The “Purple Mountains Majesty” missed my subdivision by a wide swath, but Getting Bit is just that, throw a fly in anger and hope that you get something with fins that’s receptive.
This is what I got to work with and I’m approaching it with both caution and optimism.
Caution because with any stream in the rural-urban interface, you’re [...]

They say “revenge is a dish, best served cold,” and I’ve got the ultimate prank for them mooching fish buddies of yours.
You know who I’m talking about, that erstwhile pal that always has his mitts in your fly box, “What’d you catch him on, I ain’t got none of those, gimme some.”
Introducing the water soluble [...]

Managed to track down some more bulk tying material sources, figured to pass them on.
Vinyl Cement comprises about 50% of the head cement market, it is a flexible bond that is used for working flies, slightly opaque and has a dull finish, so it is not used on “presentation” flies that require a transparent high [...]

Watching the panic on Wall Street is always fun, after you get over the fact you’re working 6 more years because your 401K is toast. In the back of my mind is that little demon that wonders how many points the Market will go down before the first broker climbs out a window…
They call them “Talking [...]

Out of necessity I went “Old School” on all my flies tied this season. My hook stash was light on all the Tiemco, Gamakatsu, Daiichi, round-wire trout hooks, so I dug deeper into the morass to  find Mustad 94840 and 3906B’s, the old standards.
Having fished both Japanese chemically sharpened and Mustad forged hooks for over a decade [...]

Ok, I had to learn the hard way. Sudden spike in readership based on my ability to turn the Phrase Lyrical, not. Increase in hits because of the natural comparison between my prose and Shakespeare, not.
I apparently touched on a nerve and have found my readership’s sweet spot. Unfortunately it has nothing to do with me.
That’s [...]

Here is the final piece of the puzzle, we can muzzle the wife’s objections and defang PETA all at the same time.
Animal shelters are adopting “Catch and Release” regulations. More importantly, we have the moral responsibility to catch fish, it’s no longer good enough to simply like torturing them, now we need to…
“… If we put them [...]

Blessed Mother of Compound Interest, don’t fail me now…  Five short years from now the Space Hilton opens, and you’ll want to be part of the festivities.
Think of it, the total domination of your fishing peer group, who are frantically stuffing their 401K on the hopes they might be able to retire, while you - [...]

Banish the thought from your mind, tying your own flies is not cheaper than buying them. Measured simply in dollars, the two aren’t even in the same zipcode. There are some benefits to fly tying that can’t be quantified and may tip the scales a bit.
The Numbers Game
If we look at the cost of trout flies, they range from [...]