Articles in the Category Tactics

The Streamer Head Flip VIDEO

My favorite streamer presentation and my best trick for convincing trout to eat a streamer now has a companion video.

The head flip helps seal the deal on tough trout that won’t commit, and it’s a great look for almost any streamer — big, small, heavy or light. It’s a presentation that I use every day, because it works in so many situations.

Q&A: Blind Striking

I don’t guess, because I might ruin my best chance. I also do everything I can to be in contact or just slightly out of contact with the nymph, whether that’s on a tight line to my rod tip or under an indicator. And I trust my skills this way, more than I trust my instinct to set on nothing . . .

Mono Rigs and Euro Leaders — Micro Thin or Standard? (with VIDEO)

This is an absolute keystone to understanding all the information out there about long leader systems. I hope you enjoy it.

Just like the fly lines that these long leaders substitute for, the range and variety of leader formulas leads to a lot of confusion.

Mono Rigs, euro rigs, tight line or contact rigs: Yes, there’s a difference in those terms. But everything we’ll consider here applies to them all. Basically, if what is outside of your rod guides is the leader only (or even just a thin euro fly line), then it helps to understand how the leader build affects our possibilities for how we might fish . . .

The TB Yarn Indy Hack

What we at Troutbitten have affectionately called the Dorsey has undergone a few changes over the years. I use less yarn, two colors for better visibility and smaller bands. I pre-bunch the yarn at my tying desk with minimal wraps of 8/0 Uni-Thread, and sometimes . . . just once in a while . . . I add a small piece of split shot to the line above the indy.

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #16 — You don’t need big flies to catch big trout

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #16 — You don’t need big flies to catch big trout

I’ll get right to the point: Your best bet for catching trophy trout is with medium to small flies. More specifically, large nymphs or small streamers are the perfect size. 

I’ve written about making the choice between going for big fish or for a bunch of fish, arguing that you can’t have both. I’ve also pushed the point on these Troutbitten pages that catching big fish does not require fishing big flies.

Talking with my buddy, Matt Grobe, the other day, he summed it up like this: “Fishing large streamers is the most overrated thing out there for catching the big ones.” Nice. And this is coming from a guy who fishes the heart of Montana, around Bozeman and beyond, all year round.

All of this goes seems to go against currently prevailing wisdom, but it wasn’t always that way . . .

Beads are the Best

Beads are the Best

  Hatch Magazine published my article, "Beads are the Best," with some candid thoughts on when, why and how beadhead flies work. Here's an excerpt . . . -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- . . . I’m not trying to catch all the fish on all the days anymore. More often,...

Fishing with a Camera

Fishing with a Camera

  UPDATE: (Oct. 2017) -- Two summers ago, I wrote this short guide for choosing a fishing camera and carrying it on the water. The point is simple -- select something that you can accept losing, because whatever camera you fish with will eventually be destroyed....

What to Trust

What to Trust

The tall man crossed the old railroad bridge above me. He paused at the midpoint, lingered and watched me cast for a moment, then he bellowed downstream to me with a voice full of triumph. “I caught a bunch! They’re taking Zebra Midges just under the surface.” “Not...

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Night Shift – Into the Dark

Night Shift – Into the Dark

You can't stand up to the night until you understand what's hiding in its shadows.  -- Charles De Lint Last June I made a commitment. I promised myself that I would go deep into the night game and learn to catch the wildest trout in the darkest hours. Having spent a...

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Efficiency: Part 2 – Leader/Tippet Changes

Efficiency: Part 2 – Leader/Tippet Changes

  My best days on the water are usually full of changes. The morning fog burns off, and I switch from streamers to nymphs; a half hour later, a swirling back eddy looks like the home of the next nameable brown trout (two footer), and I go back to...

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Efficiency: Part 1 – Knots

Efficiency: Part 1 – Knots

"You can't catch a fish without your fly in the water." Efficiency has become a game for me; it's something I enjoy; it's something I think about when I'm not fishing, and I'm constantly trying to improve on a system that keeps my flies in the water and the downtime...

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DIY – Bar Boots

DIY – Bar Boots

I burn through boot soles fast. And cheap boots with poor foot support are a bad idea when you're wading heavy runs and putting full days on the water with lots of hiking, so I was spending about $150 every ten months on a new pair of boots. I used to resole my own...

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