Fly Fishing Life

The goal of this blog is to share some of the successful strategies I have learned over the years for fly-fishing at night and to provide some tips learned the hard way that can increase your success and make your time on the water more enjoyable. The approaches presented in this two-part blog address night fishing as follows: Part 1. Using surface flies Part 2. Using sub-surface flies (i.e. streamers, wooly buggers, girdle bugs, etc.) fished on sink-tip lines.  There are a limitless number of ways to catch trout. The strategies and concepts presented in this blog represent a mere drop in an ocean of information available today for success in trout fishing. Every time I talk with someone on the river, I am amazed that after almost 50 years of stream trout fishing, I learn something new from everyone I meet. I humbly provide my limited experiences in night fishing in the hopes that that they will accelerate your learning curve on how to excel in this wonderful hobby. In this first part, the focus is on safety tips, parameters for choosing surface flies, and going through some surface flies I have found to be productive. In the second part, the focus is on parameters for choosing sub-surface flies, going through some sub-surface flies I have found to be productive, and sharing some hard-earned tips for do's and don'ts while night fishing. Why Fish at Night? There are at least two good reasons to fish for trout at night. First, fishing at night ups your odds of landing larger trout as they often feed during darkness when they are safer from predators. Secondly, when summer water conditions are low and very clear, it can be very difficult to catch fish during daylight hours as the fish become impossibly skittish. Fishing at night relieves that problem and can be quite productive. As an example, last week I started in a shaded run before sunset and did not see or flush any fish for nearly 2 hours. An hour and fifteen minutes after sunset, the switch turned on and I caught 12 fish between 15" and 11" inches in an hour and a half! When Is it Dark? Dark begins roughly between 1-1 ½ hours after sunset at night and ends roughly the same amount of time before sunrise in the morning. Details on why this is the case were presented in a previous blog, "When Is It Really Dark." Please refer to that if you wish to know more.  A Word on the Leader Unlike daytime fishing where the tippet size and length of the leader is critical to your success, at night the fish are not leader shy. A 5-foot leader made up of equal lengths of 20-pound and 10-12 pound-test monofilament or fluorocarbon is sufficient. Each has its own benefits; monofilament is more supple while fluorocarbon is more abrasion resistant. If you are like me, I use whatever I have on hand. The shorter leader is helpful for turning over the bigger flies you will be using and will hold up when you hook a big brute! Before getting into the thick of things, let's review some safety guidelines.  SAFETY CONCERNS  If you are going to try fishing in the dark these are some important safety guidelines to make the outing enjoyable and safe. I have not gotten into trouble yet but I have gotten close enough to realize the following are good “rules of thumb” while fishing in the dark.  1. Unless you are being guided, it is highly preferable to fish areas of a river that you have waded previously and are familiar with the location of deeper holes and other hazards. Fish with a friend if you can. If you are going to fish alone, tell someone where you are fishing and the approximate time you intend to start and finish. If there has been a significant rain in the previous 2-3 days check on-line for stream data for river gage height to see if it is safe to fish. Alternatively, arrive at the river early enough determine if it is safe for night fishing, or wait for enough light in the morning to determine whether it is safe to fish. If there is a significant rain occurring while you are traveling to the river watch the river height carefully while you are fishing. If it rains hard enough, run-off can come through in a tsunami-like fashion.  If you are fishing a tailrace fishery near a dam, pay very close attention to the water level as it can rise rapidly when the gates are opened. This is increasingly important the closer you are to the dam.  Do not fish if you have seen lightening or heard thunder in the last half hour. This is especially important if you are fishing in the mountains where weather changes occur more rapidly. Many fishermen have been killed fishing while it is lightening. Choosing Between Surface and Sub-Surface flies Keep in mind the old adage, "rules are made to be broken" holds in any type of fishing. However, the following generalizations are guidelines I have developed and found productive as I continue exploring fishing at night. First, and foremost, let the fish tell you what they want. It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking you know what the fish want because yesterday I slayed them on _________, you can fill in the blank with the fly you used. If you are not getting takes on surface flies after trying three or four different types, switch to sub-surface flies and vice-versa if you start with sub-surface flies.  Let's say you start with surface flies. I give each fly 10-15 minutes to produce a take or two. If nothing happens, it's time to try a different style surface fly. If I don't get a few takes after 30-45 minutes using 2-3 different flies, I switch to sub-surface flies. These same guidelines apply when you start with sub-surface flies. If nothing happens after 30-45 minutes using different colors and styles of sub-surface flies, I switch to surface flies. That's why I bought a new reel so I could have three spools. One is set-up with a dry fly line, one with a short sink-tip line, and one with a longer faster sinking sink-tip line. It takes me 6-8 minutes to switch over in the dark. I timed myself several times to convince myself it doesn't take that much time. Using Surface Flies while Fishing at Night The Influence of Water Temperature: Surface flies tend to work best from late spring to early fall. The water temperatures in this period run from the upper 50's to the upper 60's. (It is not recommended to fish when the water exceeds 68° Fahrenheit as the stress on the fish as you play it can be lethal.) It is always worth trying these any time of the year. However, don't spend too much time with them if you are not getting any action.  The Different Types of Takes on a Surface Fly:  Takes can vary from hearing nothing on the take and the fish is all of a sudden on to an audible kerplunk like someone dropped a medium-sized rock into the water.  