Fly Fishing Life

Spring fly fishing is not one thing. That's the part most seasonal guides skip over — the breezy assumption that "spring" means trout rising to dry flies on a postcard-perfect tailwater. And yes, that's part of it. But while trout tyers are loading up their nymph boxes for opening day, Great Lakes steelhead are pushing into tributary streams on spawn runs, and striped bass are moving north up the Atlantic coast in one of the most dramatic seasonal migrations in all of fly fishing.  Three entirely different systems. Three entirely different fly boxes. All happening at the same time. Understanding each system — its timing, its fly requirements, and how to prepare for it at the tying bench — is how you build real seasonal credibility as an angler. This is our breakdown. System one: the trout opener and the spring nymph box The timing Trout season openings are state-regulated and vary more than most anglers realize. New York's inland trout season opens April 1. Pennsylvania and much of New England follow in early April. In the Rocky Mountain West, Colorado's Arkansas River is fishing hard through April on caddis larva patterns, while Montana's general season opener falls on the third Saturday of May. Tailwaters — the San Juan in New Mexico, the South Platte in Colorado, the Bighorn in Montana — fish year-round, but the real action shifts in spring as water temperatures climb and insects begin their first significant hatches of the year. What's consistent across all of these fisheries is that spring trout fishing is, above all else, a nymphing game — at least until conditions mature enough to produce reliable surface activity. What's happening underwater As water temperatures rise above 45°F, aquatic insect larvae become dramatically more active. Blue-winged olive nymphs, small stoneflies, caddis larva, and midges are all on the move before the surface hatches you're waiting for even start. Trout that have been conserving energy through winter respond to this subsurface abundance aggressively. Pre-spawn rainbows and cutthroat — feeding hard before the spawn itself — are among the most catchable fish of the entire year during this window. Spring nymphs to have on the bench Your spring nymph box should cover three scenarios: dead-drift bottom-bouncing in cold, high water; lighter nymphing as temperatures climb and fish rise in the water column; and the transitional window when surface activity begins but fish are still intercepting emergers before they break the film. For the first scenario, tungsten-beaded patterns in sizes 14–18 are non-negotiable. A Pheasant Tail nymph weighted with a slotted tungsten bead gets down where fish are holding in early-season flows. Hare's Ear variations remain one of the most versatile searching patterns in cold water. As conditions warm, unweighted soft hackles and wet flies — fished on the swing — start to produce, particularly during BWO hatches when trout are taking nymphs and emergers in the film. Midge larvae and pupa deserve a section of their own. In tailwaters especially, midge fishing in spring is as technical as it gets — sizes 20–26, sparse dressing, and perfect presentation. Zebra midges, jig-style midge larva on a Hanak or Firehole competition hook, and soft-hackled WD-40 variations are worth having tied in quantity before opening weekend. A few patterns worth prioritizing: the Perdigon nymph (fast-sinking, slick-bodied, excellent in fast water), the Walt's Worm for Hare's Ear country, and small beadhead Copper Johns as general-purpose attractors when you're not sure what the trout are eating. Opening Day: April on the water = mud on the boots Read more Leaders & Tippet for Spring Trout in the West Read more System two: Spawn Intruders and the spring steelhead run The timing Spring steelhead is one of fly fishing's most demanding and most rewarding seasonal pursuits. On the Pacific Northwest coast — the Olympic Peninsula, the Deschutes, the North Umpqua — winter-run fish are still in the rivers through early spring, while spring-run fish begin entering Pacific rivers from March onward. In the Great Lakes tributaries — the Muskegon, the Pere Marquette, the Salmon River — spring steelhead runs peak between March and May depending on water temperatures and snowmelt conditions. These are big fish in heavy water, often moving on spawn instinct rather than hunger, which makes fly selection and presentation a different proposition than trout nymphing. Why Intruders work The Intruder — developed by Washington's Scott Howell in the 1990s — solved a specific problem: how do you present a large, mobile profile to a steelhead holding in fast, deep water without the fly collapsing under current pressure? The answer was a spey-style design built almost entirely from materials that breathe and pulse in the water: ostrich herl, marabou, rhea, guinea fowl, arctic fox — all selected for their ability to move at even minimal current speeds. Spring steelhead are not actively feeding in the conventional sense. They respond to the swing of a large, mobile fly across their holding position — a territorial or predatory response to something that intrudes on their space. Hence the name. Tying spring Intruders A functional spring Intruder for Great Lakes or PNW water is typically tied on a shank with a trailing hook — the