I’m so honored to have the opportunity to twice be the Featured Fly Tier at the Marlborough Fly Fishing Show next weekend, Jan 17-18-19. I’ve added new content to one program, and the other program is entirely new. All Featured Fly Tier demos take place on the main show floor.
Up first is “Matching The Hatch With Wet Flies,” Friday, Jan 17 at 2:30pm. I debuted this presentation last November at the International Fly Tying Symposium. Since then, I’ve added some more specific visual reference about the characteristics of the hatches I’ll be covering, which I think takes the program up another level.
Not bad company. There’s a lot of talent on this list!
On Saturday, January 18 at 11:30am, “Farmington River Favorites” will have its premier performance — and you can be there when it happens! This program will cover at least one pattern from each of the four major fly groups: nymph, wet, dry, and streamer. If time permits, I’ll throw in a bonus fly. These are all proven producers for me on the Farmington, and of course they’ll also work on any river in the northeast.
Tying the old favorite Squirrel and Ginger last year. Come see me this year, where I’ll be tying some new patterns that belong in your box.
Once again, I’ll be leading two “Classes With The Experts” at the Marlborough Fly Fishing Show next weekend. This is a great opportunity for you to book some time with me for far less than the cost of a guided trip. Both classes are designed to duplicate a teaching session on the water. Here are some details.
Tying & Fishing Wet Flies. Saturday, January 18, 2:00-4:30PM. What you’ll learn: When, where and how to fish wet flies; how to tie classic spiders, soft hackles, winged and wingless wets (I will demo these patterns and discuss materials); leader construction and how to build a team of three wet flies; matching the hatch and fly selection; plus more. Did I mention having fun?
Wet flies have been fooling trout for centuries, and the fish aren’t getting any smarter. This lovely wild Farmington River brown savaged an Isonychia soft hackle on a steamy August late afternoon.
Beyond Cast & Strip: Presentation Flies For Stripers. Sunday, January 18, 8:30-11:00AM. What You’ll Learn: How to catch the stripers that other anglers can’t; why cast-and-strip presentations are ultimately limiting; how to target and catch bigger bass on a consistent basis; how to tie classic New England-style sparse flies like bucktails, soft-hackles, and flatwings (I will demo such patterns and discuss materials); the presentations that bring your fly to the fish; and more!
Being able to repeatedly catch big bass like this on the fly from shore is no accident. Take this class, and I’ll reveal my secrets of how I do it.
It’s just a month away! The 2025 Marlborough Fly Fishing Show will be held Friday, January 17 though Sunday, January 19. I’ll be there all three days, along with some of the best and brightest in the fly fishing world. This is a great opportunity to up your skills, meet some exceptional anglers, and have a plain old great time. From demos to talks to classes, I’ve got a busy schedule:
Friday, January 17, 11am, Destination Theater Room A: The Farmington River: Southern New England’s Blue Ribbon Trout Stream. In addition to the river, I’ll also be talking about my upcoming book on the Farmington River.
What a fantastic resource, right here in our back yard. Oh! There’s this new guide book coming out, too…
Friday, January 17, 2:30pm, Featured Tier: Matching the Hatch with Wet Flies. Come see me on the main show floor as I talk about matching specific wet flies to popular hatches — then show you how I tie the fly. These patterns are all consistent producers that should be in your box.
If you aren’t familiar with the singularly awesome power of this wet fly, you should come get acquainted.
Friday, January 17, 4:30pm, Seminar (Release Room): Wet Flies: Fishing Under the Hatch. A new look at fishing wet flies and soft hackles. If you’ve ever wanted to be that person who is catching all the fish, come to this seminar. There are times when wet flies will dramatically out-fish any other style, and the angler who understands the hatches — and how to match them — will be handsomely rewarded.
Saturday, January 18, 10am, Destination Theater Room A: The Farmington River: Southern New England’s Blue Ribbon Trout Stream. In case you can’t make it Friday, a repeat performance. In addition to the river, I’ll also be talking about my upcoming book on the Farmington River.
Saturday, January 18, 11:30am, Featured Tier: Farmington River Favorites. Come see me on the main show floor as I talk about and tie some of my favorite Farmington River guide flies. My secret weapons revealed!