No Sound Takes: It is fairly common to hear nothing and all of a sudden feel the weight of the fish on the line. When this happens, you don't need to set the hook, just keep the line tight. The fly will seat itself as you play the fish. I use barbless flies for ease of catch-and-release on the fish and myself. They penetrate faster than barbed hooks. My experience has been I lose more fish trying to set the hook in these instances. My theory is that as you try to set the hook, no matter how hard you try not to, you move the rod slightly forward to get more oomph into the hook set. That creates a momentary slack in the line which allow the fish to get off. Kerplunk Takes: These are the most fun and often mean it is a larger fish. When you hear the big kerplunk take, steel yourself, you have to wait until the fish turns after the take before setting the hook. Last week I made a cast and the line got fouled on my vest. I was busy trying to free the line when I heard a kerplunk take. It took a second or two to find the end of the fly rod and set the hook. The fly was entirely in the fish's mouth and lodged under its tongue. It was a good reminder that waiting to set the hook in these cases is the way to go. Bloop Takes: Many of the takes on a surface fly make a sound like when you purse your lips together behind your teeth and pop your lips out and away at the same time. It is often quite soft, but it is very distinct bloop-type sound. It can be difficult to recognize the sound when you are near riffles or when the wind is jostling leaves. I fished three times with a guide and spent most of each night with him asking me, "Did you hear that?" Eventually, I told him, "If I had heard it, I would have set the hook." He thought that was pretty funny. I finally heard the sound several outings later on a windless night in the middle of a deep slow stretch. As soon as I heard it, I thought, "Hey, that's probably a take!" and set the hook. Having the thought and deciding to set the hook gave just enough of a delay that I hooked the fish. Now that I know what the sound is, I can hear it behind me when I am fishing a hatch during the day.  Splashy Misses: These are annoying more than anything. I have tried setting the hook as soon as I can and delayed for a couple of seconds and rarely hook a fish on these takes. I recently read a blog where the author suggested that these are most often smaller fish that are trying to kill the fly so they can take it on a second attempt. This assuages my ego for missing nearly all of these and it sounds like a reasonable explanation. So, I have elected to accept it with no supporting evidence other than I rarely hook fish on these takes. Some successful surface flies for night fishing. Clockwise  from the upper left: #4 Chernobyl Ant; #6 Ger's Mouse; #10 Killer Beetle; and #2 Black Gurgler It seems like almost anything will work on the surface. You will notice that the Gurgler is about 2 inches long and the Killer Beetle is around 3/4". On any given night one of these may be preferred. It is a good idea to cycle through each of these until you find one that is working. Also, the preference may be different in different stretches of the river on the same night. I have not found color to be super important. However, I have no doubt that occasionally it will be. I have avoided the traditional spun deer hair mouse patterns as they are harder to cast and prone to being blown around by the wind. All of these are fairly compact and cast reasonably well. I just recently ran across the Morrish Mouse fly. Unlike traditional spun deer hair mouse flies, it is flatter and more compact. I decided to test it out and discovered it not only cast reasonably well, it also caught fish. It had been a somewhat slow evening and nothing had happened for the last 20 minutes or so. I had decided if nothing happened on the next cast, I was going to call it an evening and go home. After two strips with no sound at all, my rod bent over and the line began to hum. Bigger fish often pull the line taut enough to cause this line hum so that was a good sign. It took a while before I saw the fish and immediately I knew it was a good fish. As I tried to lift the net, it became quite evident there was some heft to the fish. It turned out to be a big fat 18" brown with a bulge in its stomach! Even though the fish had clearly eaten it was still on the prowl.  Catching this fish also reinforced the need to vary the retrieve until you find what triggers the fish. Earlier in the outing, it was sufficient to slowly strip the fly and jostle the rod tip to trigger takes. Eventually, that style of retrieve stopped producing takes. I tried a series of different retrieves and discovered that a hard short strip with a short pause retrieve started producing splashy misses. So, I stuck with that retrieve even though the fish weren't getting hooked. Perseverance paid off with the as it eventually produced the biggest fish of the night. It converted a decent outing into an outstanding one.  The pictures below show the size of the fly, how the fish chewed up the new fly, and how the fly produced line twist in my leader. Initially, there was no observable line twist with a 2X tippet which is 10-pound test . However, as the evening progressed, I started seeing some line twist which worsened to the point that after catching the 18" brown my line caught the rod during my false casting and produced the tangle shown in the last picture. Apparently, the wings of the fly caused the line to twist. When you see this, go up one or two tippet sizes until the twisting is no longer observed. After several tries, I determined that using 2 ½ feet of the butt section of a 2X leader with 2 feet of 25-pound test tippet prevented line twist with the Moorish Mouse. Most other flies will not require such a heavy leader to avoid line twist. New (left) and used (right) Morrish Mouse flies Line twist resulting from using a morrish mouse fly for one night Earlier this summer I missed what I thought was a good fish and came back the next night and fished the same spot earlier in the evening to no avail. I came back 2 ½ hours later and recast the same fly. The water exploded as the fly hit the water. It turned out to be a gorgeous 17" brown that fought like a 20+-inch fish. This points out the importance of covering known good spots well and more than once on the same evening.  17" Brown caught on a #4 Peacock Herl Caddis (inset picture)  I used the same Peacock Herl Caddis on the night I caught 12 fish between 15" and 11" inches in an hour and a half after catching nothing before dark. A week later, in a different portion of the stream, nothing was interested in it. I switched to a large Chernobyl Ant and immediately started getting fish!  Ger's mouse (named after the guide that taught me how to night fish) has been a staple and seems to work most nights. The weird part is it seems like the more the fly gets battered, the better it works. Below is a picture of a battle-worn Ger's mouse that keeps catching fish besides an unused new fly. I have no idea why this is true, but the fish love the beat-up version! So, I intend to keep using it until I lose it or everything falls off the hook! Beat up Ger's Mouse (left) vs. an unused version (right) A few years ago, I took my son night fishing on October 15th, the last day of our season. We started shortly before sundown and it had been a fairly slow until just past sunset. He could barely see the fly but it didn't matter as this 15" brown in full spawning color did a kerplunk take. Ben set the hook and the rest was history! Persistence eventually pays! The author's son with a gorgeous 15" pre-spawn brown caught at night on the last night of our season When to Switch to Sub-Surface Flies: Obviously, if you aren't getting any takes, it's a good idea to switch to sub-surface flies. The tougher situation is when you are getting takes but the fish are getting off frequently. This is usually an indication that the fish are not fully committed and it's time to go to sub-surface flies. There have been outings where the fish in different runs preferred different presentations requiring two or more changes between surface and sub-surface flies. Fortunately, these have not been that common in my experience.  Hopefully, Part 1 has equipped you to know when to use surface flies and get you started with some flies that have worked well for me. Let me know if you have any questions in comment section below.  In Part 2 we will focus on parameters for when to use sub-surface flies, going through some sub-surface flies I have found to be productive, and sharing some hard-earned tips for do's and don'ts while night fishing.

