Some great reports from the past week and weekend and some not so good.  One guy told me he had the best day of winter fly fishing ever recently.  Two other guys told me they got skunked.  That’s pretty much how it goes on any given day. Want to know what the river is doing? Check out current river flows here. If you know the game, you are likely to be successful.  If you are off in your fly selection or water selection, you will likely draw a blank.  Most experienced anglers are very successful in the winter time.  The fish tend to be more opportunistic (less selective) and they want to eat.  Whether you want to feed them nymphs or streamers is up to you and how you like to fish.  If you need some suggestions on how to catch fish in the winter time, just stop in and ask. The Nymphing game is solid right now.  Fly tiers ofte...

For the steelhead fisherman, some lessons are learned only through keen observation, while others are delivered like a backhanded slap across the face. One lesson, which resonates in my mind nearly every time I set foot into a run that has the possibility of holding a steelhead, came in the form of the latter. It was a bright, windy, late summer day on a world class steelhead river. I had the good fortune of spending the day with close friends, searching for the ultimate prize of a steelhead encounter. We chose a large piece of water where we could all fish. As I approached the last good bit of water in the run, the difficulty of casting a long floating line into a head on, gale-force wind began to outweigh my desire to finish it off. Another poor cast had me looking upstream for my friends. One friend responded with, what would be, a cr...

I am sitting in the fly shop on January 29th, anxiously waiting to hit the Kootenai River tomorrow when an idea hit me. "Why don't I write a quick blog/report on what I believe will happen on the Kootenai tomorrow." So here are my predictions.  Fishy Forecast // 1-29-17 I am expecting tomorrow to be a nymph and swing day. I will still carry BWO and Midge dries if something spectacular were to arise, but I'm not counting on it. Get your flies here. I am predicting the hot nymphs will be a red #14 Copper John,  #18 Tufted Zebra Midge, and a #18 BWO Crust Nymph. For streamers, I have faith that Fred's trusty Olive Predacious Fox will do the trick. Learn to tie the Predacious Fox here. If not olive, I also have a few in a beautiful claret color, tied with marblefox instead of temple fox. If claret doesn't work, then I will swing for the...

Stealthily cruising around big open weedy flats, constantly thinking of what may be lurking below... cast after cast, strip after strip. Watching the cloud of a brightly colored erratic streamer dance its way back to the boat, when suddenly it disappears. You feel something trying to rip the line out of your hands. You strip set the hook into the apex predator's "trap jaw" and wait for the unexpected! There is no doubt about it, Northern Pike are the wolves of freshwater. These primitive creatures have a special way of bringing back that "first fish on a fly rod" feeling, for those who have spent years delicately casting to sipping trout. Hooking into these submarines is more complex than you think. Having the right gear can make or break your Northern Pike experience. The Best Fly Rod for Catching Pike Using the right rod is what makes ...

Back in October, I wrote an article for our eMag titled "How Not To Break Your Fly Rod". After watching our friend, Ben, break his fly rod on New Year’s Day, I realized I failed to mention the problems fly rods face in the winter. When winter fly fishing in sub-freezing temperatures, there are some elements that may damage the integrity of your fly rod. An Icy Problem for your Fly Rod Contrary to popular belief, your fly rod is not more brittle in slightly sub-freezing temperatures.  Similar graphite and resins used in fly rod construction are also used on military aircraft like the Stealth Bomber. That sucker cruises at 628 MPH at 50,000 feet. That’s -121 F without factoring wind chill. Those conditions are a bit colder than fly fishers are likely to wave their rods in, so if you break your fly rod in the winter, don’t blame it ...

I've been going through steelhead withdrawals lately after seeing all the chrome fish that some of my friends have been catching on the Olympic Peninsula. The only known remedy for someone trapped hundreds of miles inland is to swing some streamers for trout, which is exactly what I did for a couple hours on Monday. The Spokane River is in absolutely perfect shape right now with flows holding steady at 2,800 cfs. The only exception is if you're going to be fishing below the confluence of Latah Creek, you'll want to focus your efforts on the north side of the river due to runoff. Curious how the river is doing right now? Check out the most current river flows here My typical plan of attack when I fish the Spokane River is to swing through a run first with streamers and follow that up with a heavy dose of nymphing if I don't get many grabs...

Looking to get away from the vise? Rocky Ford is always a popular destination for fly fishermen looking to get away from their vise or television during the winter months. My friends Patrick and Erik made the trip to Ephrata, WA without me on Sunday, but at least I was there in spirit in the form of the flies I gave them. Foul weather has been keeping crowds to a minimum thus far and according to Patrick they were all by their lonesome on Sunday morning until 11:00. Fishing was steady all day, with most of their fish being caught on size 14 olive scuds. Need flies of your own? Check out our selection here. Scuds and subsurface midge patterns fished under an indicator is typically the most productive technique on the Ford. Try attaching your flies with a loop knot to give your bugs more action in the water while using an indicator. You'll...

This past weekend was wintry, but fishable. I know a number of folks got out on the Missouri River on Saturday, while I was tying flies on Facebook. The Sunday Report I also heard reports from up and down the river on Sunday. So I headed down to Giant Springs on my lunch break. I met up with Ben, who was trying out a new Commando Head. He wanted me to show him how to cast it. I showed him how I single hand it and managed to hook a spunky little bow in the process. "What fly you got on here, Ben?" "The Mini Montana Intruder you tied on Facebook yesterday," he replied. After the quick casting lesson, I bounced over to Cutter's crew. He was surrounded by dogs and kids with Nerf guns, while trying to load up the grill. After I arrived, the dog and kid show found a porcupine. If you see a porky down at Giant Springs bristling with Nerf darts...

Do you have some cowboy boots that could use a face lift? Well, this project is for you- The DIY Boho Cowboy Boots project allows you to spruce up your favorite pair of boots with your own unique style. Whether its an old pair from the back of the closet or a new pair fresh off the shelf, you can easily design your own fun pair of cowboy boots. Materials Needed for Building your Own Boho Cowboy Boots Cowboy Boots: new or old Belts: New or old Leather punch Rivet Gun Rivets: 1/8" 3mm x ½" 12mm Washers - 1/8" Scissors Utility Knife Cutting board If you have any other ideas to add to your boots, take a look at our craft supplies selection Before You Start: You're going to have to find the right cowboy boots. I definitely recommend using all leather cowboy boots, but you can use ones with softer top like what I used, since all leather is...