Here’s my argument. The water haul has its place. It’s the perfect once-in-a while casting solution for tricky situations, and it’s a problem solver. But for day-to-day life on the water, it’s a lousy approach to fly fishing. Real quick . . . The water haul or water...
Here are two great things about nymph fishing: One, good drifts with a nymph catch trout in almost any river scenario. And two, there’s an endless set of variables to play with. The other fly styles — dry, streamer and wet fly, are easier to master. Dries, being...
Many anglers struggle with split shot, simply because they don't have a good system for using it. These days, the prevalence of tungsten beads for nymphs, coneheads for streamers, etc., has more anglers than ever giving up split shot or not even carrying it. That's a...
Do you use weighted flies or split shot? It’s a common question with a flawed premise. Why choose? Why limit yourself to one or the other? And why use only one at a time? Unless you’re a dry-fly-only angler, you need weight to get flies under the surface and down to...
So you hate split shot, right? I’ve never had anyone tell me that they like using it. But for me, split shot is a convenient and useful tool in my vest, and I think it’s underrated. It does things for me that can’t be done any other way, and I like it. Yes, I like split shot. Sure, I prefer weighted flies over having shot crimped to the line. (My nymph box is full of tungsten beaded flies.) But I also carry a selection of unweighted patterns that get a regular workout while using split shot for the weight.
Here are some thoughts about all that . . .
Why so much hate for the split shot? Guys grumble about attaching it to the line, bitch about removing it and snarl when it slides. That's too much hate for such a timeless and effective tool. Sometimes, using split shot just makes the most sense. In a variety of...