long shank carries the body and collar materials, while the trailing hook sits at the bend of the finished fly where fish strike. This design keeps the hook point free from the bulk of the dressing and improves both hook-up rates and fly action. Color selection in spring generally favors darker, more visible profiles in off-color water: black and blue, purple and black, orange and pink. In clearer water as spring progresses, natural tones — olive, tan, white — become more productive. Materials to have on hand: EP Fibers or arctic fox for the body, marabou for movement, guinea fowl or schlappen for the rear collar, and ostrich herl for the front hackle. The whole fly should breathe and pulse at the slightest current pressure — if it looks alive in a sink full of water, it'll work in a river. System three: the striper migration and durable Deceivers The timing The spring striped bass migration is one of the great seasonal events in fly fishing, and its timing is as predictable as it is weather-dependent. Beginning in late February and March, post-spawn stripers start moving north from their wintering grounds off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts, following warming water temperatures up the Atlantic seaboard. The Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River, and Hudson River serve as the three main spawning systems — producing the vast majority of migratory East Coast stripers. By mid-April, fish are staging on the flats of Raritan Bay in New Jersey and entering the Hudson to spawn. By early May, post-spawn fish are moving north in earnest — appearing along Long Island's south shore, pushing into Connecticut's tidal rivers, and reaching Cape Cod and Massachusetts Bay by mid-May. By late May and into June, big fish are spread from the New York Bight to Maine. For fly anglers, the most productive windows are the staging period — when fish are concentrated in bays and river mouths and feeding aggressively — and the northward migration, when stripers are actively pursuing baitfish, particularly bunker, herring, and squid. The Ultimate Guide to Tying Bluefish Flies Read more Clouser's Half and Half Variant Read more Why Deceivers — and why they need to be durable Bob Clouser's Clouser Minnow gets the name recognition in saltwater fly fishing circles, and for fast-sinking baitfish presentations it remains essential. But the Deceiver — Lefty Kreh's foundational design — is the pattern that actually built striper fly fishing on the East Coast, and it remains the most versatile fly in the saltwater box. Long saddle hackle tails, a Bucktail collar, and a profile that can be scaled from 3-inch schoolie patterns to 8-inch trophy presentations — the Deceiver covers more water and more situations than any other single design. The "durable" part matters more than it's sometimes acknowledged. Saltwater fly fishing puts gear through conditions that freshwater fishing simply doesn't: salt, sand, repeated casting of heavy patterns, and the abrasive mouths of stripers that will chew through thread wraps and delaminate inadequately finished flies fast. A bench-tied Deceiver that falls apart after two fish is a problem when the migration is on and you don't want to be re-rigging. Tying durable Deceivers for spring stripers Durability begins with the hook. A quality saltwater hook in 2/0 to 4/0 — corrosion-resistant, with a strong gauge wire — is the foundation. Ahrex and Gamakatsu both make excellent options in this size range. Threads should be bonded at the head with UV resin or epoxy — this is non-negotiable for any fly going into the brine. For the tail, long-fibered saddle hackles — four to six feathers, matched and married — create the signature Deceiver silhouette. Bucktail at the collar keeps the fly from fouling and adds bulk. White, chartreuse, and olive/white are reliable spring color combinations, with all-white or pearl-belly/dark-back patterns being particularly effective when matching herring or sand eels. Flashabou or Krystal Flash strands tied in sparse at the tail add movement and light reflection without overwhelming the natural baitfish profile. Keep it sparse — three to five strands per side. A red thread collar at the throat imitates the gill and triggers strikes that cleaner flies miss. For the migration window specifically, tie a range of sizes. Early spring in turbid water near river mouths calls for larger, more visible flies. As water clears and fish move to open coastal areas, smaller, more refined presentations often outperform. Building your spring fly fishing system The common thread across all three of these systems — spring nymphs, Spawn Intruders, and durable Deceivers — is intentionality at the tying bench before the season opens. Each system rewards preparation differently: the nymph angler who shows up on opening day with a well-stocked box of size 18 BH Pheasant Tails and size 22 zebra midges will fish circles around the one who brought last summer's box. The steelheader who tied a dozen Intruders through winter is ready when the first spring fish push into the tributary. And the striper angler whose Deceivers are built to last won't be re-rigging on the mud flat when the migration shows up at low tide. Spring fly fishing rewards the angler who treats the season as three distinct opportunities — not one.