Build a complete trout setup with Cortland fly line, leader and tippet designed to work together. A simple, budget-friendly system for weekend anglers.

I’m going to be completely upfront with you: I am not here to preach the one true gospel of fly leaders. If there’s one thing I’ve learned on the water, it’s that leader mechanics are deeply personal. Everyone has a unique casting stroke, tempo, and loop shape. A leader that turns over like a dream for my casting style might feel completely clunky to yours. I wrote this piece because when I first started diving down the leader-building rabbit hole, I was just looking for a solid starting point. This article is simply a summary of my own real-world experiments on the water, the lessons I’ve gathered from anglers far smarter than me, and the basic frameworks that have worked for my fishing. Consider this an open invitation to experiment, tweak, break the rules, and find what works for you. My hope is that this serves as a helpful baseline. The Core Philosophy: Working Backwards The most important concept to grasp when building a custom leader is simple: your leader is a delivery system. Its sole job is to transport a specific fly to a specific fish and maintain the correct type of contact once that fly hits the water. When anglers struggle with leaders, it’s usually because they start building from the fly line forward. Instead, the secret to a high-performance custom leader is to work backwards: Start at the Fly: What fly am I delivering, and how does it need to behave in the water column? Consider the Fish & Habitat: What species am I targeting, and what structure (rocks, timber, heavy currents) am I dealing with? Choose the Tippet: Select a tippet material and breaking strength that handles the fly's weight, resists abrasion, and stays stealthy enough for the environment. Design the Taper & Butt: Construct the mid-section and butt section to drive that specific fly smoothly through the air based on your fly line and casting stroke. See Product See Product See Product The Three Connections to the Fly Depending on your retrieve style, target depth, and line setup, your leader needs to create one of three distinct connection types with your fly: 1. The Direct Connection (Tight-Line / Stripping) The Scenario: Fishing sink-tips or full-sink lines pulling streamers, Clousers, or baitfish patterns for aggressive river smallmouth or coastal predators. The Goal: A straight, taut, low-stretch link between your hand and the fly for instant leverage on a strip-set. The Build Concept: Short, heavy, stiff leaders (4.5 to 7.5 feet). When pulling heavy flies on a sinking line, energy transfer is already being handled by the heavy line itself. In these setups, a simple, straight 4-foot piece of 12lb to 20lb fluorocarbon is a completely viable, high-performance leader. There’s no complex taper required—just a direct, ultra-durable link that gives you maximum leverage. 2. The Indirect Connection (Sub-Surface / Controlled Slack) The Scenario: Fishing weighted crawfish patterns, jigs, or heavy nymphs along a rocky river bottom using a floating fly line. The Goal: Controlled slack that allows the fly to sink and swim naturally while keeping you in touch with subtle strikes. The Build Concept: Moderate length (7.5 to 9 feet) with a supple mid-section. Alternatively, simplicity often wins here too: running a straight 4-to-6-foot piece of 12lb to 20lb fluorocarbon straight to a craw pattern works exceptionally well. It lets the heavy fly pull the line down naturally without complex hinge points, giving you just enough controlled slack to work the bottom while maintaining tactile contact. 3. The Subtle Connection (Topwater / Drag-Free Presentation) The Scenario: Poppers, deer hair bugs, or subtle surface patterns where drag-free drifts or delicate twitches are critical. The Goal: Controlled S-curves or micro-slack in the leader upon landing so surface current doesn't immediately drag the popper out of the strike zone. The Build Concept: Longer leaders (8 to 10+ feet) with steep step-down tapers that intentionally bleed off excess turnover energy right at the end of the cast, laying the fly down cleanly with a touch of slack. Anatomy & Mechanics: Stiffness Over Diameter Every hand-tied tapered leader relies on a fundamental balance of mechanics, traditionally organized around the 60/20/20 Rule (60% Butt Section, 20% Taper Section, 20% Tippet Section). However, the biggest mistake anglers make when selecting material for that 60% butt section is trying to match its physical diameter to the thickness of their fly line. In reality, diameter doesn't drive turnover—stiffness does. As Brian Flechsig of Mad River Outfitters highlights from legendary angler and guide Flip Pallot, the secret to a high-performance leader butt section is that it should be just slightly stiffer than the tip of your fly line. Think of your fly line and leader as a single continuous whip. If the butt section of your leader is softer or more flexible than the end of your fly line, casting energy hits a wall. The connection "hinges," losing velocity and causing your leader to drop short in a tangled heap. By choosing a hard, stiff monofilament for your butt section that matches or slightly exceeds the rigidity of your fly line tip, the leader acts as a seamless extension of the line itself. Butt Section Starting Points A great rule of thumb when choosing butt section material based on rod weight: 6wt to 8wt Rods: Start with 40 lb test hard mono for your butt section. 