I hope you're all having a fantastic trout season so far & that you've been able to get out & enjoy the streams. In my area we've had it pretty good overall, but this year seams to be one of those seasons where you need to be ready to fish when conditions are good. It looks like we're in a weather pattern where it rains, the streams become too high & muddy, then a few days of acceptable conditions - then the cycle repeats itself with more rain. 

So what's a fly angler to do when stream conditions are in transition & the water is a bit high & with color? One solution to find trout in these situations is go where they're almost certain to be no matter. Two types of stream locations come to mind: bridges & seams. Both bridges & seams are good any time of the season, but they are especially good to try if the water is high, fast, & off-color.  

Trout love to hang out around bridges for several reasons, not the least of which is that they provide cover & protection from predatory birds & other threats. The water around & beneath a bridge makes a great home for trout. You'll find trout both just upstream, in front of a bridge & just below it, too. I think they get a sense of security knowing that they can always duck for cover back under the bridge. 

Bridges also can give you a sense of what bugs will be on the water. Often the mayflies will collect on the supports of a bridge to molt. Study those bugs, as they'll soon be falling spent onto the water after they've mated & laid their eggs. You can also see the bug activity pick up at a bridge, as both the bugs & the birds that eat them become more active under & around the bridge & its supports. 

Another reason why trout like bridges is because the water 'piles up' above them. Often the water gets channeled down at a bridge into a more narrow flow which creates deeper spots & changes in the water flow. Here slower water meets faster water (which is also why they're good spots to fish when the stream is high). These spots where faster flows butt up against slower water creates what we call a "seam"...........

Seams in the stream flow are the golden spot for trout anglers. Trout love them because it makes their life much easier. You see, trout like to hang out in the slower flow, which requires less effort on their part, & let the faster water bring them food. All types of aquatic insects get caught up, pulled into the flow & get channeled into the seam. The trout, watching & waiting in the edge of the slower water, can see every piece of food that the seam has collected. 

When you fish a seam, you typically want your fly to travel the water just on the edge of the slower flow. It's much easier to managed your line here & besides, it's where the trout are. You should look for seams every time you go fishing, but especially in marginal conditions when the stream is high. You'll know that the trout would rather hang out in the slower water rather than work their tails off in the faster flows. 

Arthur Ransome, in his old book "Rod & Line" has a chapter on dealing with adverse fishing conditions. His approach to poor weather & conditions is to not look at the obstacles, but rather to look for the elements of the stream conditions that are good - the elements you can work with. You still might not catch a trout, but you've done your best to put as many odds as you can in your favor. At least by looking at it from that perspective, you stand a chance of catching a fish no matter what shape the stream is in that day.......

......And if conditions are so bad that fishing is all but impossible, at least you can explore & enjoy the wildlife, plants, & beauty that surround the stream!  

The double surgeon's knot is a great way to attach your tippet to your leader. For those of you new to fly fishing, or those who have been maybe using a different knot for your leader-to-tippet connection, give this double surgeon's a try. Once you get onto it, you'll find you can tie it up very quickly along the stream. Below is a short video that makes it very easy to see how this knot is tied. 

​Rarely do I like to get sentimental about things, but if you'll bear with me, I'd like to a little bit here. I always feel a little emotional at the beginning of another trout season & this year is no different. I think most of us get this way at one time or another. So, if you'll indulge me, here are a few reflections on my love of trout streams. 

​I'll admit it: trout streams draw me to them. They always have, ever since I can remember. I think it's a combination of the mysteries they hold about what's going on underneath the water's surface & just the shear beauty of them. I have fished many streams in many places & have yet to find any single trout stream that did not reflect a sense of dignity. 

I love a trout stream because you never step into the same stream twice. It is always changing. As in life, sometimes that change is gradual, other times sudden. It can be a benefit to you, or it can ruin one of your favorite spots to wet a line. But the change is there, always & you never know what you will experience each time you go there. You must always be willing to adjust to it's changes. 

I love a trout stream because there's something compelling about moving water. It's always going somewhere. If it's an unfamiliar stream I'm always torn between moving along the banks to see what's up ahead or staying where I am to enjoy the great new pool I've found. I want to get the most out of it each time & learn as much as I can about it. It's a new place, with new experiences & lessons to be learned. 

I love trout streams because time stands still when I fish them. I'm not my age - or any age. It could be any year in time. The bird songs are the same for me as they were for my great Grandpa. Just one good looking rock, one decent windfall that looks as though it would be home to a trout can easily take an hour or more of my time, & to me it feels like only a few minutes have passed. No matter how hard I'm concentrating on the flow of water, or my line, or the fish, my mind never fatigues along a stream. It's only along a stream that this happens. Nowhere else in life will I willingly stand in the cold, heat, or rain for hours on end without moving.

I love a trout stream because of its natural beauty. I have never seen an ugly one - even one that flowed next to a parking lot was gorgeous in it's own way. Each stream has so much more to offer than just the fish. The plants, birds, trees, & overall surroundings are something to be observed & can provide you with a full day of entertainment. A stream is always a busy place, if you look around. And this is just the parts of it we can see! Below the water's surface there's a whole other world with all it's drama playing out. And if I'm lucky enough I might hold in my hand one of the most majestic, gorgeously decorated creatures the Creator of the universe saw fit to put on this planet. To release a trout you've caught back to the water, watching it disappear into the flow, is both a very rewarding & peaceful feeling. 

I love a tout stream because no matter what is going on in my world, I feel at home along the stream. I go there to celebrate life's good events; to heal wounds; to contemplate any problems or obstacles. Mostly though, I go there to fish, to learn what it has to teach me that day, & to make lasting memories. I can honestly say that some of my most cherished memories have been made along a trout stream. 