The pre-spawn window is the best few weeks of the year for fly fishing for bass. Here's what to tie, what to throw, and how to get it into the structure where largemouth actually live

Inside Fly Hook Design with Fulling Mill A conversation with Steve Carew (Group Technical Manager) and Dominic Lentini (Marketing & Product Development) about hook geometry, the two-year development process, and why there's no such thing as a standard hook size. When you shop for a size 16 dry fly hook on our site, you're probably making an assumption: that every manufacturer's size 16 is roughly the same. You'd be wrong. "There's no industry standard," says Steve Carew, Group Technical Manager at Fulling Mill. "Sizing is always relative. Until you physically hold the hook, you don't fully know how it'll feel." This revelation — that hook sizing is essentially different across manufacturers — is just one of many insights from our conversation with Carew and Dominic Lentini, who handles marketing and product development for Fulling Mill. What started as a discussion about their new hook range for 2025-26 quickly became a technical deep-dive into the geometry, manufacturing challenges, and design philosophy behind modern fly hooks. For context: Fulling Mill has been producing flies since the 1930s in Kenya, where they currently employ over 300 artisan fly tyers producing more than four million flies annually. Their hooks are manufactured by a renowned Japanese company known for chemically sharpened, high-carbon steel hooks. In recent years, Fulling Mill has expanded beyond flies into a full ecosystem of hooks, materials, and accessories—all informed by feedback from top-tier anglers like Tom Rosenbauer, Tim Flagler, and competitive anglers like Devin Olsen. Tom at the vise (c) Fulling Mill  In Conversation with Fulling Mill Fulling Mill has evolved from being ‘hooks only’ to a wide product range. How is the feedback from top tyers shaping product development? Steve Carew: Originally, hooks, materials, and beads were about securing supply for our own fly production. Many suppliers were unreliable. To keep production consistent, we started sourcing materials ourselves. Once we did that, we realized we had genuinely good products—often better than what was available—so we began selling them. Now we work closely with top tyers — such as Tom Rosenbauer, Tim Flagler, Cheech Pierce and Curtis Fry — and they actively feed ideas back to us: colors, materials, thread choices. What started as internal support has become a collaborative development pipeline. Dominic Lentini: A great example is a video I filmed with Devin Olsen before the World Fly Fishing Championships. He's incredibly analytical — tracking hook-ups, landing percentages, hook styles across scenarios. That data, combined with feedback from anglers like Pat Weiss in Pennsylvania or tiers in Colorado, gives us a spectrum of use cases. We don't average opinions, we weigh what matters most for the everyday angler. Competitive anglers are ultra-specific and analytical. But your average small-stream angler just wants confidence in their hook. How do you balance that? Steve: Wire gauge is the clearest example. Competition anglers fish ultra-light rods and tippet—they need thin wire hooks that set easily. Most anglers aren't doing that. They want stronger hooks that inspire confidence on bigger fish. We design for both, but competition anglers are a small percentage. The majority are everyday anglers, and hooks must suit them. Dom: That's why many of our hooks come in standard and heavy wire versions. A spring-creek angler fishing 8x needs finesse. Someone fishing heavy flows out west needs durability. Giving options is key. See Product See Product So, out of that, are hooks still the starting point, or does the problem come first? Steve: The problem comes first. Dom had fish feeding on spinners in fast water on his favorite river. Light wire hooks weren't an option, so he used a much heavier wire barbless hook in our range. But the issue then was getting it to float and present properly. Problem → hook → fly design. What's the development timeline for a hook? Steve: About two years. Drawings to order might take six months. Production takes 12–18 months. We don't get samples. Hook factories run nonstop. Setup is expensive. Everything is designed from drawings and measurements. Hooks are refined over multiple production runs based on feedback. Certain sizes are "prime." Others need tweaking—gape, wire gauge, point angle—especially at extreme sizes. Dom: A great example is our Jig Force Short. People say it looks oversized. Steve: Visually, yes—because of the wide gape. But the shank length is correct. Until you physically hold the hook, you don't fully know how it'll feel. We now build in extra size checks before launch. There's no industry standard—sizing is always relative. Dom: Perception matters. If anglers feel a