Jason is an avid fly angler and backpacker. As a former fly fishing guide originally from Western New York, he moved to Colorado and became an early adopter of tenkara which perfectly suited the small, high altitude streams and lakes there. He has not fished a Western-style fly rod for trout since.
This easy-to-make strike indicator was invented by the French during an international fly fishing competition and was recently featured in Fly Fisherman Magazine. It’s basically a monofilament “spring” that is very sensitive and gives you a good visual indication of even the most subtle strikes. I don’t know if the French have a name for…
Here’s my favorite, general purpose midge pattern. It’s easy to tie and very effective. While you could tie them in any color I mostly tie them only in black. Materials Hook: Tiemco 2488 #20 – 24 Thread: Red 8/0 Abdomen: Hareline Ultra Chenille Micro, black Thorax: Hareline Ice Dub, Olive Brown Breathers: Polypropylene Yarn, white…
To me, one of the most interesting challenges of fly fishing on multi-day hikes is coming up with a system that allows you to carry all of the essentials without lugging a 15 lb. vest up the trail. Although my system is constantly evolving, here’s one that I found works well. Total weight (including rod): …
I’m one of those people who likes to fish my way up to my campsite. I’m usually not wading so leaving my pack on while I hit pocket water along the way is my typical MO. Yet, I want quick access to my flies, floatant, nippers, and tippet. Here’s a great little pouch you can…
For many of us, backpacking deep into the wilderness means fishing small streams with a lot of pocket water. I ran across this quick video demonstrating the high-sticking technique with some tips on how to avoid drag in these tricky little pockets.
A long time ago, multi-piece fly rods were considered junk. The technology to prevent multiple ferrules from compromising the action of the rod simply hadn’t been perfected yet. Fast-forward to the present and we are lucky enough to have a multitude of pack rods that cast just as well as 2-piece rods. Lucky for us,…
For the backpacking fly fisher, choosing flies that are multi-use allows you to save space and carry a lighter, more packable fly box. I can’t think of a better, more versatile pattern than the humble hair-wing dun. It’s easy to tie, can represent a variety of species, and is convertible. Leave the tails on and…