Fly Fishing Traditions Archives

This is the Tips & Techniques Article Archive Page. You can either browse through the index of the five individual title categories below and then jump to one of the category overview pages OR select a individual article to go directly to an article

Article Chapters and Categories

You can go to any category that you are interested by clicking on the Category below.

• (Category 1) Musings from Clay – The Big Kahuna
• (Category 2) Casting 101
• (Category 3) Stillwater Techniques and Tips
• (Category 4) Drift Boat 101
• (Category 5) FFT Techniques
• (Category 6) Nuts & Bolts
• (Category 7) Fly Patterns
• (Category 8) Gear

Complete Index of FFT Articles by Category and Title

Articles and Musings from Clay – The Big Kahuna

• Bug Collecting
  As we all know fish can sometimes feed very selectively. There are some days when the fish “Lock Into” certain bugs. Our job as anglers is to figure out what they’re eating. Most successful anglers are also very observant and can determine what stage of the bug the fish are taking. Read Full Article
  
  
  
  
• Casting Tune Up Stop That Rod The trees are leafing out, the flowers are popping and spring time is around the corner. It’s about time to put away the shot and indicators and start thinking about throwing dries and soft hackles. Read the Full Article
  
  
  
  
• Fishing the Edges in Northern California, usually in January and February, is when we get the bulk of our rain. This is when we have a decent snow pack and the storms sometimes come in from the south and they provide rain on the snow pack. Not good! The warm rain melts the snow and down it comes, with all the tributaries running high and muddy. Read Full Article
  
  
  
• Fishing the Lower Yuba at High Flows! During the spring of 2010 and after a week of high water and off color conditions, I made it our with a couple of my fishing buddies Blake Larsen, Frank Rinella and made it out to the Lower Yuba. Here’s an article about how to fish when you find the river in this condition. Read Full Article
  
  
  
• Fishing the PMD Hatch Last year Blake Larsen and I had dropped my drift boat into the Lower Yuba River and I was rowing upstream to a large eddy pool where we typically start our fishing. As I rowed upstream we noticed lots of swallows buzzing the river. They were gobbling up PMD’s as they took off from the surface film and headed into the air. I bet you can guess how we rigged up. Read Full Article
  
  
• Fishing the Skwala Hatch In early Spring we all look anxiously forward to the Skwala Stones. The water is usually off color and you’d thing why even bother. We know better. It’s Skwala Time. When matching the Lower Yuba River Skwalas remember that the bugs here locally are different in color than their cousins in Washington and Montana. Read Full Article
  
  
  
• Nymphing and Rigging for the Lower Yuba River One thing I think most fishermen are guilty of, is not changing their tactics and rigging enough, based upon the changing characteristics and water types of the river we are fishing. I know I am. I have fished the Lower Yuba River for many years and quite a bit in the last couple of years or so, mainly from a drift boat. Read Full Article
  
  
  
• The Egg Bite It’s the last week of September and the salmon have just started moving into the Lower Yuba River system. A few have just started staging and are starting to dig their redds. Resident rainbows and steelhead will soon be staged behind them ready to gobble up protein from stray eggs drifting downstream where they wait. It is almost the time for the “Egg Bite” to ramp up. Read Full Article
  
  
  
• The Funny Papers – Top 10 Things Guides Should Not Say I recently purchased a book, “The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing” co-authored by Kirk Deeter. He has a blog called “Fly Talk” and is a columnist for Field and Stream magazine. The book is a wealth of tips taken from fly fishing guides from all over. I highly recommend it.Read Full Article
  
  
  
• The Funny papers – Guides’ Alternate Dictionary Fly Fishing, like all great sports/hobbies/obsessions, is littered with its own collection of words and phrases that have evolved to describe specific circumstances or a particular event or item. I found this, “Alternative Fly Fishing Dictionary” featuring some different interpretations of some of our best known words and phrases at www.deneki.com Read Full Article
  
  
  
• The Yuba Skwala Hatch – Is it Going Off? There has been quite a bit of noise out there about the Skwala Hatch on the Lower Yuba River. I thought I’d post some of my reflections. For the records, I haven’t been out this past week, so my observations and comments are from what I’ve experienced through February 5th.Read Full Article
  
  
  