hook runs big, we need to explain what they're seeing and guide them accordingly. How do you launch new hooks without neglecting best-sellers? And do old hooks get phased out? Dom: We don't get samples. When hooks land, that's often my first time seeing them. Shipping timelines vary, so marketing stays flexible. We highlight new hooks initially, then fold them into broader barbed/barbless campaigns. Existing best-sellers remain central. Steve: Discontinuation is simple: does it sell? If not, it goes. We avoid overlap—developing a hook takes too long to duplicate something we already have. How important is retail feedback? Steve: Critical. One consumer request is anecdotal. Retailers seeing consistent demand—like asking for size 24 hooks—drives action. Does selling flies vs. materials compete? Steve: We're happy either way. Ideally, customers can buy the fly or the full material list—that's where we want to go. Built for fishing (c) Fulling Mill  The Takeaway The next time you're standing at a fly shop comparing hooks, remember: that size 16 in your hand might measure differently than the size 16 sitting next to it. Wire gauge, gape width, shank length, bend style—all of these variables shift between manufacturers, and none of them are standardized. What matters most, according to Carew and Lentini, is understanding what you're actually buying. A wide-gape jig hook will look bigger than a standard dry fly hook of the same size. A 2X-heavy wire hook will feel more substantial than a 1X-fine. And a hook designed for competition Euro nymphing will behave very differently from one built for general-purpose nymphing. Fulling Mill's approach—rooted in decades of fly production, informed by competitive anglers and everyday fishers alike, and refined over a two-year development cycle—is to design hooks that solve specific problems first, then worry about the numbering system second. As Steve puts it: "The problem comes first. Then the hook. Then the fly design." Tim Cammisa on How to Build a Brand in Fly Fishing Read more In Conversation With Tim Flagler Read more

Learn how to fish a sink tip fly line more effectively by adjusting streamer color, size, retrieve direction, and pattern choice. Practical on-water insights to help you trigger more trout.

This year, skip the subtle hints and the wishlist nobody's checking. Buy yourself the gifts that actually matter. The ones that'll make you want to sit down at the bench instead of forcing yourself there out of obligation. The Best Gifts For Fly Tyers (If They Were Shopping For Themselves) A Vise That Changes Everything See Product Let’s begin with something a little blunt: if you’re still wrestling with an entry‑level vise, then now is the time to step it up. This Massachusetts-made workhorse combines bulletproof jaw strength with smooth rotary capability, making it the kind of upgrade that transforms your tying sessions from frustrating to effortless. The magic lies in Regal's compression-style jaws—squeeze the lever, drop in any hook from size 22 to 3/0, release, and you're locked in tight with zero adjustment needed. That translates your favorite woolly bugger pattern into a size 8 or dropping down to a size 18 midge becomes a two-second hook swap rather than a fumbling jaw-adjustment interlude. While hardcore rotary enthusiasts might prefer vises with more refined center-axis rotation, the Revolution shines for tyers who want the flexibility of occasional rotary work without sacrificing Regal's legendary simplicity.  Yes, it's a serious investment (depending on your jaw and base configuration), but this is a vise you'll still be using twenty years from now—and one that makes every fly you tie just a little bit better. Consider it less of a purchase and more of a long-term relationship with quality American craftsmanship that shows up every time you sit down at the bench. The Material Innovation Nobody Saw Coming See Product See Product See Product Andy Kitchener's ABCs (Andy's Bugs and Creatures) fall into that rare category of fly tying materials that make you rethink entire patterns. Not because they're flashy or trendy, but because they solve problems you didn't realize were problems until you tried them. The Suede Chenille creates segmented bodies with realistic texture and bulk without the weight penalty of natural materials. Caddis larvae, scuds, and stonefly nymphs all look alive underwater instead of like thread wrapped around a hook. Everything is pre-tapered, pre-segmented, and available in sizes that actually match real bugs instead of what we wish bugs looked like. What makes ABCs worth your money though goes way beyond the realism; it's the efficiency. These materials cut tying time in half while improving the final product. You're tying flies that catch fish, and you're doing it faster. And if you've ever tied a realistic nymph only to watch it get demolished by the first trout, you'll