This lovely wild brown ate one of the flies I’m going to demo. You should have it in your box.
Saturday, January 18, 2pm – 4:30m, Class: Tying and Fishing Wet Flies with Steve Culton: This is the next best thing to a lesson on the water! You too can become a dangerous wet fly machine. While not a tying class, I will demo tying classic North Country spiders, winged, and wingless wet flies that trout can’t resist, and show you how to rig and fish them. The course also covers basics like leader construction, matching the hatch, fly selection, where to fish wet flies, and how to fish them. All levels. Click HERE for more info and to register.
Sunday, January 19, 8:30am – 11am, Class: Beyond Cast & Strip: Presentation Flies for Striped Bass. Have you ever wanted to catch bigger stripers on a consistent basis — or the stripers that no one else seems able to catch? This class is for you! It covers traditional New England-style bucktails, soft-hackles, and flatwings, and how to fish them. These are sparse flies that look alive even when at rest and creat the illusion of life. While not a tying class, I will demo some patterns. All Levels. Click HERE for more info and to register.
Being able to repeatedly catch big bass on the fly from shore is no accident. Come to this class and I’ll show you how I do it.
Sunday, January 19, 3pm, Destination Theater Room A: Wet Flies 101. If you’re not fishing wet flies, you’re missing out. This is an intro to the ancient and traditional art of subsurface fly fishing with wets and soft hackles.
As usual, I’m counting on the currentseams crew to make a strong turnout. See you there, and please come say hello.
The 2024 International Fly Tying Symposium has come and gone, leaving in its wake many fond memories, new tying swag, and new acquaintances made. The event runs from Saturday to Sunday; Saturday is typically the busy day, with crowds dwindling by Sunday afternoon (it’s hard to compete with the NFL). If you’ve never been, you should, because it’s a tremendous opportunity to watch some of the best tyers in the world in action. You can meet them, watch them, talk to them, ask questions — I do all of that when I take a break and walk the room. There are private classes where you can receive personalized instruction. There are seminars that are included in the price of your ticket. And four times a day, featured fly tyers who tie and present to a small audience.
On Saturday night there’s a banquet, and everyone who attends gets a goody bag of fly tying swag. Thread, tools, materials…it’s all good stuff. Post-dinner, I hosted a little wine party attended by several luminaries in the fly tying world. Properly hydrated, Sunday went off without a hitch. Here’s some of the weekend in photos. Check out my Instagram @stevecultonflyfishing for more, soon.
The first thing I did Saturday morning was put on my fanboy hat and go meet Jeff Blood. Jeff’s the originator of the Blood Dot Egg, my favorite steelhead egg pattern. Jeff was warm and welcoming and it was invaluable to be able to discuss steelheading and Lake Erie trib fly fishing with him. Jeff gave me some braid we use to tie the White Death Zonker, another favorite pattern of his. Later, I returned to my tying station to find two dozen Blood Dots and another package of White Death braid on my chair. Wow! Thank you, Jeff! I’ve also wanted to meet Son Tao since I read about his Caddis Emerger pattern in Pat Dorsey’s book Favorite Flies for Colorado. I shared a table with Bob Lindquist, Delaware River guide extraordinaire (and contributing photographer for my upcoming Farmington River book). Son was one table down the aisle, so it was easy to chat. He is one heckuva skilled tier. Also a shout out to David White who sat at the table next to me. Great to meet you!Not too shabby company! I was so honored to be included in this roster. This was my first time as Featured Tier in the Symposium, and my session was very well attended. If you were in the group, thank you for participating. Thank you also to everyone who stopped by my table to watch and ask questions and talk fly fishing. Tying LaFontaine’s Diving Caddis. Thanks, Phil, for the wonderful photos. It’s hard to believe that I’d never met Bob Clouser before this weekend. Bob was FFT just before me, so that seemed like a natural time to say hello. Whether you’re a presenter like me, a vendor, or an attendee, Bob’s kind nature is typical of the overwhelmingly positive energy you’ll get from everyone at the show. You’re with your tribe. People want to talk to you. So…you’re coming next year. Right? Or to the Marlborough and Edison Fly Fishing Shows in January. Right?
“Matching The Hatch With Wet Flies.” That’s the title of my Featured Tier demo this Sunday at 11:45am at the International Fly Tying Symposium in Somerset, NJ. As I prepare for the demo, I had a few thoughts I wanted to share.
