In theory, fly-fishing is a simple sport: Pick a body of water, choose a fly-fishing rod, select your “fly” (or bait), tie a secure knot, cast your line and, hopefully, land a fish on the other end.

What flies are working? This is the question that you hear most on the stream, talking to other anglers, and definitely in every fly shop. The answer is not an easy one, as it changes month to month, ...

If you find yourself stumped by picky trout with any regularity, it’s probably time for you to learn how to fish a soft hackle fly. These time-tested patterns are characterized by their wispy, “buggy” ...

As seasoned fishermen know, tailoring your fly box to the region and river you are fishing is important when angling for trout. Trout’s feeding habits change throughout the year and can be affected by ...

Last week, I offered some suggestions on assembling a basic assortment of nymph patterns for early-season trout in our region. This week, I’ll present a similar discussion targeting dry-fly patterns.

On July 20, 1969, as Neil Armstrong was becoming the first man to put bootprints on the moon, I was getting my first introduction to the sport of fly-fishing on an icy mountain stream in Idaho. It ...

On July 1, 1924, Carrie G. Stevens cast a homemade fishing fly into the outlet of Mooselookmeguntic Lake and netted a 6-pound, 13-ounce brook trout. Her Gray Ghost — featuring white hairs from a ...

Deborah Carlson’s German shepherd, Frieda, is obsessed by bugs, so much so that she recently swallowed more than a dozen fishing flies. “She has been eating bugs in the backyard all summer. She is ...

Fly tying and football season go together like peanut butter and jelly. For me and many fly tyers in the valley, not much is better than setting up a vise in front of a TV screen with a football game ...

What’s the best way to catch a fish: impressionism or realism? A new book, “The History of Fly-Fishing in Fifty Flies” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $22.50) by writer and angler Ian Whitelaw, charts the ...