8wt to 9wt Rods (and heavy sink tips): Step up to 50 lb test hard mono. That said, don't be afraid to experiment. On my 7/8wt setup, I've spent a lot of time running a 50 lb test butt section and have been extremely pleased with how cleanly it turns over heavy flies without hinging. Materials & Real-World Entry Points When you start digging into custom tapers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer variety of spools on the market. To be completely honest, when I first went down this leader-building rabbit hole, I didn't start with high-end specialized spools. I  bought an inexpensive multi-pack of hard mono and fluorocarbon spools, and started experimenting. Was it top-tier competition material? No. But it got me tying, testing knots, and learning how different diameters and stiffnesses behaved on the water without breaking the bank. Once you understand the mechanics and want to step up your leader builds, you don't have to search far—we carry all the core battle-tested materials right here at J. Stockard: For Stiff Butt Sections (Energy Transfer):  Cortland Copolymer Nylon: Exceptional stiffness and high abrasion resistance, making it an ideal choice for driving energy straight out of your fly line tip into heavy streamer and popper builds. RIO Hard Mono: Formulated specifically for building heavy butt sections and warmwater/saltwater tapers that resist memory and hold up to powerful casting strokes. For Taper & Transition Sections (Versatility): Maxima Chameleon: A true legend in the leader-building community. It has unmatched knot strength, just enough rigidity to aid turnover, and a unique tint that breaks up visibility in murky or stained river currents. Scientific Anglers Premium Mono / RIO Powerflex: Supple nylon options that knot easily, retain good tensile strength, and handle smoothly throughout mid-section transitions. For Tippets (The Business End): Seaguar Fluorocarbon (Red Label / Blue Label / STS): A personal favorite for subsurface tippets. It offers absurd abrasion resistance against river bed rocks, submerged wood, and smallmouth teeth while sinking fast. Scientific Anglers Absolute Warmwater / Bass Mono: A top-tier nylon option when you need your topwater poppers and surface bugs to float high and track naturally without pulling the nose underwater. The Essential Knots Building custom leaders requires a small toolkit of dependable connections: Joining Leader Sections: The Blood Knot is our trusted go-to. It is slim, symmetrical, and glides smoothly through water and vegetation. Attaching Leader to Fly Line: Use a Perfection Loop for a quick loop-to-loop connection with welded fly line loops, or a Nail Knot for an ultra-clean, low-profile connection that glides seamlessly through your rod guides. Attaching Tippet: Use a Double Uni Knot when joining different materials (like mono taper to fluoro tippet), a Perfection Loop for quick field-replaceable tippets, or a Micro Swivel to completely eliminate line twist on heavy streamers and spinning poppers. 5 Knots For Building Leaders Read more 5 Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Fly Line Read more 4. Formulas & Frameworks: Finding Your Starting Point Remember: these formulas are battle-tested starting points designed to get you in the ballpark so you can tweak them to your personal style. Formula 1: The Direct Streamer Leader (7.5 Feet) Connection Type: Direct Connection (Tight-Line / Stripping). Target Application: Heavy Clousers, weighted sculpins, and deep-sinking streamer tactics. Goal: Maximum turnover power with zero hinging, paired with quick sink rates and instant hookset leverage. Section Length Material Spec / Test Butt (60%) 4.5 ft Hard Nylon Monofilament 25lb – 30lb (.020"–.022") Taper (20%) 1.5 ft Nylon Monofilament / Maxima 15lb – 20lb (.015"–.017") Tippet (20%) 1.5 ft (18 in) Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon 10lb – 12lb (0X – 1X) (Note: Don't forget that a straight 4-foot piece of 12lb–20lb fluorocarbon is also a fantastic, simple option here!) Formula 2: The Subtle Topwater & Popper Leader (Stepped Taper) Connection Type: Subtle Connection (Topwater / Drag-Free Presentation). Target Application: Deer hair poppers, Wiggle Minnows, and foam surface bugs. Goal: High buoyancy, zero hinging, and a steep step-down taper that drives bulky flies while laying down with controlled micro-slack to prevent drag. 8-Foot Build Section Eyeball / Rule-of-Thumb Length Material Spec / Test Butt Section (50%) 4 feet (approx. double arm's length to chest) Hard Nylon Monofilament 30lb (.022") 2nd Section (25%) 2 feet (approx. arm's length) Nylon Monofilament 25lb (.020") 3rd Section (12.5%) 1 foot (12 inches) Nylon Monofilament 20lb (.017") 4th Section (6.25%) 6 to 12 inches (pull 1 ft off spool, tie & trim) Nylon Monofilament 15lb (.015") Tippet Section 12 to 24 inches (1 to 2 feet) Nylon Monofilament 10lb – 12lb (1X – 0X) 9-Foot Build Section Eyeball / Rule-of-Thumb Length Material Spec / Test Butt Section (50%) 4.5 feet (approx. full wingspan) Hard Nylon Monofilament 30lb (.022") 2nd Section (25%) 2.5 feet (30 inches) Nylon Monofilament 25lb (.020") 3rd Section (12.5%) 1 foot (12 inches) Nylon Monofilament 20lb (.017") 4th Section (6.25%) 6 to 12 inches (pull 1 ft off spool, tie & trim) Nylon Monofilament 15lb (.015") Tippet Section 12 to 24 inches (1 to 2 feet) Nylon Monofilament 10lb – 12lb (1X – 0X) 10-Foot Build Section Eyeball / Rule-of-Thumb Length Material Spec / Test Butt Section (50%) 5 feet Hard Nylon Monofilament 30lb (.022") 2nd Section (25%) 2.5 feet (30 inches) Nylon Monofilament 25lb (.020") 3rd Section (12.5%) 1.5 feet (18 inches) Nylon Monofilament 20lb (.017") 4th Section (6.25%) 6 to 12 inches (pull 1 ft off spool, tie & trim) Nylon Monofilament 15lb (.015") Tippet Section 12 to 24 inches (1 to 2 feet) Nylon Monofilament 10lb – 12lb (1X – 0X) Pro Tip: Keep this build 100% nylon monofilament so your entire leader floats high on the surface tension, preventing your popper's nose from being pulled underwater on the retrieve. Formula 3: The Indirect Bottom-Jigging & Inshore Leader (9 Feet) Connection Type: Indirect Connection (Sub-Surface / Controlled Slack). Target Application: Crawfish patterns, weighted jigs, or saltwater crossover setups (Redfish/Snook) cast into structure. Goal: A supple transition allowing the fly line to float while the fly sinks