  
• Watch and Observe I woke up excited to be heading down to the Lower Yuba with my fishing buddies Frank Rinella and Blake Larsen. I’ve been out of town for the Christmas holidays and was ready for a fun day, come what may. The day was clear and fairly warm in Grass Valley. We met in town and grabbed a cup of coffee, talked about the bugs of the Yuba and made our plans for the day. Read Full Article
  
  
• What the Heck are Redds, Anyway? I think it’s probably a good idea to attempt to clear up what are redds and what is really going on in our rivers with the salmon, steelhead and trout. What should we be looking out for and what should we be aware of? Let’s talk about what we should be looking out for and how best to approach the river when fishing. Read Full Article
  
  
  
• Zack the Fishers Son I was in Hawaii this year for the Christmas and New Year holidays and I spent a lot of time playing in the surf with my 11 year old son, Zack, and his three cousins, Isaac (9), Natalie (6), and Gabrial (3). They are all younger than Zack and he’s sort of the older brother to them. I usually spend time in Montana each summer with the 4 young amigos and I fish the Madison River with them in my raft. This holiday I spent a lot of time chasing the younger two kids in and out of the surf and watching Zack and Isaac boogie board. I was sitting on the beach watching them play and my mind wandered to the time when Zack was about 4 years old and we played on this very same beach. This is where he began to love playing in and around the water. Read Full Article

Casting Tips Articles

• Stop for a Good Cast
  
• 10 and 2 are a Little Too Late
  
• Dare to be Different
  
• Don’t Get Cocky
  
• Flick the Tomato
  
• Hit the Wall
  
• It Starts With the Grip
  
• Point Your Shots
  
• Say Hello for a Good Cast
  
• Watch That Thumb
  
• Applied Power, Too Much, Too Soon
  
• Water Load and Cast to the Bank
  
• Roll Cast For Success
  
• Casting Practice, The Wiggle Cast
  
• Casting Practice, 40 feet in 4 Seconds
  
• Spey Casting Tips- Videos

Stillwater Techniques and Tips

• Top 10 habits for Stillwater Success
  
• Stillwater Kit Bag
  
• Double Anchoring a Pontoon Boat
  
• Slip Indicator Basics
  
• Indicator Options for Stillwaters
  
• Checking Water Temperatures to Locate Stillwater Trout

Drift Boat 101 Articles

• Drift Boat 101 – Part I – Getting Started With Gear
  
• Drift Boat 101 – Part II – The Basic Stroke
  
• Drift Boat 101 – Part III – Maneuvering by Ferrying
  
• Drift Boat 101 – Part IV – Putting In and Shoving Off
  
• Drift Boat 101 – Part V – Common Rowing Situations
  
• Drift Boat 101 – Part V – The Crawl Stroke
  
• Fishing from a Drift Boat – Water Load Casting
  
• Fishing from a Drift Boat – Indicator and Drift Control

Fly Fishing Traditions Techniques Articles

• Add a BB
  
• Bounce Nymphing
  
• Fishing a Drop-Off with a Downstream Presentation
  
• Fishing a Drop-Off with an Upstream Presentation
  
• Let the Current Do the Dirty Work
  
• Looking for Trout Parts
  
• Mending Your Fly Line
  
• Nymphing and Current Speed
  
• Nymphing a Run
  
• Nymphing a Run or a Riffle Corner
  
• Nymphing the Riffles
  
• Rigging and Fishing Soft Hackles
  
• Spey casting Tips and Heads
  
• Swinging Flies with a Trout Rod
  
• Watch out for Depressions
  
• Water Load Casting
  
• When in Doubt, Set the Hook
  
• Yuba Spey Clinic

Nuts & Bolts Articles

• Indicator and Drift Control
  
• Knots – The Davy Knot
  
• Knots – Non Slip Mono Loop
  
• Lefty Krehs Loop Knot
  
• Rigging Techniques for Deep Indicator Nymphing
  
• Tippet Rings
  
• Tying Your Flies with Smaller Hooks
  
• Water Load Casting

Fly Pattern Articles

• The Skwalanator

Gear Articles

• Fuji Waterproof Camera
  
• Sage DXL Typhoon Bag
  
• Sage and Redington Rod and Reel Nymphing Outfits
  
• Stillwater Outfits and Lines
  
• The Redington CPX Switch Rod