I spend a fair amount of my fishing time flicking flies on small creeks. Arizona has a good number of these small waters to choose from and the fish are usually quite opportunistic and willing to take a well presented fly. The Frye Creek Special is a super simple pattern that I always turn to if I…
I remember the first time I fished the San Juan River, my friend Mike, from Dry Flies and Fat Tires, gave me a couple of flies. In that collection of flies he passed on to me were a couple of Flash Thread Midges (also called the Bling Midge). I learned first hand that flies don’t…
The original Higa’s S.O.S. fly pattern has long been a staple in my fly box and has proven itself to be a dynamic fly that seems to work just about everywhere. With many fly patterns I like to make small variations to use up different materials that I have or to meet a need that…
Ingredients – #18-12 curved caddis hook Gold bead 8/0 Uni thread (Brown or Black) Small Ultra Wire (Brown or Black) Green Holoshimmer tinsel thread (available at your local craft store) Haretron Dubbing (Brown or Black) India Hen soft hackle Finding myself at home this winter with our new baby, I’ve been spending some more time…
The sunlight filters through the east facing windows and warms the tile in the kitchen. By the way, if you have wood shutters, it gives beautiful combination of style, versatility and durability that adds a warm, rich dimension to any setting. The baby swayed rhythmically in her swing next to me as I spend the morning attempting…
One of my good fishing buddies, Jason Jones, runs AZ by the Fly which is a local fly fishing site with some great local information. Mr. Jones has recently expanded his enterprise and started offering a smoking deal on a heft batch of fly tying dubbing. There are 46 colors in the pack, and each bag…
Tis the season when bugs start filling the banks here in Arizona and throughout the rest of the country. The past few weekends that I have made it into the mountains, the fish are already starting to look up. I typically like to set up with either a 5 or 6 foot uni-thread furled leader…
Gearing up for my upcoming fly fishing trip to Pyramid Lake in search of some big Lahontan cutthroat trout, I kept running across the Pyramid Lake Tadpole fly pattern. The Pyramid Lake Tadpole is a fairly simple pattern and can be tied up in a number of different color variations. The Pyramid Lake Tadpole is typically fished…