naturally, paired with strong abrasion resistance for rocks and toothy mouths. Section Length Material Spec / Test Butt (60%) 5.5 ft Hard Nylon Monofilament 30lb (.022"–.024") Taper (20%) 1.5 ft Maxima Chameleon / Hard Mono 20lb (.017"–.018") Tippet (20%) 2.0 ft Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon 12lb – 16lb Fluorocarbon Mono vs. Fluorocarbon: What’s Between You and the Fish Read more Balancing Your Fly With Your Tippet Read more Let’s Keep the Conversation Going Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this! At the end of the day, custom leaders aren't about sitting around accumulating gear—they’re about bridging the gap between the flies you tie and how they actually perform when you’re out on the river. It’s all about bringing a higher level of intention to your time on the water. This guide is simply my baseline, and I’m constantly tweaking my setups as I test new fly designs and line pairings. I’d love to hear from you: What leader formulas have you been running to reliably turn over specific flies in your box? What setups or material tweaks have made the biggest difference in your presentation on the water? Please drop your favorite formulas, tweaks, and hard-earned tips in the comments below—I read every single one, and together we can build a fantastic resource for anglers looking to dial in their cast. We love being a part of your fly tying... and fly fishing.

Every trout stream has its own personality — its own bugs, its own moods, its own inside jokes that only the regulars are in on. But the best river-specific books have a funny way of transcending their zip code: the hatch-matching logic, the seasonal rhythms, the "here's what actually works" wisdom translates far beyond the water it was written about. That's exactly the case with Steve Culton's brand-new Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River. Yes, it's a deep dive into one of New England's great tailwaters — but whether you fish the Farmington, the Delaware, or a freestone an hour from your house, the techniques, fly patterns, and seasonal strategies inside are built to travel. Here's Steve to tell you more. Steve Culton's first book “When are you going to write a book?” For years, people kept asking. Today, the answer is, “I did.” It’s called the Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River, and the publish date is August 4, 2026. As part of Stackpole’s “Fly Fishing Guide to…” series, it’s a journal-sized paperback, about 250 pages, just the right size to keep in your car or fishing bag.  The Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River is the definitive reference for this storied tailwater. If you’ve never fished the river, and you want to go tomorrow, you can consult the book and have a good idea of where to fish, what the primary food sources will be, how you should be fishing, and which flies to use. Reference books can be detailed and technically specific, but I made a point to write this one in a conversational style. There are also numerous stories and anecdotes, because, after all, it’s fly fishing, not brain surgery.  Steve Culton The Guide is subtitled “Locations, Hatches, Flies, and Seasonal Strategies.” That covers a lot of information, so I broke the book down into four large chapters: about the river, a tour of the river (with detailed maps), important hatches and fly patterns, and how to fish the river throughout the year. Chapter One, “The Farmington River,” offers a brief history of the river. It’s loaded with fun facts so you can dazzle your friends with trivia. (How did Satan’s Kingdom get its name? Read the book and find out!) Then, it dives into the primary target species of the Farmington: trout, trout, and more trout. While not part of chapter one – it’s an appendix located at the end of the book – I’ve also included the most comprehensive reporting to date on the CT DEEP’s Survivor Strain program, which is directly responsible for the Farmington’s robust wild brown trout population.   Anglers who are just discovering the Farmington will appreciate chapter 2, “A Tour of the Farmington River.” While it flows some 80 miles from the base of Hogback Dam to its confluence with the Connecticut River, the book focuses on the 22 mile stretch from Hogback to the steel bridge in Unionville. This section is comprised of the Seasonal Trout Management Area (STMA) and the Permanent TMA (PTMA). There are six easy-to-read maps that will help you locate named pools and find your way around, accompanied by detailed descriptions of the water. My hope is that these maps will inspire you to explore, thus spreading out angler traffic. (The PTMA section sees the most angler hours/year of any river in the state.) I can tell you now that I have walked, waded, and/or fished the entire 22 miles of TMA. I don’t know of many other anglers who can make that claim. I wrote Chapter 3 for all you fly tyers, hatch nerds, and budding entomologists. It’s titled, “Important Hatches and Fly Patterns,” and I’m confident that you’ll be spending a lot of time within its pages. You’ll get hatch charts, hatch overviews, and a quarterly synopsis of what’s hatching throughout the year. But page 130 is where it gets good for fly tyers. I’ve separated the river’s food sources into five buckets: mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, midges, and other (everything from eggs to streamers to junk flies). These buckets are not intended to be hyper-detailed studies of individual bugs; using mayflies as an example, I’ve chosen the most significant hatches and given you critical information about hatch characteristics and fly types/patterns. But it’s really the fly tying recipes that shine. Using the mayflies example again, you’ll get nymphs, wets, and dries. All of these patterns are originals or variants created by local experts, many of which you won’t find anywhere else. The recipes alone are worth the price of the book. What’s more, these patterns will work on any river in the northeast and beyond. And, you can find most of the materials (or substitutes) right here on the J. Stockard site. The Farmington River is a viable year-round fishery, so Chapter 4, “Fly Fishing the Farmington River,” offers up seasonal strategies. The year is divided into four quarters. Of particular value will be the “Fly Fishing Methods” section. Unlike most other guide books that treat wet flies like a quaint oddity worthy only of a few paragraphs, I give them equal time along with dry flies, nymphs, and streamers. If you want to catch more fish on the Farmington, you’re going to need to have proficiency in all four methods.  