Barbless or barbed hooks? How does the barb help keep trout on the hook? And is there a higher mortality rate with barbed hooks?

Continue reading Q&A: Barbless Hooks or Barbed? Does It Matter? at Troutbitten.

On March 11, join the Troutbitten crew from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at New Trail Brewing Company in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

We're proud to announce a collaboration we've been working on for a while. This is a fly tying event and general hangout with the guys from the Troutbitten Podcast. Included in your ticket price is the New Trail X Troutbitten Collaboration T-shirt ahead of its public release. And your first beer is on the house at New Trail.

Continue reading EVENT: Troutbitten Fly Tying Night with New Trail Brewing at Troutbitten.

No matter what we’re into, there’s a time when the learning of skills reaches a critical mass, when it’s time to do rather than read more about it and buy more gear.
. . .There’s a time for learning. There's time for preparation. And then there’s time for doing — for putting all of it into practice, making the casts, covering water and catching fish . . .

Continue reading When Gear Gets In the Way at Troutbitten.

It’s easy to understand how tying flies makes you a better angler. And many fly fishermen take their passion for the river directly over to the vise. With that passion follows artistry. And for that kind of artist, what is wound around wire and bound to a hook comes with beauty . . . or there is no point.

One of the best tyers I’ve ever known would tie a dozen of the same fly and keep only two or three, stripping the rest with a razor blade to the bare hook. Why? He said he only fished the ones that had a soul . . .

Continue reading Angler Types in Profile — The Fly Tying Artist at Troutbitten.

This episode of the Troutbitten Podcast is about tying flies. It's about how that aspect of fly fishing changes everything for us. Most of us wish to be a complete angler -- one who is well rounded, ready for anything and versatile.

By tying flies, we get closer to that goal, because tying flies engages us in a deeper way. We’re more connected, more invested in what we tie to the end of the line. With a few turns of monofilament through the hook eye, we are attached to our own creations and our own solutions . . .

Continue reading Podcast: Fly Tying and the Complete Angler — S5, Ep2 at Troutbitten.

Two more turns to anchor the tail. Keep it tight. Build a solid foundation, or the whole thing falls apart after a few fish — and that costs time. The shortening days steal enough of that already.

Continue reading Midnight Vise at Troutbitten.

So, if there will be no industry standard on sizing and strength for hooks (and there won’t be), can we at least have the dimensions for each hook that we’re sold? Give us the measurements: hook length, wire diameter, gap width. Why is this so hard?

. . . Given the proliferation of hook brands — many of high quality — this seems the only logical thing to do. Give your buyer the information. Tell them what they are buying. This is the information age, friends! Yes, we can handle this!

Continue reading May We Have the Hook Dimensions, Please? at Troutbitten.

Every once in a while, the mainstay beadhead nymphs in my box see a drop in productivity. Sometimes, it takes hours or even days of denial for me to accept the message. First, I try going smaller, into the #18 and #20 range, focusing on black beads and duller finishes that have mixed, mostly subpar results. Then eventually, I flip over a leaf in my fly box, where, on the backside, I have rows of natural nymphs. They carry no bead and have minimal lead wraps on the shank for weight. These are subtle, unassuming flies, and their main attraction is an inherent motion, providing a lifelike representation of the leggy critters that trout eat.

The flies are fur nymphs. And they’re the perfect change up when trout are tired of your beadheads.

When trout are sick of seeing flashbacks, sparkly dubbing, gaudy colors or rubber legs, feed ‘em fur . . .

Continue reading Feed ‘Em Fur at Troutbitten.

Last night, I slumped back in my chair and away from the tying desk. It’s lit like an operating room. With three hi-wattage beams shining on one very small object from left, right and center, my eyes don’t miss much. Combine that with 2X-power readers and some steady hands, and I can turn out well crafted flies as small as you like. I have no trouble inserting details into a fly, but I’ve never approached fly tying with that kind of goal anyway.

Like most good fly tyers who are better fishermen, I learned long ago that realism in a fly is one thing to a trout and another thing to a fisherman. So I scrapped that bias and whittled my patterns down to the elements that I believe attract fish. My guiding theory on fly design is that trout are looking for a reason not to eat my fly. So I limit materials only to what’s necessary. Nothing more.

Hare's Ear is one of those materials. Here's why . . .

Continue reading What’s the Deal With Hare’s Ear? at Troutbitten.

Would you believe it if I told you that jig hooks don't change the way a nymph rides in the water? You don’t need a jig hook to invert the nymph. In fact almost all nymphs invert, especially when weighted with a bead or lead. Furthermore, nymphs built on a jig hook probably aren’t inverting the way you imagine. And how you attach the knot is much more important than the hook itself . . .

Continue reading Nymph Hook Inversion — And the Myth of the Jig Hook at Troutbitten.