Tag Archives: fly tying

Crossroads Anglers Tuesday night and IFTS less than 4 weeks away

Happy Monday! I wish I had some fishing stories to tell you — specifically, fishing stories about a recent outing — but lately, it’s been no fishing for me. I was supposed to guide on the Farmington today, but my client had to cancel. Tempting though it would have been to be on the water, I decided to, as David Bowie said, “stay home…and get things done.” So, here we are. Also: we need rain. If you have any influence of the weather, please exercise those muscles.

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, October 27, I’m talking about the “Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River” to the Crossroads Anglers at the South Foxboro Community Center, 6:30pm. Everyone is welcome. I’ll have a box o’ books in case you don’t have one, and if you do — smart person! — I’ll have a Sharpie on hand for signing. Here’s a link to the Crossroads Anglers website. Hope to see you there!

Lots of talking coming up. I can’t thank you enough for being there and listening. Photo by Joey Takeman

Coming up fast: The International Fly Tying Symposium, November 21 & 22. Previously held in Somerset, NJ, the show has shifted to Lancaster, PA. While that makes it a little G.U. for New Englanders, I’m hoping some of you will make it down. And if you’re reading this in any of the mid-Atlantic states, you’re now within reasonable driving distance from the single best fly tying show in the world. In addition to some outstanding tyers, there will be vendors galore, like Regal Vise, for whom I ‘m a Staff Pro, and J.Stockard, for whom I’m a Pro Tyer. Every year, I find some hard-to-locate tool or tying material at the Symposium. But the best part is the talent. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned just by walking around and talking to my fellow fly tyers, or listening in of one of their talks. There are classes (you must pre-register), Featured Tyers (come see me demoing Wet Flies & Soft Hackles for Northeast Streams on Sunday, November 22 at 10:30am, and Seminars (I’ll be presenting Tying & Fishing Wet Flies, Saturday, November 21 at 1:45pm). While you have to pre-register for classes, the featured tiers and seminars are all included in your admission ticket. If you’re there, please come say hello.

And now, I’m heading off to shoot an Instagram video.

At FRAA Weds Oct 21 and the Instagram reel that lost its mind

I’m back on the book promo trail this week as the Farmington River Anglers Association hosts me Wednesday, October 21 at 7pm at Brewery Legitimus in New Hartford, CT. The subject, of course, will be the “Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River.” If you don’t have a copy, I’ll have some with me, and if you do, bring it along and I’ll be happy to sign it. This is a must-attend talk if you fish the river — no matter what your level of expertise, I guarantee you’ll learn something — and you get to enjoy a local brew while you listen. That’s a double win!

Old photo. I ditched the traditional vest for a chest pack years ago. This massive rainbow was taken on a wet fly, and if you come to the presentation, the “wet fly guru” will tell you what it was.

So. This summer when we went for our traditional family walk out to Block Island’s Sandy Point, I shot a video of some seals with the commentary about the irony of the government being able to protect seals, but not stripers. (If you’re unaware, striper stocks are generally suffering, and the from-shore striper bite on Block has absolutely cratered since the seals took over.) I kept the reel in my back pocket for a future posting, which turned out to be last Friday. I figured it would be an underperformer, since it’s just some waves and beach and seals with my background commentary. Holy firestorm, Batman! That reel got more views and more comments than anything I’ve ever posted on Instagram. Some of the comments were partisan political (the presence of seals is not the fault of either major party.) Some were misguided (while menhaden are a crucial striped bass forage in general, menhaden have very little presence on Block Island and have nothing to do with seals being there or stripers being scarce from shore.) And some were commiserating, both from a Block Island and Cape Cod perspective.

If you’re not following me on Instagram, you should @stevecultonflyfishing. Then you won’t miss any future excitement. The content I post on Instagram is unique to that social medium, so you won’t be double-dipping between here and there.

Hope to see you Wednesday night.

Croton TU this Thursday kicks off a flurry of book appearances

After a couple of weeks’ respite, I’m back on the speaking trail this Thursday night. It’s the first of three speaking gigs this month, all dedicated to the best book on the Farmington River, my Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River (he said most humbly). Of course, books will be available for purchase and signing, and if you’ve already bought a copy, bring it along and I’ll sign it with a smile. Here are the details:

Thursday, October 15, Croton Watershed TU, 7pm, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Pleasantville, NY. This meeting is open to the public. More info can be found here.

Wednesday, October 21, Farmington River Anglers Association, 7pm, Brewery Legitmus, New Hartford, CT. This meeting is open to the public. And it’s at a brewery! If that’s not a doubleheader sweep, I don’t know what is. More info is here.

Tuesday, October 27, Crossroads Angers, South Foxboro Community Center, Foxboro, MA. According to their website, “Steve is a real character and this promises to be an entertaining affair.” Who am I to argue? Guests — unless you’re a member, that’s you — are always welcome. More info, right here.

