A close second would be, “What (or how many) fly patterns do I need to have to be successful most of the time? Those are both valid queries, and ones which reflect the quintessence of fly-fishing. On ...

Tying flies has long been one of my favorite winter activities. I derive much pleasure from crafting a supply of the many fly patterns needed to restock my fly boxes for the upcoming trout season.

When I first started trout fishing, I was given an invaluable piece of advice: start with dry flies. Talk to any trout angler, and they’ll tell you that fishing with subsurface flies simply catches ...

Dry flies have improved dramatically. Even the same classic patterns are better today because the materials used to tie them are so much better. When I first started fly-fishing as a kid in the 1960s ...