Fly Fishing Blog: Tips for All Levels

Alaska Will Change Forever: Go Now

Alaska, a land renowned for its wild, untouched landscapes and abundant wildlife, offers some of the most spectacular fly fishing experiences in the world. But with increasing popularity and looming...

Start Them on a Spinning Rod

Handing a six-year-old a fly rod first is a decision most of us make for ourselves, not for them. Why spinning gear is often the better on-ramp — and how...

Identifying a Trico Hatch and Spinner Fall

Short answer: Tricos are tiny black-and-white mayflies in hook sizes 20 to 24 that hatch in the cool of the morning and fall spent an hour or two later. The...

Fishing Terrestrials: Hoppers, Ants, Beetles and Crickets

Short answer: Terrestrials are land insects — hoppers, ants, beetles, crickets — that fall into the water by accident. There is no hatch to match. What you're reading instead is...

Identifying a Salmonfly and Golden Stone Hatch

Short answer: Salmonflies are the largest trout stream insect in the West — adults run 2 to 3 inches with orange bellies and hook sizes 2 to 6. Unlike mayflies...

Identifying a Pale Morning Dun (PMD) Hatch

Short answer: Pale Morning Duns are pale yellow-olive mayflies in hook sizes 14-18 that hatch late morning through early afternoon from roughly June through August across the West. They come...

A young angler fly fishing independently along a river

The Day You Stop Holding the Rod

There's a moment where you have to stop steering your kid's cast and let it be theirs. Here's how to know when it's coming and how to hand it over.

The rail of a boat on flat Alaskan water at dawn, low mist over a distant shoreline

Lodge, Fly-Out, or Road System: How to Pick Your Alaska Trip

The first decision about an Alaska trip isn't a river — it's whether you're buying a week or a day, and whether your party cares about fish at all.

An angler kneeling on an Alaskan riverbank holding a sockeye salmon in full red spawning color, mountains behind

When to Go Fly Fishing in Alaska: The Season, Month by Month

The six weeks everyone fights over aren't always the six weeks you want. How Alaska's season actually runs, from June streamers to October flesh.

Two anglers kneeling in an Alaskan river holding a pair of rainbow trout, autumn grass behind them

What You'll Actually Catch Fly Fishing in Alaska

Everyone books Alaska for the salmon. Here's what's actually swimming in front of you — trophy rainbows that eat streamers, plus Dolly Varden, grayling and pike.

Algal mats drifting across a canyon lake at dusk — stillwater fly selection and daphnia guide, Fly Fishing Insider Podcast

Imitate or Provoke: Choosing a Stillwater Fly When the Fish Won't Match

Lake trout eat for more than one reason, and only one of them is hunger for the thing you're imitating.

Flat calm lake under morning fog with a dark conifer shoreline — stillwater fly fishing presentation guide, Fly Fishing Insider Podcast

Indicator, Long Leader, or Straight Down: Three Ways to Present a Lake Fly

Once the fly is at the right depth, you still have to decide what it's doing down there. Three deliveries, three depth ranges.

Alpine lake with a clear shallow shelf dropping into deeper green water — stillwater fly fishing depth guide, Fly Fishing Insider Podcast

Depth Is the First Decision: Finding and Holding the Right Level on a Lake

A river hands you the presentation for free. A lake makes you build it, starting with a depth you can actually reproduce.

Angler on a skiff holding a permit horizontally over clear turquoise water, dorsal and tail fins fully visible

Permit on the Flats: Accuracy, the Drop, and the Eat You Have to See

Belize permit guide Damien Nurre's approach — spook them or catch them, fish the drop, and set on what you see rather than what you feel.

Tarpon jumping clear of the water with its mouth open and gills flared on an open saltwater flat

Tarpon on the Flats: The Cast, the Strip-Set, and the First Ninety Seconds

Capt. Joel Dickey's casting drill, his 60-20-20 leader, and the hookset — everything that decides a tarpon in the first ninety seconds.

Angler in a camo sun hoody holding a bonefish just above the surface of a shallow tropical flat

Bonefish on the Flats: How to See the Fish Before You Cast

Nervous water, tails, and pushes — the flats skill that has to click before your casting matters. Plus the lead, the shrimp strip, and the strip-set.

A kid exploring the riverbank and finding wildlife while fishing

Let Them Chase the Snake

The day your kid stops fishing and starts flipping rocks isn't a failed trip. Here's what the research says about why that hour outside still counts — and how to...