The Professor is a traditional wet fly that you're probably not going to read about on all the latest fly fishing news sources. It's been around for a very long time. That doesn't mean that it still doesn't catch trout. It does. It's one of those classic wet fly patterns we should all have with us along the stream. 

The short video below is very good in my opinion. I really like it for a number of reasons. First, the skill of the tier is excellent & he does a good job of showing you how this fly comes together. Second, he's using the old style silk (or you could use gut) leader. This is old-school, folks, before hooks had eyes. It is exactly how this fly would have been tied back in the day when it was a new design. Third, in addition to giving you some tips on how to fish classic wet flies, he shows you what this fly looks like underwater, in the drift. That kind of information is invaluable. I don't think we, as fly anglers, do this enough - really looking at our flies in the drift. Knowing that can make a world of difference. 

I thought I'd take a moment to discuss, on this St. Patty's Day, the fly called the green weenie. It is a simple pattern that has magical powers to catch fish. Yup, that's right, it's a magical fly. Why? Because it seems to catch fish on days when nothing else will. It works in all seasons, too.

Seriously though, the green weenie is a fly that seems to attract trout both because of it's shape & color - bright chartreuse green. It can imitate some green caddis flies & also green inch worms, too. It's effective as both a wet / nymph fly & also great when fished as a streamer. ​

​I've heard many different versions of the history of this fly. Mostly though, it's considered to have originated in Western PA. It supposedly gets it's name from the green weenies used at Pittsburgh Pirates games through the years. Those green weenies would hex the opposing baseball team while giving good luck to the Pirate players when the weenie was pointed at them. Read more about the green weenie of the Pirates, HERE.

No matter where it came from, or how it got it's name, the green weenie remains an effective fly for trout as well as steelhead in many places outside of Western PA. It is a great fly to start someone out with in fly tying, too, because of how simple it is. The legendary PA outdoor sports writer Charlie Meck called this one of his "one minute flies" because that's about how long it takes to tie one. 

Here's a short video showing how to tie this pattern:
(one note: this is a slight variation of the green weenie in this video. It's traditionally made with medium, or even micro, chenille - not the fuzzy stuff shown here. It's also usually bright or fluorescent green. I'm showing you this video because the tying is spot on, the colors are close, & it's the best video I could find to show how to tie it.)

​If you happen to be looking for trout rather than a pot of gold, the green weenie is an excellent pattern to try. You'll have a lot of luck when you try this magical fly!!

Below is a short, beautiful video filmed on the water of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, set to the words of John Voelker's (aka Robert Traver) "Testament Of A Fisherman". Even though Judge Voelker wrote those words back in the mid 1960's, they still ring true today. 

Take just two minutes & escape whatever the world is tossing at you today to step into the stream in your mind & enjoy this gorgeous video.  

Being a rod maker, I'm always fascinated to see & learn how similar items to fly rods are made. I've always been especially interested in how fly reels are made. In fact, it's been an idea of mine to someday make my own fly reel....someday. 

When I stumbled upon this series of videos, showing a machinist / craftsman taking us through the process of them making their own fly reel I watched these videos with great interest. In each video we're looking over the shoulder of the reel maker. I could watch videos like this all day long!!

So if you're curious about how a skilled machinist might make their own reel &/or you enjoy watching folks at work performing interesting tasks, check out the video below. In this one we're watching him make the spool for his reel, but you can watch the entire series (which you can see on youtube) as he takes us through his process of making a reel from beginning to end. Enjoy!

"The Rodmaker" is a film, about 20 minutes long, about famed Michigan rod maker Morris Kushner. Kushner made innovative & unique bamboo rods of his own design. He was a very respected & interesting character to the folks who knew him. 

Scott Mann, a multimedia producer of InSight Productions, & John Roman, made the film back in the early 1980's (Kushner was Scott's Grandpa). Unseen for many years, Scott offered the movie for sale on DVD for a while. The DVD is no longer available, but Scott has graciously put the film online for all to see & enjoy. Not only that, but he has also posted the full interviews with rod maker Bob Summers & author John Voelker (Robert Traver) that he conducted for the movie - the unedited interviews which are fascinating to listen to. I'll post those here separately later on, too. 

The film is a fantastic look back at an often overlooked, but important rod maker - & as such, a look into fishing history. It's a fascinating & well told story. Thanks to Scott Mann for allowing us all to enjoy it, as I'm certain you will. Enjoy!

If I were forced to fish with only one dry fly, I would choose the Adams. It looks like nothing in particular & kinda like everything all at the same time. There are times when you just can't be sure what the fish took it for - but that's what makes it so great, because it just works.