And those are some of the reasons why I love a trout stream. Thank you for indulging me. Why do you love a trout stream? 

Work continues in the making of a film about the famous angler & writer Joe Brooks. In the video below we see the impact he had on fly fishing in Argentina & Patagonia. These locations are now destinations for fly anglers, but 60 + years ago when Joe first went there, they were unknown to all but the locals. Joe fished there, wrote about it, & as a result helped to create a whole new haven for anglers & economy for the locals. 

If you're unfamiliar with who Joe Brooks was you need to do yourself a favor & pick up any of the books he wrote. In the last half of the twentieth century Joe was a legend among fly anglers. He changed the way many folks fish. The techniques that many of us use today were his. If you've not read any of his works, you seriously owe it to yourself to check out his writings. I promise you it will make you a better fly angler. 

Enjoy this short film about how Joe Brooks put fly fishing in Patagonia on the map & learn a little about what an incredible angler he was. 

In researching some older bamboo fly rods, I recently stumbled upon an article written by Michael Baughman which appeared in the May 5th, 1980 issue of Sports Illustrated Magazine. The article is titled "Old and Unimproved As They Might Be, Split-Cane Rods Can't Be Beat"

In the article the author proclaims that out of all the fishing & outdoor gear he owns, if he had to pick just one piece of equipment to keep, it would be his bamboo fly rod. He gives a brief history of the development of the bamboo fly rod & then goes on to extol the delights of fishing with bamboo compared to graphite & fiberglass rods. 

In his comparisons of bamboo rods vs modern rods made of synthetics, he hits upon a point that I believe is so very true about cane rods - a point that those new to bamboo realize & leads to them loving the feel of a bamboo fly rod:

I've seen this myself so many times: an angler, new to bamboo, begins to cast a bamboo rod. Then they lock into the rhythm of the rod & their eyes light up - it's like nothing they've ever felt before!

​The article, short in length, is a delight to read. You can read the entire piece on the SI archives website HERE. For those of you who already know & love bamboo fly rods, this article is just preaching to the choir, but for those of you who have yet to toss a line with a cane rod, it's yet another testimony to why you should give bamboo a try. 

I just put together another video for you to enjoy. It's just a 2 minute slide show of some gorgeous trout streams & some custom fly rods I've been honored to make. There's some video of the streams mixed in as well.

​The idea behind this video was that we'd have something to watch on those cold winter days that are surely coming. When the snow is falling & the wind's howling outside we can sit back & escape for a couple of minutes by visiting some beautiful trout streams & looking at a few fine fly rods. Enjoy!!

If you liked that video, be sure to check out all my other ones over on my YouTube channel. There you can see more videos like this one, but focusing on different topics like bamboo fly rods or take a look into the rod shop & even see some of the accessories that are made in my shop as well. Thanks for watching!!

I absolutely love to see photos from anglers of their fishing adventures. I really do. It's as if I'm right along there with you. As a rodmaker, it can be hard to find time to get away & travel to some of the places where I send rods to, so it's especially nice for me to see the places where the rods that came to life in my shop end up.

My friend, Randy was gracious enough to send me some photos of his travels in the western USA this summer. He's a very skilled & knowledgeable angler indeed & was kind enough to answer some of my questions, too about the fishing out in those parts. Thanks, Randy! Just look at these gorgeous places & fish!!

​Here's a shot he took from the Big Horn Mountains:

Oh, how I want to be there & cast my line into that water!!

​Here's a couple from the Black Hills:

Here's a couple from Clark's Fork in Wyoming:

Just look at how clear & smooth that water is! Any movement in a place like this could easily put all the trout down for a while. It takes a skilled angler to catch fish here, which of course, Randy did:

I'm extremely blessed to be a rodmaker & meet so many wonderful anglers & great people. To see more of these photos & many of the other ones anglers have shared with me, please check out the Beyond The Rod Shop page of this site.

I hope you're all getting some time out on the water this autumn!!

It's my favorite time of year again, & it's really hard to beat fly fishing in the fall. The weather & the water temps are cooling down & with that, the return of the hatches. That, in turn, means rising trout!! There's nothing quite as gorgeous as a trout decked out in it's fall colors! Add to that the streams are vacant of many anglers & with the leaves soon to be changing colors you've got the recipe for some beautiful days on the water fly fishing for trout. 

Trout aren't the only show in town either in the fall. Bass become more aggressive as the water cools & their instincts tell them winter is coming on. They begin to feed ferociously, bulking up for winter. You would be very remiss if you ignored fly fishing for small mouth & large mouth bass in the fall. Can't get out to the stream? Well any local pond will do as well, as the fish there try to pack on the pounds for winter as well. Bluegill, crappie, sunfish can give you a very memorable day of fly fishing this time of year. 

​It's a busy time of year, no doubt, but I hope that you can all get some time this autumn to wet a line on your favorite pieces of water. Some of your best memories of the fishing season this year could be made this fall. Good luck on the water!!

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For those of you who are fairly new to fly fishing, or if you've never really given much thought to your leader, there are situations for a leader of a certain length. These days, unless you tie up your won leaders, we mostly use prefabricated leaders - usually the 'knotless tapered' types you see in stores & catalogs everywhere. These leaders come in various lengths & there's a reason for that. After you consider it, it really is common sense. 

Here is a video that does a pretty good job of explaining why certain prefabricated leaders are available in different lengths & why you might choose one length over another for various fishing situations.