A colorful fly pattern known as the Royal Coachman Bucktail was my Grandpa Harry’s secret weapon. This conclusion follows two decades of observing his catch on the South Fork of the Walla Walla River.

Traditionally fished in the down-and-across presentation common to wet flies, the natural materials of a soft hackle fly impart dramatic and lifelike motion in river currents, resembling mayflies and ...

It’s never too early to prepare your winter fly box. Here are some of our don’t-leave-home-without fly patterns for the coming season: Akin to Charlie Craven’s Two-Bit Hooker, this Dream Cast pattern ...

Decisions, decisions. If you’re a fly angler, you have lots to make. Yes, there are plenty of different lures on tackle-shop shelves, but not nearly as many as there are different fly patterns in well ...

A close second would be, “What (or how many) fly patterns do I need to have to be successful most of the time? Those are both valid queries, and ones which reflect the quintessence of fly-fishing. On ...

A few weeks ago, I resurrected a fly pattern that you’ll probably recognize if you are among that group of now middle-aged fly fishers who took up the sport in the 1970s. We called it the “spider.” ...