This pattern has been around for a long time. The video below does a very good job of explaining how this fly pattern came to be, what the original version probably looked like, & briefly discusses the many variations of the Adams that have appeared through the years. If you're into history, dry flies, &/or fly tying I think you'll enjoy this short, but informative video below.  

Jack Hargreaves was a television host in England from the middle to the late twentieth century. Some of the shows he hosted discussed 'country life', to which fishing is a part. So naturally he took his viewers fishing on many of his TV shows. 

The video below is in 2 parts. In the first, Jack shows us the development through the years of the fishing rod in England. Here we can see how different materials came into, & went of fashion of, fashion for fishing rods. We can also see how the fishing reel developed along with the rods. In the second part, Jack takes us fishing with a friend & philosophies a bit on angling in general & what goes through the mind of a dedicated angler at times.  

While none of this covers fly fishing specifically at all, I find very informative, entertaining, & charming. I hope you will, too. Enjoy! 

Originally published in 1955, "How to Fish from Top to Bottom" by Sid Gordon is an older book that is filled with good information that is still very useful for any angler today. The title, however, might be slightly misleading, as it's more than just a 'how-to-fish' type of book. No, it has much more important info for the angler....... 

Sid Gordon was a fishing writer & a skilled angler. In addition to that, he was employed throughout his career as a fish technician for the states of Wisconsin & Michigan at different times. This job also called on him to research fishing environments in other locations as well. As a result he examined the fishing waters of many places across the United States & Canada, learning how the fish live in different types of water along the way & seeing the best methods of preserving rivers, streams, & lakes. 

For those of you who are wondering more about the world of fresh water fishes & how to catch them, this is a must-read book. In it you will learn easy steps on how to judge water quality simply by knowing what to look for when you gaze at a stream or lake. You will learn how to read the water. Gordon will show you how to make stream & lake improvements - great info for any club or organization looking to make better fishing conditions. You will also learn how to take accurate water samples & how to test them to know exactly what is going on in your favorite fishing spot. 

In addition to all these lessons, Gordon also gets into detail about specific types of game fish & what conditions the need for survival. Bass, pike, muskie, trout, etc are all covered in this book & you can learn what to look for when pursuing any of these species of fish.

Of course a book with a title such as this one would not be complete without some actual fishing techniques. Gordon also gives you detailed & time tested methods for catching all of the different popular game fish, covering fly fishing, spin, & bait casting as well. 

The fist chapter of this book is titled "Water Can Be Read Like a Book" - & that sums up the general theme of the entire work. Fishing from a boat, on shore, wading in a stream, & for all types of fish it's all covered here in an easy to understand book. To me the really valuable information here is the water quality explanations. After reading this, I recalled different places I had fished before & some things clicked in my mind. It all made more sense to me about the conditions at certain fishing spots.

In my opinion, this is a book every angler should read, no matter where you fish, how you fish, or what you fish for. It is one of the most overlooked "important" books on fishing written in the 20th century. I believe this book is currently out of print, but good used copies can be found & purchased for very little cost, so pick up a copy for yourself. You will learn something very useful before you put the book down.  

Yesterday a good friend showed me this very informative & entertaining video that discusses different types of leaders & their uses for trout fishing (thanks, Terryll). 

One thing that I admit I should do in my fishing is to pay more attention to my leaders than I do. About the only time I ever really do what I should with my leader is when I'm fishing very low & very clear water where I know I could easily scare the trout. Otherwise, I'm that clod you see using a knotless tapered leader that has gotten way too short & is half straight tippet because I'm too busy fishing - or too lazy - to change to a new leader. I admit it. I'm not proud. 

So I've always been interested in nicer, furled leaders. I've heard good & bad things about them from folks (mostly good things) & it's something that I really should give a try. Also, I'm curious about tippet rings. I've never tried them, but I like the concept. You see, I'm pretty old-school when it comes to all this stuff. Again, I admit it. Again, I'm not proud. 

If you have any strong opinions about leaders & tippet rings, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let me know what you think & help me to decide to either get out of the 1960's or to stay there. If you're like me & really are not 'leader aware', then the video below will help to shed some light on the subject while watching a skilled angler catch some beautiful trout. 

I fish a soft hackle wet fly a lot. It's my favorite style of pattern for many reasons. They're also pretty simple to tie, no matter what the specific pattern. Hungarian partridge feathers are a typical hackle feather used on these flies. These feathers can be a little tricky to work with &/or to get the results you want tying with them. There are a few tricks you can use & the video below shows a pretty clear, straight forward way to handle them. 

Partridge & orange, partridge & green, partridge & yellow, etc, etc these three patterns can cover most of your year along the trout stream. Take just a few minuets to learn these quick tips on tying with partridge.  

​(I'm not affiliated in any way with the dealer who made this video. I show this only for the advice this video demonstrates).