Leonard wright wrote a handful of fishing books in his lifetime, but none raised more hackles than this one. Appropriately subtitled "A Thinking Man's Guide To Trout Angling" Wright took a close, logical examination of how we traditionally fish the dry fly & why those methods may be the least productive.

Traditionally, the dry fly is fished by casting upstream over a specific rising trout. The fly is then dead-drifted, completely drag free, over the fish with no movement other than what the current provides. In this way the dry fly is to float past / over the trout. An exact imitation of the natural insects the trout has been eating truly helps the angler here to fool the fish. This was the method popularized & standardized in England 100+ years ago (on their smooth, gentle chalk streams) by Frederick Halford. This method came to America & became the most fished method of the dry fly here, too.

Enter Leonard Wright who, looking unbiased at the situation, concluded that on most of our streams & rivers here in North America the best way to fish a dry fly is actually down & across stream or across. His studies also showed him that a totally motionless fly drifting with the current was not very productive. Instead, Wright insisted that the natural insects floating on the surface (duns, not spinners) move & wiggle as they try to take flight. Plus he noted that that they almost always move in an upstream direction. Armed with those observations he set about a new way of fishing the dry fly, which I'll paraphrase here:

Cast down & across, or across, & put an upstream mend in your line during the forward cast (curve cast) to reduce drag. Allow your fly to drift the few feet it will without drag. Then, as your fly begins to drag &/or approaches a trout (or a probable place a trout might be if you're prospecting) give the line a very slight pull upstream. You only want to move the fly an inch or less. This motion gives you another foot or so of drag free drift & it draws the trout's attention to your fly as a living, moving object. 

Of course, to use this method you'll need a fly that can stay afloat after you give it the "sudden inch" of movement - as Wright calls it. In the book he gives various recipes for flies to accomplish this. 

He also delves deeper, showing how blind fishing, or prospecting, with a dry fly can be the most successful method for most of the season - especially in the low, slow waters of summer.

All in all this book is one of the best ever written on the subject of dry fly fishing. It was published in 1972 & I'm sure that there are folks fishing the dry fly downstream who never heard of Wright, but he was the pioneer. Done correctly, the "sudden inch" can be deadly. If you haven't read this book - & especially if you want to get better at fishing dry flies (as I do - I need all the help I can get), do yourself a favor & pick up a copy. I would go so far as to say that any fly fishing library is incomplete without a copy of "Fishing The Dry Fly As A Living Insect" on it's shelves.

The varnish on a bamboo fly rod can tell you a lot about the life that rod has lived. Just like people, some rods have had it good while others have been worked hard & abused. No matter what the age of your fly rod there are some simple routine maintenance practices you can do on a regular basis that will help any rod look better.

It's not just a case of looking better, either. A bamboo fly rod that has had care given to the varnish will last longer. There's a reason we put varnish on those rods & it's to protect the glue holding the rod splines together. If the varnish has cracks in it that will allow too much moisture through, the moisture will get to the glue & then you have some real trouble. The older rods glued up with hide glue are certainly in peril if the varnish is compromised. To keep the varnish in good shape, keep it clean & protected with a layer of good wax.

Let's take a look at how this simple exercise of cleaning & waxing can bring an old fly rod back to life:

Here is a photo of an older South Bend fly rod, made probably sometime in the late 1930's or 1940's. These rods were mass-produced & you can be sure that the varnish used on them was fine for the day, but certainly not of the quality that high-end rods were varnished with, even back then. Take a look at the varnish near the grip:

I'll bet you've seen plenty of rods that look like that kicking around yard sales & flea markets, huh?

​Now take a look at the same rod, but after the rod was cleaned & waxed:

What a difference!! Folks, that's the same varnish on the same rod you saw in the top photo. It looks almost like new, doesn't it?

The process to get rod varnish looking like this couldn't be easier: clean the rod with a gentle glass cleaner & soft cloth. Dry it down good after the cleaning is done. Use a cotton swab to get into those tight areas around the line guides, etc. Then apply a liberal coating of your favorite rod wax to the rod & buff off. That's it. It takes time, but the results are worth it.

So dig out that old, neglected rod from the back of the closet - the one you quit using because it looked so bad & give it a good clean & wax. If you see an older rod for sale somewhere, don't be afraid to buy it because the varnish looks a little faded. It just needs a good cleaning.

