I’m super-excited to announce that I just signed a book contract with Stackpole. The working title is Fly Fishing Guide to the Farmington River. This will be a comprehensive resource for the West Branch, from the river to trout to maps to access to hatches to how-to-and-when. I plan on including information from local experts and guides, as well as a selection of must-have fly patterns. If you have any of Stackpole’s “Fly Fishing Guide To” river books, you know the level of detail I’ll be delivering.
The final manuscript isn’t due for over a year, so it’s going to take some time for this to get to press. In the meantime, please wish me luck as I set off on this big adventure. As always, I thank you for your support and readership, and of course I’ll keep you updated as the project progresses.
Coming soon to a bookshelf near you! While this isn’t the working title or cover shot, the description is spot-on.
Yeah, baby, it’s getting to be about that time. OK, maybe not for a couple more weeks. We’ll see what Ma Nature has in mind as far as warmth and rain are concerned. But indeed it is coming. And right now is the perfect time for you to stock the box with your favorite Hendrickson patterns.
If you’re not fishing under the Hendrickson hatch with wet flies, you’re missing out. In fact, you’re missing out on some of the best trout-on-the-fly action of the year. Tie these up, place them over a rise, and hold on. Oh. And be prepared to clip one or two flies off your three-fly team. Such are the travails of the angler getting doubles and triples!
On the surface, you may be unthrilled (rather than enthralled) by this topic. But I think it’s worth your time, especially if you tie soft hackles. I get a lot of questions about hen hackle types, and this article covers the subject nicely.
There’s something very satisfying about finding a top-shelf hen cape. While the price of both has gone up, you still occasionally see these in deep discount fly shop and show bins..
Looking back at this post, I can happily say that I’ve given many of these patterns far more than a test drive. I find it highly satisfying that the flies that Leisenring fished with confidence on his beloved Pennsylvania streams work just as well on the Farmington River. The post is formatted so that if you click on a pattern title, you’ll be taken to the recipe, along with a little blurb about the fly.
Hot tip: try Liesenring’s Old Blue Dun in a size 12 during the Hendrickson hatch. The original works, but if you want to make it a little truer to the natural, use dark dun for the tail and hackle.
When I went back to this oldie-but-goodie article, I was struck by two things. First, I love how Leisenring incorporated the soft hackle into these nymph patters. And second, I have not fished these patterns nearly enough, whether on a dead drift near the bottom or as a swung wet fly. None of them have beads or UV dubbing or special sparkle flash, but they all look like they’re alive and something fish would like to eat. To the vise (again)!
Anyone can luck into a big fish. Way back when, when I was just starting out, I wanted no part of that. I wanted to be able to consistently catch big stripers.
If you want to catch big bass — and make it repeatable — you don’t need a casting lesson. You don’t need to be able to reach 90 feet. You don’t need the latest in intermediate line technology. You don’t need a huge monstrosity that looks more like a plug than a fly.
You need to study. And ask questions. Why would there be a big striped bass where I’m fishing? Is there current, cover, and food? Is it pre-spawn? Is it migration time? Is the bait spawning (and therefore gathering in large numbers)? Is it dark, so the fish feels comfortable coming in close? What’s the barometer doing? Which way is the wind blowing? What’s the tide, and how is it moving? These are all part of the equation.
Then, you need the right fly. Something that looks like the bait, or what the bait should be at this time and place. Does the fly look alive and like something good to eat, even when at rest?
Don’t forget presentation. You need to learn that, too. Big fish are lazy, and frequently unwilling to chase. How can you present the fly in a way that makes it easy for the striper to eat?
Last but not least, you need to put in your time. There is no substitute for time on the water. You can do all of the above, check all the boxes, and still blank. (Ask me how I know.) Nevermind, I’ll just tell you. Last year, I fished the mark I fished last week six times and had only two tiny bass nibbles and no bass to hand for my efforts. But every year is different, and this is what I found on a greased line swing with an 11″ Bombardier flatwing in March of 2024:
Miss Piggy went 25 pounds and taped 39 inches. This was one of the best fights I’ve ever had with a bass, and I hope to write about it sometime soon. I am humbled and grateful for the chance to hook, land, and release this fish. I’ve been doing this for years, folks, and I was so pumped with adrenaline that my hand was shaking as I took this photo.
