Rummaging through some old folders this evening, I came across a handful of fly illustrations that I had thought lost. The small stack of pen-and-ink pieces were originally used in a Scientific Anglers book project many years ago (when I was still in college), and then subsequently in a few Federation of Fly Fishers casting [...]

Up-close-and-personal fishing can be one of fly fishing’s most exciting aspects. At extremely close ranges, however, “normal” casting is often not possible or desirable. What to do? Easy, just break out your Bow and Arrow (cast, that is). While the Bow and Arrow Cast gets relatively little attention in fly fishing, I consider it a [...]

(An oldie, but goodie. Back by request.) Riffles are the “hotbeds” of a stream system. Their relatively shallow depth and tumbling currents allow sunlight to penetrate and oxygen to mix. As a result, plants and algae, and the insects that feed on and live among them, multiply. And if you’ve got food, you’ve got fish. [...]

A favorite place: Depuy’s, Paradise Valley, mid-June. Just about perfect. This day was right at the start of the PMDs, and Kel and I had the lower creek to ourselves… [ Javascript required to view QuickTime movie, please turn it on and refresh this page ] Photos by Kel. Music by John Beth.

One of the good things about a blog is the constant stream of updates. One of the bad things about a blog is the constant stream of updates. On a blog with regular posts it is easy to get way behind in no time. Here at FF&W, a fair number of posts are educational material [...]

Last month I posted about the new NZ-centric video, Once in a Blue Moon (mouse hatch!). Well, it appears that it is now ready to go, and available for early (pre-Amazon) purchase from Stu’s Fly Shop on NZ’s South Island (scroll down to see the packages Stu has with the DVD). If you decide to [...]

A little bandwidth consumption from the “From the Archives” department. Actually this is more like, “It’s Saturday night, I need to make a quick post, and look what I just found in a long-lost folder.” Origins aside, this is a much more visual follow-up to the Triple Shooting post that I put up here in [...]

For those FF&W readers who tie, here is a little (147KB), freebie PDF download for you, the Designing Trout Flies Feather Guide. Based on my father’s Designing Trout Flies book from way back in 1991, the Guide is basically a short-course reference for feather ID and color matching. The Guide has lurked around various dark corners [...]

I occasionally get e-mails asking about roll and Spey casting on grass, and ways in which to make land-bound practice more useful. What follows is an almost-verbatim snip from my Nature of Fly Casting book about one potential aid in grass-casting. – – – – – – – – – - It can be difficult [...]

When the sad day comes and your waders are pin-holed, seam-taped, and hot-patched beyond saving, you have only a few choices (Common Threads isn’t quite there yet): Burial is often first on the list, preferably with a dousing of single-malt (for both you and the waders). This option, however, tends to create a long-lasting landfill [...]

After some thought (and a few hours of work), I have switched FF&W’s E-List management software. The new stuff is better for what I want to do with the FF&W E-List and is more friendly to my system environment. That means better e-mails for list members (and hopefully better rendering for those on mobile devices, [...]

(Another post along the lines of my remembrance of Mel. This one appeared as a foreword for Ernest Schwiebert’s two-volume, Nymphs project. If you don’t know much about Ernie, I’d encourage you to read some of his works—both technical and storytelling.) Before Ernie passed away in late 2005 (has it really been that long?), my father and [...]

Until his passing last year, Mel Krieger was essentially a life-long friend of mine. I first met him when I was barely old enough to remember it, but his influence on me spanned decades. What follows is a remembrance of Mel that I originally wrote for the Japanese magazine, Fly Fisher. I alluded to it [...]

Catch Magazine #5 is here and lookin’ good (as always). If you already subscribe to/read Catch, then you know all about it. If you don’t, you should! Go have a look. (And catch the Catch Blog here.)