abundantly clear that a correctly matched, clean, slick, crack free and high floating line is a key element to f...

If I were to guess the most frequently asked questions in fly shops around the globe, I would put, "How do I connect my leader to my fly line?" in the top three. The loop to loop connection may be the most common connection used by trout anglers today. It takes a second to loop on a new leader to a loop at the end of the fly line. Here are some of the most common ways to choose from. Welded Loop Connection to Fly line Most line manufacturers have made welded loops a standard, but there are still fly lines on the market that do not come with a factory welded loop. Your local fly shop may be able to weld one for you, or you can DIY with a heat gun and RIO welding tubing. The welding process varies depending on the material used by the manufacturer. Braided Loop Fly Line to Leader Connection Braided loops are a good substitute f...

by Guest Writer, Ryan Kilgore Even though the Methow River is still running a little high, swinging streamers is doing the trick. It’s time to break out the trout spey rod and grab some of your favorite streamer patterns. I have been waiting all spring for the Methow to open. Don’t get me wrong, stillwater fishing has its moments, but once the river is fishable, that’s where I want to be. As soon as the spring runoff started to recede, I started looking for accessible water. At first, I tried running a heavy two-nymph rig along some deeper banks where there was relief from the raging torrent. But with limited water visibility, hidden riparian vegetation, and lots of woody debris, I was losing flies (and my patience) rapidly. That’s when I decided to switch to streamers. You can check out the streamer patterns we have online here....

So, we are off and running to a great spring and looking forward to a great summer with all the water we have. The Coeur d' Alene River has been fantastic and the St. Joe coming into shape as well. The CDA is primo right now, and flows are more conducive to wading but still very float-able. The upper stretches are starting to get a bit skinny in spots, but still doable in a raft or drift boat. I fished last week in a couple of runs mid-river. They had a pretty broad range of sizes of fish in them. I fished the same runs yesterday, and it seemed that either the weather had them off, or most of them had moved, as I only caught 2-4 fish per run. Last week those numbers were much higher. So, as the flows drop, the fish seem to be moving to some of the faster and/or deeper runs. The St. Joe is fishing great, however, it’s not perfect for wa...