When you’re fishing wet flies, matching the hatch doesn’t matter — until it does. And then, you’d best be prepared. What I mean is, there will be times when fish will eat a wet fly simply because it looks alive and like something good to eat. The bug that wet fly is supposed to represent may not be hatching at that moment. It may be entirely out of season. It may be the wrong color or size. But nonetheless, it gets stomped.
However, the more you fish with a team of three wet flies, the more you will encounter situations where the trout will only have what’s hatching, presented in the water column exactly where they are feeding on the naturals. They may pick out one fly on the three fly team to the ruthless exclusion of the other flies. That’s when matching the hatch pays dividends. You’ll be the person leaving the pool, trailed by other anglers who will want to know, “What fly were you using?”
So: know your hatch windows. Understand what food is most likely to be in the water. Understand how those bugs behave. Specific patterns aren’t as important as matching size, color, and profile. Give the trout a choice. They will always tell you when you get it right.
See you this weekend!
LaFontaine’s Diving Caddis is a good choice for a late afternoon-into evening pattern — because that’s when the trout are most likely to be seeing egg-laying female caddisflies. One memorable evening, I landed two dozen trout in two hours — sixteen on the Diving Caddis.
Time flies when you’re writing a book, and I can’t believe we’re only one weekend away from the 2024 International Fly Tying Symposium. That’s right, next weekend, November 16-17 in Somerset, NJ. They will be vendors galore with all kinds of hard-to-find-stuff, along with some of the best fly tyers in the world. There are classes, seminars (free with admission) and featured fly tyers (like yours truly!) Check out the seminar schedule:
And the featured tier list! (Note the slot on Sunday at 11:45, which of course will be of particular interest and importance.)
I’m looking forward to seeing you there. Please come say hello!
Once again, I’ll be appearing at the International Fly Tying Symposium this November 16-17, 2024, at the Hilton Doubletree in Somerset, NJ. This is great opportunity to mingle, mix, and see some of the best fly tiers on planet earth: Thomas Baltz. Jeff Blood. Bob Clouser. Tim Cammisa. Tim Flagler. And that’s just one partial alphabetical column. Oh! There’s also a well-stocked marketplace that always has common and hard-to-find items. There are classes, seminars, and featured tying demos. The last two are free with your admission, and I’ll be one of the featured tiers on Sunday at 11:45, which will get you home in time for football. The demo is “Matching the Hatch with Wet Flies.” I hope to see you there!
Tuesday night I spoke to the Merrimac River Valley TU Chapter in Manchester, NH. The topic was the Farmington River, and we talked about that and a host of other fly fishing subjects. What an enthusiastic, attentive group! What’s more, MRVTU understands that a fed presenter is a happy presenter, and so they are hereby awarded the OPP with BOTC, and are entitled to all the privileges of that rank. Thanks again, group.
One of the questions I took involved the concept of the “go-to fly.” I explained why I couldn’t answer the question — at least not the answer the asker was looking for — and that answer is best summed up here.
On Wednesday night I spoke to the East Jersey Trout Unlimited group about wet flies — specifically, getting into wet fly fishing, with the program title being “Wet Flies 101.” What a great group, very involved audience, and a gratifying turnout. The passion this group has for fly fishing is very evident. I’m already looking forward to coming back, especially if I can start the evening off with a burger and an IPA at ReBar just a few minutes away.
During the post-presentation Q&A, I was asked a really good question. I didn’t like my answer, and it bothered me all the way home. I’d like to represent the question, and give what I think is a much better answer.
Q: You say when you’re swinging wets, you have to wait a few seconds before you set the hook or you’ll lose the fish. How come when you’re nymphing you need to set the hook right away? A: I don’t know if this is a definitive answer, but I can tell you my best calculated guess. When you’re swinging or dangling a wet fly downstream in current, you’re fishing a tight line. There’s tension present. And then, you have a moving fish applying force, and then quickly changing the direction of that force. My advice to clients is to feel the hit, ask the question, “Are you still there?” and then set the hook. Do that, and the fish essentially hooks itself. When you’re nymphing, the fish behaves differently. It doesn’t rise from the depths, then turn and swim a few feet back down to the bottom. It’s typically feeding on station, near the bottom, perhaps not moving much at all, or maybe just a few inches. It sees your nymph, opens its mouth, and eats the fly. It’s a far more passive transaction. Setting the hook forcefully downstream seals the deal before the trout can reject the fly (if it does that at all). When you’re nymphing, you can still catch fish without setting — we’ve all had instances when we’re not paying attention and we manage to hook and land the fish regardless — but setting the hook had and fast will certainly result in more trout to net.