I love my job, and if you come to to see me this month, I’ll prove it. Fly tying, and writing about and teaching fly fishing are all passions, but I think speaking to groups and presenting at shows is my favorite.

Small stream mini-report and yes! to some rain

I fished a favorite small stream last Friday and the water was painfully low. Those of you who are acquainted with me know that I detest low water. On this day, it meant that the longer, deeper pools had precious little movement. Sometimes the only discernable flow was at the extreme upper end of the head. Leaves were a problem, not because they were interfering with drifts, but rather because they had amassed in large quantities on the surface, essentially creating a sheet of leaves. Great for fish to hide under; not so great if you’re trying to present a fly to them.

This is what I’m talking about. That lower end looks like a pile of leaves on dry land; they’re actually resting on the surface of the water.

My solution to the low flow/leaf problem was to fish a dry-dropper in the faster sections, and to go heavy subsurface with micro-jig streamers. Both produced fish, although most of the dry/dropper hookups were on the trailing bead-head nymph rather than the dry. I’m all about watching wild fish slash at the dry, but there’s something cool about using it as a strike indicator — now you see it, now you don’t. Set that hook!

I’m not sure yesterday’s rain qualifies as a blowout, but it certainly should have been enough to move some leaves. The Farmington gauges bumped up a bit, but most of it was generated by the Still River. I expect the Farmington to be in excellent shape for most of the week.

A very late Farmington River mini-report from 10/2/26: When the going gets tough, the tough fish a mini-jig streamer

I guided Anthony last Friday and we had the blessing of a glorious Indian summer day. Sunshine, good flows, warm air, and…leaves. Organic matter in the water was only an occasional nuisance, but I expect that it will get exponentially worse in the next couple weeks, especially if we have a breezy day. (This is why I typically end my traditional wet fly fishing around mid-October.)

But back to our day. We swung the hell out of a team of three wet flies, but the locals just weren’t having it. We hit two marks below the PTMA (many thanks to the angler who shared water with us!), then headed below Collinsville. Same story in two other marks. Up to this point, we’d had a few bumps, very likely from small fish, and no real eats. There were a few tiny BWOs in the air, some caddis, and then a smattering of Isos, but this was a day where the fishing was great and the catching stunk. Anthony deserved far better, as he was making multiple dozens of fish-worthy casts, mends, and presentations.

I’d finally had enough. I knew there were fish in front of us, and if we couldn’t get them to come up to a wet, let’s try to get them deep. I clipped the Iso fly off point, and added a black and silver mini jig streamer. Voila! We also banged up a decent smallmouth. Way to hang in there, Anthony, and we’ll get ’em next time.

A small stream outing, a Farmington lesson, and all this rain.

Last week I snuck out for a few hours on a local small stream. The water was medium-low, crystal clear, and the fact that the sun was out meant the locals were on high alert. Holy sandbars! The bottom structure of this stream had shifted quite a bit over the summer. In some sections, it felt like I was in brand new water. I fished a bushy dry (AFR Humpulator) and a BHPT dropper, and pricked four on the dry and two on the nymph. At the end, I switched to the Jiggy Squirmy Thingy and had a few small guys bull-rush the fly, but no char were brought to hand.

On Thursday, I guided Tim for a subsurface lesson. Like the small stream, the Farmington was low and clear, but plenty cold. We fished the mid and lower river sections. Mid-river was nymphing, and I was astonished that we didn’t even get a touch. What?!? We headed downstream to try our hand at wet flies, and we managed to stick three fish, although all of them became unbuttoned. Like many new to wet fly fishing, Tim needed to wait on the hookset after the hit. You feel the hit, and you want to set, but if you do, you’ll pull the hook right out of the fish’s mouth. You feel the strike, pause, asking, “Are you still there?” And if you do, the fish will always answer yes, having hooked himself neatly in the corner of his mouth. We will absolutely get them next time, Tim. A pleasure fishing with you, sir. Oh — we had hatches. Caddisflies and tiny BWOs and especially Isonychia. I love Isos.

If you own my book, Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River, then you’ve seen this photo. I love swinging wets for Isos, and I’ve done very well with my Iso Soft Hackle pattern.

Finally, all this rain. It really depends on where you live — we got pounded in Durham on Saturday, while the rain barely made a dent in the Farmington flows. Today, the storm is finally manifesting — the Unionville gauge has jumped from 230cfs to 540 — but I expect the river will clear up quickly.

“Featured Tier” now added to my Int’l Fly Tying Symposium schedule, Nov 21-22!