The book’s greatest strength might be its diversity of opinion and breadth of expertise. You’ll hear from some of the river’s best, most experienced guides, like Antoine Bissieux, Steve Hogan, and Derrick Kirkpatrick; and from veteran anglers like Torrey Collins, Grady Allen, Joey Takeman, and Drew Butler. Their wisdom amounts to hundreds of years of experience, shared with you in a single resource. Now that I’ve written my first book, the question I’m getting is: “What’s your next book going to be about?” I’ve got some ideas. But what do you think? Tim Cammisa: All the resources Read more BOOK REVIEW | 'The Feather Bender's Advanced Fly Tying Techniques' Read more

Lydia Wickizer ties under the name Flannels & Flies from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she's become a self-described "unofficial hype woman for all women in angling." A member of Colorado Women Flyfishers and a Solarez and Ahrex Pro Team member, she teaches and ties at fly fishing shows across the country in support of a more inclusive fly fishing community. Summer brings plenty of reasons to celebrate: graduations, weddings, long, relaxed barbecues. On June 27, there's one more worth marking: National Women's Fly Fishing Day, a day dedicated to recognizing and supporting women in this remarkable sport. The observance has deeper roots than a single date. In 2020, Fly Fishers International's Women Connect program established June as Women's Fly Fishing Month, a month long celebration honoring female anglers worldwide. What began as a single day, June 27th, has grown over the years into this full month of recognition, with clubs and councils across the country hosting clinics, casting days, and tying nights in support of women in the sport. It's the perfect excuse to invite a woman in your life to experience fly fishing for the first time. If the weather doesn't cooperate, take the day indoors and teach her to tie a fly or work on casting technique. Better yet, learn together by exploring the many fly patterns women in this community have developed and shared over the years. Whether you're on the water or at the tying bench, the day is about more than technique. It's a chance to share stories, build connection, and celebrate the rich, evolving history of women in fly fishing together. READ MORE ABOUT WOMEN'S FLY FISHING MONTH How Fly Tying Changed the Way I See the Water Read more Fly Tying Tips for Beginners: How to Build a Routine That Actually Sticks Read more

New Jersey fly tyer and angler Kayla Gordon brings a practical, local-water perspective shaped by trout streams, hatches, and the satisfaction of catching fish on flies she tied herself. A Team Norvise and Renomed Pro Member who ties for South Branch Outfitters, she writes from the sweet spot where the bench meets the river. These are her words: Most people get into fly tying because they want to save money or catch more fish. For me, it became much more than that. Tying flies completely changed the way I look at rivers, fish, and even the smallest details on the water. When I first started fly fishing, I was only focused on catching fish. I cared more about where the fish were holding or what fly someone told me to use. I never stopped to ask, Why am I using this fly? or What is this actually imitating? Learning to Ask Why Once I started tying my own flies, though, I started paying attention to the why behind everything. Fly tying forced me to slow down and take a step away from just trying to catch fish. I began noticing bug activity, paying attention to what insects were present, how they behaved in the current, and what stage of life they were in. I found myself looking closer at things that I used to completely overlook. I found joy in flipping over rocks, watching the current, and trying to understand what the fish were feeding on instead of just guessing. Slowing Down on the Water Fly tying taught me to slow down and to pay attention. Suddenly, I was paying more attention to the size of the bug, the color, and what they look like as they flow through the current. Instead of just cycling through random flies hoping something works, I began to make more intentional decisions based on what I was seeing on the river. Confidence Over Perfection Tying my own flies also gave me a completely different level of confidence while fishing. There's honestly nothing better than catching a fish on a fly you tied yourself. It's one of those feelings that never really gets old. And the funny part is, the fish don't care if your fly is perfect. Some of my ugliest flies have caught some of my best fish. I think that's one of the biggest lessons fly tying teaches you early on: presentation and confidence matter so much more than perfection. Where Creativity Comes In I also think tying makes you much more creative as an angler. Once you understand the basics of certain patterns, you naturally start experimenting. Sometimes it's as simple as changing a dubbing color, adding a little bit of flash, trimming a fly differently, or mixing materials from a few different patterns together. One of my favorite things to do is mix different types and colors of dubbing in a coffee grinder to make my own unique dubbing. Some ideas end up being complete failures, but others turn into confidence