I received a message last week from a fan of Stewart’s Spiders. He was delighted to find them so lovingly rendered on this site by yours truly, so I thought it might be a good time and place to revisit them. (Yup, I’m still encumbered with house stuff and other projects.) If you haven’t seen them, you’ll like. This is simplicity, elegance, and deadly rolled into a single pattern format. Here’s the article link.
I didn’t really have the time yesterday, but since my default setting is when in doubt, go fishing, I did. The venue was a small woodland stream, and the time frame was 3:45pm-5:30pm. It was mostly cloudy and very warm for February, with a water temp of 48 degrees. The stream was running medium-low and clear. No hatch activity, although I did see one lonesome sz 600 midge flitting about.
I’ve written before that I’m a massive creature of habit, but on this outing I decided to explore about 100 yards of new water. I was glad I did, as that turned out to be my most productive stretch. I fished mostly subsurface with the Squirmy Worm Jiggy Thingy, but I did get a hysterical swing and miss on a bushy dry for the 5 minutes I fished it. All told, I pricked about 18 and brought probably a third of them to hand. I did catch the same beautifully spotted hen I took in January at the same hole. She really clobbered the fly.
A few of my favorite things: a cigar, a glass rod, and a small stream, and if I can get them all at once that’s even better. What a glorious day to play hooky for a few hours and lose myself in a babbling brook.
Happy Friday, and and it’s a TGIF kind of day around currenseams HQ. It was a busier than normal week, what with two road hockey weekday games for #3 son Gordo and all the other stuff I’ve got going on.
On Tuesday night, I spoke and taught to the Yale Fishing Club. The Club is run by my good friend and paddle board angler extraordinaire Sean Callinan, and I’m always stoked to be able to teach the next generation of fly anglers. The subject matter was small streams, something near and dear to me, and we devoted plenty of time to preserving and protecting the resource. We finished by tying the Squirmy Worm Jig, which is both easy and highly effective. Many thanks again to the group for hosting me, and the pizza was swell, too!
Class is now in session!
I’m putting the finishing touches on a new article for Surfcasters Journal. It will be a little different in that it is story oriented, rather than how-to. It’s going to put a smile on your face when you read it. Of course, I’ll let you know when it comes out.
Finally, I just received some very exciting news that’s so big, it deserves its own post. My apologies for the teaser. I’m hoping to be able to share next week. I hope some of you are getting out to fish!
Q: Do you ever use the Rio Versileaders with differing sink rates when fishing wets? I have used the 1.5 inches per second w some success but wanted to get your thoughts. Am I better off just adjusting sink rate by the size of the point fly? A: I do not. I adjust my sink rate and depth by adding weight to the point fly in the form of a brass or, most frequently, a tungsten bead. (Of course, strategic mends with a floating line are an important part of the process.) Sometimes I add weight, usually a single split shot, to the leader. That’s simply how I do it, and it works for me. I don’t know if you’re better off using my system — if you’re fishing happy with your Versileader, and your flies are where you want them, and the fish are eating them, that’s what I’d recommend. Confidence catches fish.
This is nymphing, but as with wet flies, if you’re hooking up, you’re fishing at the right depth.
Q: If you are on an a new stream with no intel, what is your go-to 3 fly set up? (Do you look under rocks first and just match size of nymphs?) I know where he’s going with this. Is there a default wet fly setup that works everywhere? Maybe, but that’s not how I would approach the problem. My go-to wet fly setup would be three bugs that I think are most likely to be hatching or present in the current system. This would vary from season to season, time of day, and certainly by geographical region. For example, if it’s summer in southern New England at noon, I might go with a caddis, a terrestrial, and an Isonychia-type on point. If it were the same region in the evening, I might switch out the terrestrial for a creamy mayfly. And of course, I would be watching for any kind of hatch or rise activity for clues. Then I’d have intel, plus whatever the fish were telling me. Remember, droppers are the fastest way to find out what the fish want. The looking under the rocks solution is also a good one.
Q: I don’t tie. Recommendations for high quality wets? I wish I could give you a name or a place, but sadly I don’t have one. A good wet fly selection is hard to find these days, which is why I always recommend that wet fly aficionados learn to tie. I sometimes do custom orders, but right now I am not taking any orders for a few months. Your best bet is to do an internet search and see what you can find. Good luck!
Chances are slim that you’ll find LaFontaine’s Diving Caddis in tan, size 14, at your local fly shop. If you learn to tie your own, you’ll have a constant supply.
currentseams.com 