Clean your fly rod. You'll like how it looks so much better afterward & your rod will last longer because you took the time to show it some care.

I have a rare opportunity here - a chance for you to get one of my fishing bags for a seriously reduced priced!! But here's the catch: there's only one left at this price. 

I have in stock one, size large, brown fishing bag without the inner lining. This is because of a special order that got changed after this bag was started. It has all the same features as the bags on the "Accessories" page, minus the lining inside. Unless you plan on putting something wet inside the bag, you'll not really miss the inside lining anyway. So, here's your chance to get a fishing bag at much lower price. 

NEW Price: Size Large = $55.00
Add $13.50 for shipping to lower 48 states.

Here's some photos of the actual bag. Please click on any of the photos for a larger image:

Beat the heat this summer by putting this nice fishing bag over your shoulder rather than wearing a hot fishing vest. But, as I said, this is the only one available at this price. So please, if you're interested in it, contact me to reserve this bag. 

This bag, as all the fishing bags made in my shop, feature the following:
- Wide, adjustable shoulder strap making them very comfortable to use all day long.

- 2 D-rings on each side for hanging accessories like nippers, landing nets, etc.

- 2 lamb's wool drying patches for your flies.

- Inside center loop perfect for hanging your hemostats or other hook removers.

- 2 large front pockets with velcro closure big enough to hold your fly boxes, fly wallets, or most anything else.

- 4 smaller side pockets with velcro closure made to fit tippet spools, flotant tubes, split-shot containers, & any smaller accessories.

- 6 small grometted ventilation holes on the bottom to allow water & moisture out & air to circulate inside the bag.

- Full cover top flap with snap closure.

​To read even more about what makes these bags the best you can get, please click HERE.

The only difference between this bag & those I normally offer is that this one doesn't have the inner lining. Because of this, I've reduced the price of this bag by more than 25%!! Take advantage of this great opportunity & contact me with any questions you have.

Okay, sit back & have a laugh as you watch our old friend Goofy show us how to fish. I think some of this has happened to all of us at one time or another while fishing! Enjoy!!

There is a product available that makes changing tippets much easier. They're called tippet rings & - you guessed it - they're little rings that you use to connect your leader & your tippet together.

These little rings make changing tippets a breeze. Plus, if there's going to be a break-off, chances are it's going to happen at the ring, which means you won't loose a long length of your leader. 

In full disclosure, I don't use these rings.......however, I've been on the fence about using them for a while now. I generally use a surgeon's knot to make my tippet to leader connection, but I've been thinking of giving these a try. The one thing that concerns me most about them is twisting, especially if you're fishing a longer streamer fly that has a tendency to roll, etc. Other than that, the theory of the rings (at least) sounds good to me. Who knows, maybe I'll end up loving them?

Below is a short video showing you all about these tippet rings, how to use them, etc. If you haven't tried them, give them a go......& then let me know how they did!!!

As a rod maker, I don't have many 'heroes' in this business. There are many that I look up to, respect, & admire, but heroes??........there are maybe two or three at most among all the rod makers who ever wrapped a rod.

Tom Dorsey, one of the two Toms that founded the Thomas & Thomas rod company would be one of my 'heroes' of rod making. The reason for that is because Tom has, very quietly, been responsible for some of the best rod tapers ever designed. He began his career many years ago in bamboo. When fiberglass & graphite took over the fishing tackle scene as the main rod materials, he - unlike any other rod maker ever - adapted to these new materials like a master. Many, if not most, of the fly rods we all enjoy using today have been influenced in their designs by Mr. Dorsey. No other rod maker has done what he has done.

I'm proud to make custom rods on Thomas & Thomas blanks along with all the other fine rod blanks I use. These T&T blanks are the top-shelf of synthetic rod blanks & they always perform the way they claim to. I also offer a fiberglass rod on their Heirloom glass blanks as well. I've never had a problem with any T&T synthetic blank & both me & the person I've made the rods for have always been more then pleased with the rod's performance. That's a testament to Tom Dorsey's rod designs.

Below is a short promotional video for T&T, featuring some beautiful fishing & Tom Dorsey himself. No, I don't have hardly any rod-maker 'heroes', but Tom is the exception among all of us rod makers!!