flies I never leave home without despite how ridiculous they look. It's Okay to Tie Ugly Flies For beginners, fly tying can feel extremely intimidating at first. Social media makes it seem like every fly must look flawless to catch fish. In reality, everyone starts somewhere. My first flies were messy, overdressed, and crowded at the hook eye, but every bad fly taught me something new about tying. That learning process is honestly part of what makes tying so enjoyable to me. Beginner Fly Tying: Matching Fly Hook and Bead Size Read more Essential Guide to Simple Fly Tying Patterns for Beginners Read more The Night Before the River One of the things I appreciate most about fly tying is how much more connected it makes me feel to the entire experience. Fishing doesn't just start when I step into the river anymore. It starts the night before at my vise. I think about what the river conditions are, what bugs are currently hatching, and tying patterns that I genuinely believe in. That preparation builds excitement and makes every fish feel so much more rewarding. At the end of the day, fly tying isn't just about making flies. It changes the way you see the water, understand insects, approach fish, and appreciate the process behind every catch. Once you start tying your own flies, you stop simply fishing the river and begin understanding it. For me, that's what makes fly tying so rewarding, it turns every trip to the river into an opportunity to learn something new and to teach others.

Some fly tyers come to the vise through curiosity. Others come to it through necessity, and the craft becomes something closer to a lifeline than a hobby. Jeff Deshefy’s path runs through the second door, and it shapes everything about how he ties: purpose-driven, durable, built for water that doesn’t forgive a fly that can’t hold up to it. This month’s featured pattern, the Jumbo John, sits squarely at that intersection. It’s a fly built for heavy, demanding conditions, adapted by a tyer who understands what it means to rebuild something from the ground up. A Foundation Built Early, Rebuilt Later Jeff has been fly fishing since his early teens, introduced to the sport by his grandfather — a relationship that instilled in him a deep respect for fly fishing etiquette, conservation, and stewardship on and off the water. For years, he fished exclusively with commercially tied flies, never imagining tying would become the central part of his fishing life that it is today. That changed following a life-changing injury. Fly tying became a form of rehabilitation during his recovery — a way to rebuild both physically and mentally during a period when the usual outlets weren’t available. What started as therapy evolved into a serious pursuit, and over the following years, tying grew into a daily practice: planning new patterns, commercial tying, guiding, and exploring technical design concepts at the vise. Today, Jeff’s work reflects a balance between traditional influence and modern innovation, with a particular focus on durable, purpose-driven flies designed for the demanding conditions of Northeast steelhead and trout water. That focus is exactly what makes the Jumbo John worth featuring. From Copper John to Jumbo John The Jumbo John was originally developed by renowned Colorado fly tyer John Barr, and represents a natural evolution of one of the most influential modern nymphing patterns ever created — the Copper John. Barr’s designs, which came to define weighted nymph construction during the late 20th century, focused on hydrodynamic efficiency, rapid sink rates, and durability under demanding river conditions. Where the Copper John became widely recognized for its slim wire body and mayfly profile, the Jumbo John expanded on those same principles by scaling up size, bulk, and visual presence. Designed more as a generalized stonefly or attractor-style nymph, the pattern excels in heavy water, where depth, flash, and profile matter as much as precise imitation. The tightly wrapped wire abdomen, flashback wingcase, and weighted beadhead get the fly to the strike zone quickly — a signature of Barr’s broader design philosophy, and exactly the kind of construction that holds up to the punishment of big, aggressive fish in fast water. In the years since, anglers have continued adapting the Jumbo John through color variations and material substitutions, turning it into a versatile searching pattern capable of taking both resident trout and migratory fish. An East Coast Adaptation: Steelhead on the Salmon River Jeff’s introduction to Barr’s heavy wire nymphing concepts began after watching a documentary centered on British Columbia steelhead anglers fishing Copper Johns through powerful current seams. That exposure pushed him to experiment with the pattern during the early Lake Ontario steelhead runs in October and November, where aggressive fish responded well to bold attractor nymphs drifted deep through fast holding water. Further research led him to the Jumbo John itself — a larger, more robust interpretation that turned out to be perfectly suited to the conditions found on New York’s Salmon River. Through time on the water, Jeff began modifying color combinations to better match the tones and triggers that consistently produce strikes on this species. In colder flows and higher water, the added mass and visual presence of the Jumbo John let it function as both a searching nymph and a suggestive stonefly imitation — particularly effective during the early-season push of fresh steelhead entering from Lake Ontario, but productive throughout the winter as well. Rather than matching a specific hatch, the pattern thrives on suggestion — combining flash, weight, and silhouette to provoke reaction strikes from fish holding tight to structure in cold, heavy water. Tie It Yourself The full recipe for Jeff’s steelhead-adapted Jumbo John (hook, wire, bead, and wingcase specifications, along with his color combinations for Salmon River and Lake Ontario tributary conditions) is availabl here. Tie The Jumbo John