Do this when nymphing — a downstream set with a low, hard sweep — and your catch rate will soar. Hooksets are free, so look for a reason to set the hook on every drift!
I always have a good time at the Fly Fishing Show. But looking back at this year’s Edison show, it might have been my favorite — ever. I think it’s because I reconnected with so many old friends, strengthened some newer friendships, and had more first-time meetings. I gave away and traded a bunch of flies. My classes drew well, and I had some impressive crowds for my talks. Oh. I also bought stuff — some I wanted, some I needed, all of it putting a smile on my face. Here’s my show experience in pictures.
I knew Jeff Currier was an exceptional angler. I didn’t know that he’s one of the best — really — on the planet. I’ve been saying hi to and chatting with Jeff and his significant other, Granny, at these shows for a couple years, but at Marlborough I spent more time hanging out, getting to know him, and giving him some wet flies. At Edison, I gave him some smallmouth flies to try, and I bought one of his mugs. You see, in addition to being a world-class angler, Jeff is also a talented artist. The mug isn’t for coffee. I’m going to put it on my fly tying bench and use it as a stash container. (I bought the striped bass mug, not pictured.) I also picked up a new chest pack for guiding on the Farmington, the Umpqua Overlook, and some zingers and a fly box and some spiffy new Dr. Slick nippers that are way too expensive for nippers — but they look so damn good. Reviews on all to come.I also picked up Joe Cordero’s new flatwing book, Colors In The Current. You can get it from his website, and I will be reviewing here in the future. Here’s Joe signing my copy. Speaking of signing, I also finally got Ed Engle to sign my copy of Trout Lessons, and Landon Mayer to sign my copy of The Hunt For Giant Trout. Yes, I’m a total fan boy. Dang! I missed George Daniel.Not a bad lineup to bat leadoff. I had a nearly packed house for my Friday talk, Modern Wet Fly Strategies. The 9:45am slot is the first seminar of the day, and it can be a tough draw. At 9:30am, the room was empty save for me. I needn’t have worried. A trickle became a steady stream, and 15 minutes later I had another strong audience. If you came out to see me, I want to thank you. I’m truly grateful for your attendance and your enthusiasm.Jonny King as featured fly tyer. I always tell people to come say hello on the river or at these shows, and I was delighted by the number of people who did so at Edison. Jonny was one of them, and now I have a new friend. Author John Field, whom I’ve spoken to, but never met, also tracked me down. He said he’d tried to get my attention earlier, but I hadn’t heard his shouts. Rats! I’m hearing impaired, and on a busy show floor, even with my hearing aid, a lot of audio information gets lost. So If I breeze on by, my apologies, and please don’t take it personally. I probably never heard you.Dinner time in Edison means a trip to my favorite Chinese restaurant, Shanghai Dumpling. It doesn’t get much more authentic than this. Tim Flagler turned me on to it a few years back, and I always get and extra order or two to bring home. Besides the dumplings, the spicy pork Udon is the bomb. We all like spending money on shiny new gear, but classes are a much better investment if you want to become a better angler. Thank you so much to the keen students and enthusiastic anglers who took this class and my wet fly class on Saturday. Fish on!All good things must end, so I left the show the way I started it: at the Blue Quill Angler booth. Pat Dorsey and Chris Steinbeck, on the bookends L and R, have become good friends. They let me park my stuff at their booth when I wanted to wander the floor, and I’m grateful for that. I got to know Landon Mayer better at Marlborough and this show — we trade flies like kids trade baseball cards — and he is an exceptional tier and so enthusiastic about fly fishing. I wish I was heading out west some time soon to see my friends and fish, but that will have to wait. So I’ll console myself with a little Colorado dreaming…and chuckle at Pat and Landon Bogarting my wet fly presentation board.