I got some exciting news on Wednesday: I’ve been named as one of the “Featured Tiers” at the International Fly Tying Symposium on November 21-22 in Lancaster, PA. What an honor! I’m tremendously excited about this. The Featured Tier gig will be on Sunday, and it’s a nice followup to my Seminar on Saturday. In my Featured Tier slot, I’ll be demoing “Wet Flies and Soft Hackles for Northeast Streams.” I’ve yet formally decide on the specific flies, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of what will be on the vise. They’ll all be fish-catchers and proven patterns. Stay tuned for more details.

What a lineup! I’m both honored an humbled to be included with these people. When I’m not speaking, I’ll be on the show floor at a tying table.
Batting leadoff on Sunday. I’ll start the day at my tying table, do the demo, then return to my table. This is going to be good!

It was a “Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River” week as Thames Valley TU & Main Line Fly-Tyers are awarded the Legion of the Cheeseburger with IPA Clusters — and the Ask About Fly Fishing Podcast link

I’m in a bit of a reflective mood this morning. Without an audience, a speaker is just talking to himself. Of course, I do this frequently throughout the day, or when I’m fishing, and naturally, when I’m rehearsing, which I’m proud to say I still do before every speaking engagement. So I don’t take these thank-you messages lightly. Last week was a busy one, three gigs in three nights. On Tuesday, I presented Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River, my all-new, upgraded talk based on the book, to Thames Valley TU. While I was unable to take advantage of their generous offer for a pre-game dinner, I made up for it with a stop at Five Guys on the way home. TVTU is a dedicated group, and it was a treat to see so many old friends.

Thursday, I ventured down to Philadelphia where I visited the Main Line Fly-Tyers. I’d spoken to them once before, via Zoom during Covid, so this was my first in-person talk. I was thrilled to have over 50 attendees! This time, I was able to take advantage of their pre-talk hospitality at Phil’s Tavern. Excellent cheeseburger (the patty melt if you must know). Really, really enjoyable. Thank you so much to both groups for being so welcoming, for your interest in the book, and for asking so many good questions.

Coming soon to a fly fishing club near you. My next gig is October 15 with the Croton Watershed TU.

Speaking of questions, in between it all was the Ask About Fly Fishing podcast. It’s recorded live, but you can listen to it any time you like with this link. I’m so grateful to Roger, the host, for giving me the opportunity to talk about the river and promote the book.

I’m going to try like hell to get some more fishing-specific posts up this week. (I know you’re rooting for me.) But to do that, I gotta attend to a lot of other things on my list. Which is what I’m going to do right now.

Appearances near and far, Ask About Fly Fishing podcast — and perhaps some fishing?

I now, I know, I’ve got a little broken-record syndrome with these posts, but I don’t want you to miss out. (It seems like every week, I get an email that says something like, “I wish I knew you were going to be there…”) So let’s get to it.

Tuesday night. 9/15, I’m at Thames Valley TU. Doors open at 6pm. I go on around 7:15pm. All are welcome. The subject will be the Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River, and I will have books for purchase and signing. Of course, you want to know where it is: the North Franklin Fire Dept., 5 Tyler Drive, North Franklin CT. This is an all-new Farmington River presentation, so unless you were at the SEMass TU meeting last week, you haven’t seen it!

Wednesday night is the much anticipated Ask About Fly Fishing Podcast. It goes live at 9pm ET. Here’s their promo description: “On our upcoming broadcast “Fly Fishing the Farmington River: Trout, Hatches & Tactics” with Steve Culton we will give away a one-year membership to Fly Fishers International, a one-year membership to Trout Unlimited, and a copy of his latest book Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River (you have to be listening to the live show to win this). To qualify for the drawings, you need to register. Use this link to visit our registration page, complete the form, then send us your information, and you’ll be included in the drawing.” I hope you get a chance to listen in, and please ask lots of questions!

Last but not least, I’m road tripping to Philadelphia to speak to the Main Line Fly Tyers on Thursday night, 9/17. It will be held at the Greater Plymouth Community Center in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Doors open at 6:30pm. As with the TVTU gig, the subject will be the Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River, and I will have books for purchase and signing.

And maybe…just maybe…I’ll get out to do some fishing at some point. Stripers beckon. Wild brook trout beckon. The Farmington River beckons…

Another year, another late announcement: Time to tie up some September Nights!

I fell in love with Ken Abrames’ September Night the moment I saw it. That love deepened when I tied it, and it became a forever love once I fished it. The pattern is intended to imitate finger mullet, and it’s one of Ken’s heavier fly dressings. You can tie it short (3″-4″), long (6″-8″), play around with colors (one year I tied it with a ginger marabou color, and the stripers said yes!) — it’s a supremely versatile fly. I have fond memories of, ironically, and October night in Weekapaug breachway on an outgoing tide when I took bass after bass on the September Night using a greased line swing. I know, you’re heading to your vise right now — so here’s the September Night recipe.

Ooh. Ahh. Ohh. Love this fly and its color accents (black, purple, blue, black). Stripers love it, too.