appreciate the durability. ABCs materials hold up to teeth, rocks, and the kind of abuse that makes natural materials disintegrate. The Right (Rite) Bobbin See Product The Rite Bobbin has an adjustable tension 'click-drag' that lets you dial in exactly how much resistance you want. Tying with 14/0 on a size 22 midge? Light tension. Wrapping GSP on a size 2 streamer? Crank it up. The ceramic tube prevents fraying, and the solid brass arm means this thing will outlast your tying bench. Dr. Slick Razor Scissors See Product If you're still using the scissors that came in your starter kit, it's time. Not because they're broken—they probably still work—but because "work" and "excellent" are different standards. Dr. Slick Razor Scissors feature micro-serrated blades on one side and a smooth razor edge on the other. The serrations grip synthetics and bucktail without slipping. The razor edge slices through CDC and hackle stems without crushing. And the adjustable tension screw means you can tune them for delicate dry fly work or bulk streamer trimming. Choosing a Style of Fly Tying Scissors Read more Must-Have Fly Tying Scissors for Precision Read more Loon UV Infiniti Light See Product If you’ve been fumbling with cheap UV torches or still waiting minutes for cement to dry, the Infiniti Light feels like a revelation. With a powerful beam, consistent output, and USB-rechargeable battery (included), it cures UV resin cleanly and quickly. The design is sleek but serious, built to last on your bench for seasons to come. This is an upgrade that improves the quality and flow of your tying instantly.  Go on, treat yourself...

Some time ago I wrote a blog on how to take advantage of “windows of activity” that occur as water is rising or falling during a runoff event on the river. I mentioned in passing that I like using a sink-tip fly line in conjunction with streamers that have a spun deer hair head. This blog explores why this combination can be deadly when streamer fishing. There are many decisions one must make when streamer fishing. The following are some of the basic choices to make about the streamer: Size Color Style Fishing up- or downstream As always, any tool works best in a handful of situations. That’s why our fly vests are stuffed with dozens and dozens of flies and who knows how many gadgets. This blog will focus on the advantages of using a sink-tip fly line with spun deer hair streamers. These lines can be used with any type of streamer. However, streamers with a spun deer hair head have some unique advantages. That is the topic of this blog. The Set-up: The line: Diagram 1 below shows the components of a generic sink tip line. The sink tip portion is usually a different color from the rest of the line. Working from right to left, it consists of a short sinking front taper and the sink tip body. Together these are referred to as the sink tip. This portion is weighted and can often be purchased in different weights leading to faster and slower sink rates. The sink tip is followed by the floating body and the back taper which is attached to the running line which also floats. The floating body and back taper make it easier to lift the line off the water.  Components of a Generic Sink Tip Fly Line Choosing the right sink tip line  Sink tip fly lines consist of a sinking tip section attached in front of a floating line. The sink tip can be various lengths and have different sink rates. A shorter sink tip with a slower sink rate is designed for use in shallower water with little or modest current since they sink more slowly. Longer sink tips are designed to go deeper faster and are for use in deeper water with more current. You may have to try a couple of different lines to find what works best for the river conditions you will be fishing. A good fly shop should be able to coach you through that choice. Being frugal by nature, I found my first line on sale on-line. It turned out to be too heavy for my rivers. Consequently, I spent a lot of time getting the line freed up from rocks. After I decided this was something I was going to commit to, I purchased a shorter and lower sink rate line that minimizes the line catching on rocks and other obstacles in the river.  