Shopping for a fly tyer can feel like buying a paintbrush for an artist — he probably has opinions, and he probably already owns more thread than any one person needs. But that’s exactly why a good gift lands so well: the right tool, the right material, or just a thoughtful little extra says I see what you love better than almost anything else. We’ve pulled together a range of gifts for Father’s Day (Sunday, June 21), sorted not by category but by the kind of tyer your dad is — whether he’s just getting started, fishes more than he ties, or has a fully stocked bench and swears he doesn’t need a thing. A few of these are on sale right now, too, so there’s room to be generous without overspending. The little extras (tuck one in a card) Sometimes the best gift is the small thing he keeps meaning to grab and never does. Wapsi Ultra Thread — $2.24 (15% off) The site’s top-selling thread for good reason: strong, smooth, and available in 70, 140, and 210 denier across dozens of colors. Pick up two or three shades he’s been low on. It’s the kind of refill that always gets used. Tiemco TMC 100 Dry Fly Hook — $6.26 per pack of 25 (30% off) Tiemco’s most-trusted dry fly hook, in sizes 10 through 26. At 30% off, even a dad with a drawer full of TMC 100s will happily stock up — and a few packs paired with the Ultra Thread above makes a tidy little bundle that feels like more than the sum of its parts. For the dad who fishes more than he ties Not every tying dad spends most of his time at the bench. For the one who’d rather be on the water, these earn their place in the vest. Loon Outdoors Aquel Gel Floatant — $5.94 (15% off) Loon’s best-selling silicone gel floatant won’t melt in summer heat or stiffen up when it’s cold. It’s a streamside essential small enough to slip inside a Father’s Day card as a surprise. J. Stockard Double-Sided FliCon Silicone Fly Box — $13.45 A slim, clear-lidded box with self-healing silicone foam on both sides, so hooks hold firm without crushing delicate hackle. Better organization for the streamside dad, in Large, Midge, and X-Large to match how he fishes. Bench upgrades he’ll feel every session These are the small-to-mid upgrades a working tyer notices immediately — the difference between making do and tying comfortably. Umpqua Dreamstream+ Bobbin — $17.56 (20% off) A workhorse bobbin with adjustable tension arms, a smooth steel tube, and ball-weighted arms for steady thread control. If he’s been fighting tension or snapping thread, this fixes it — and it’s a meaningful step up at 20% off. Dr. Slick All-Purpose Scissors, 4″ — $19.95 Gold loop handles, serrated blades, and a choice of straight or curved. These are the scissors tyers actually reach for on every fly. A genuine under-$20 upgrade for anyone still borrowing from the kitchen drawer, and a smart backup pair for a seasoned bench. Whiting 100-Pack Saddle Hackle — $25.45 Pre-sized Whiting hackle in a pack measured for exactly 100 dry flies — no sorting, no waste. For the dad who already has a full cape but would love a ready-to-tie pack for an evening of Sulphurs or Adams. For the dad who already has everything The trick with this one is finding the thing he’d love but won’t buy for himself. Stonfo Elite Disc Drag Bobbin — $29.75 Precision Italian engineering with a quick-adjust disc-drag tension system and a weighted stainless body. It comes in Original, Saltwater/Streamer, and Compact versions — the kind of refined upgrade a longtime tyer notices every single session. See Product See Product Getting him started — or doing it right For the dad who’s curious about tying, or the one ready to graduate from his first kit. J. Stockard Economy Vise & Tool Kit — $34.95 Everything a new tyer needs in one box: vise, scissors, bobbin, bodkin, hackle pliers, and more, with or without a carrying case. This is the “here’s how you get into it, Dad” gift that removes every excuse not to start. Dr. Slick Fly Tying Tool Gift Set — $119.95 A full bench of professional-grade tools — all-purpose scissors, ceramic bobbin, threader, bodkin, hair stacker, whip finisher, and hackle pliers — in a hard-shell display case that doubles as a fly box. Rated 4.91 out of 5, with buyers reporting their tools are still going strong years later. It’s the rare tying gift that already feels gift-wrapped, perfect for the tyer ready to move up from an entry kit to tools he’ll keep for good. The splurge When you want the gift to be the gift. PEAK Rotary Vise — $239.95 PEAK’s flagship rotary vise: a heavy pedestal base, precision cam-operated jaws, and true 360° rotation, rated 4.86 out of 5 across 49 reviews. For the serious tyer who’s been limping along on an entry-level vise, this is a bench centerpiece he’ll be using decades from now. A Guide to Introducing Children to Fishing Read more Basic Fly Tying Tools To Elevate Every Tyer’s Bench Read more When in doubt J. Stockard eGift Card — $10 to $500 If your dad has firm opinions about exactly which hackle color or hook size he needs next, let him choose. The eGift card is delivered by email — there’s a “Send as a gift?” option at checkout — so there’s nothing to wrap and nothing to ship. Available in $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, and $500. Order in time for Father’s Day Father’s Day falls on Sunday, June 21 this year, so there’s still comfortable room to shop. A few notes to make sure it arrives: Standard USPS free on orders of $100 or more — so a gift set, a vise, or a card stacked with a few extras can ship at no extra cost.  To be safe with standard shipping, order by the end of this week.  Whatever he ties, there’s something here to make this Father’s Day feel like you were paying attention all along.

Women's Fly Tying Month. Jillian Beattie traces her path from a childhood to tying her own musky flies and the tribe of women anglers she found along the way.