When you work the Pusher, imagine the wings flexing and pulsing as you hand twist retrieve and pulse the rod tip on a three count. See the fly in your mind's eye and make it come alive in the dark. Then hold on tight . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Fly Box — The Harvey Pusher Night Fly (with VIDEO) at Troutbitten.

The Perfect Parachute Ant is so effective and so versatile for me, that it's the only terrestrial I carry in my box, most days . . .

Continue reading VIDEO: The Perfect Parachute Ant — Troutbitten Fly Box at Troutbitten.

When you work the Pusher, imagine the wings flexing and pulsing as you hand twist retrieve and pulse the rod tip on a three count. See the fly in your mind's eye and make it come alive in the dark. Then hold on tight . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Fly Box — The Harvey Pusher Night Fly (with VIDEO) at Troutbitten.

The Perfect Parachute Ant is so effective and so versatile for me, that it's the only terrestrial I carry in my box, most days . . .

Continue reading VIDEO: The Perfect Parachute Ant — Troutbitten Fly Box at Troutbitten.

Some flies do one thing really well. Other flies are your workhorse on the water, lending solutions to river problems by being adaptable. These are the flies we reach for over and over. These are the flies we tie first and keep well stocked. This is the Craft Fur . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Fly Box — The Craft Fur Jig and The Craft Fur Streamer (with VIDEO) at Troutbitten.

Show up on time, do your job and have a little fun while you’re at it. Then go home and do it all over again tomorrow. That’s a blue collar worker. It's a Pheasant Tail with a CDC collar. It has a little disco for the rib and a hot spot collar. It's simple, reliable and effective . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Fly Box — The Blue Collar Worker (with VIDEO) 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.

All long term anglers find a set of files to believe in. We attach a confidence to these patterns that carries over from the moment we form the knot to the hook eye. We fish better with these flies. We make them work. With more focus, we refine each drift with our best patterns. But there’s also something special about a great fly to begin with . . .

The set of flies below are built and carried as a system. There is very little overlap. Each fly does a specific job or offers the trout a certain look. I could tie a Hare’s Ear in five different colors, but I don’t. Instead, I see the flies in my box as pieces of a puzzle that lock together and fill out a whole . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Confidence Flies: Seventeen Nymphs at Troutbitten.

With the jig tied in, I quickly learned that nothing rides the bottom of the river like a ball jig. It bounces, canters, pivots and tap dances around rocks and gravel like nothing else. The ball itself is the key. It allows for some very unique presentations and movements. And when you really want to hug the bottom, you can set up your rig to feel those taps, as the jig glides and scratches along the river bed.

That’s not to suggest that I constantly present a jig deep down and glued to the rocks. Not at all. But when I do want to touch the bottom, to feel the rocks, hold a position or reach into the depths with precision, a jig is the perfect vehicle. That is the key. That’s the special sauce of the jig . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Fly Box — The Jig Streamers at Troutbitten.

The Full Pint is one of the only permanent additions to my streamer box in the last few years. I test a lot of patterns against my confidence lineup, and very few flies make the cut. My box of long flies covers all the bases, really. And because I’m (mostly) a minimalist, I don’t add anything that is similar to other flies that I already carry.

But the Full Pint dazzled trout at the first dance. It had a big night the first time out. Then, day after day when I set the hook on a swirl or felt the jolting stop of a large trout slam the fly in mid-strip, I marveled at the Pint’s effectiveness . . .

Continue reading Troutbitten Fly Box — The Full Pint Streamer (with VIDEO) at Troutbitten.