A large arbor reel and two or three extra spools are highly recommended The sink tip portion of the line is prone to line memory which will make casting more difficult. A large arbor reel will minimize this problem. Having two or more spare spools allows you to switch between dry fly fishing with a floating line and multiple sink tip lines to use in various conditions. There are some decent reels that come with two extra spools and will not break the bank while still being serviceable. I have three spools. One for dry fly fishing and shallow streamer situations, a short slow sink tip line when getting a streamer a little deeper is necessary, and a longer and faster sink tip line when I need to get the streamer deeper into bigger holes. It only takes 7-9 minutes to switch spools and tie on a new fly or flies (I have timed that, so it is a real number. I had to convince myself it wasn’t that hard to switch over.) A quick side note on sink tip fly lines. Most of the time you experience a snag, it is actually the line itself getting caught on an obstruction. At first, I didn’t appreciate that as I was fishing in cloudy run-off water. It wasn’t until I fished in clearer water where I discovered the line was snagged. The beauty of that is a strong roll cast going past where the line is stuck will almost always free the line and you can continue fishing! The Leader Unlike dry fly fishing where long tapered leaders are needed. Streamer fishing with a sink tip line works best with a 4–5-foot leader consisting of equal lengths (24-32 inches) of 20-pound test and 10–12-pound test monofilament or fluorocarbon. 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 leader is purposefully short and is an important factor in getting your fly to the proper depth.  Mono vs. Fluorocarbon: What’s Between You and the Fish Read more 5 Knots For Building Leaders Read more The Big Advantages Of Sink Tip Fly Lines: Using a sink tip line makes it easier to pick your line up off the water and cast than a full sinking line and you don’t have to go to larger and heavier rods needed to handle full sinking lines. The action this impart to streamers with a spun deer hair head. Diagram 2 below shows in cartoon form what happens. The strip causes the streamer to be pulled under water and the pause allows the streamer to rise. This imitates an injured or dying prey fish and triggers the take. You can cast very close to shore or other structure in the water without snagging since the fly floats. This is important as fish often hold very close to areas like this. I have seen fish smash the streamer the instant it hits the water! This is the step-by-step sequence during the retrieve shown in the cartoon below. Step 1: The sink tip has sunk which creates a belly between the floating line and the floating streamer. When the angler makes the first strip, it pulls the streamer down into the water. Step 2: The depth that the streamer goes depends on how long the angler waits to make the first strip and the length of the strip. The longer the angler waits before the first strip, the deeper the belly goes into the water and the deeper it will take the streamer. The longer the strip, the deeper the streamer goes. So, the angler has many variables to control to determine how deep the streamer goes on each strip. Step 3: The angler pauses between strips. The longer the pause between the strips, the more the streamer rises. If you wait long enough, the streamer can even return to the surface. Step 4: The angler strips line again and the streamer is pulled deeper and repeats the cycle of steps 1-3. The key factor is the streamer rises on the pause between the strips which imitates a dying or injured fish. This can be like waving a big piece of prime rib in front of a hungry lion. Notice, I said, “can be.” If the fish are on as I described in a previous blog, “Opportunistic Streamer Fishing,” they will smash the streamer. However, if the fish are off, you can cast for a very long time without seeing a single fish. However, in conditions like this, if you do trigger a fish, it can be very big. The operative words are, “can be.” Some anglers fully commit to fishing like this. They would rather catch one trophy fish and are willing to go fishless. I am not one of those anglers. I choose to use this approach judiciously choosing to do it during runoff conditions or at night. Even at night, there are good nights where you will have a lot of action using a sink tip line with a spun deer hair streamer and get some bigger fish. But there are nights where there will be few if any takes. My experience has been that streamer fishing tends to be an either/or situation. Either the fish are on and you will get a lot of action. Or, they are off and little or nothing will happen. But in either situation if you use a larger streamer, you are putting yourself in position to get a bigger fish. Part 2 of this series will explore the importance of: Streamer color, size, and style Fishing upstream or downstream Getting multiple fish out of certain spots Using other types of streamers. ---

Explore how fly tyer and educator Tim Cammisa built Trout & Feather into a global fly fishing brand. Learn his content strategies, top fly patterns, and business insights.

From teacher to fly fishing entrepreneur: Tim Cammisa reveals his strategies for YouTube success, book marketing, and building a profitable brand in fly tying.

A retired fly fishing instructor reflects on the joys and challenges of teaching the sport, the value of patience, and how mentoring beginners deepened his own skills and understanding.