BOOK EXCERPT– Baboons, desert heat and smallmouth bass. They don’t often go together, but they do in Africa. I was fried. It was November (that’s early summer in South Africa) and the sun had been relentless all day. My South African pals Conrad and Herman and I were fishing a small river on the west […]
To cast bass flies, use a line one or two weights over the rod’s “official” rating. Most rods will cast a bass fly much better with a line one or two weights over the rod’s “official” rating. Bass casting is some of the most challenging fly casting there is. We throw heavy flies 45 to […]
A good anchor system, that you can operate easily with one hand, is essential for river fishing. A good anchor system is essential for river fishing. Whenever a craft is not being controlled by oars, a motor, paddles or your feet, it will quickly drift out of position for effective fishing. Every time a solo […]
BOOK EXCERPT—- Hawaii– sun, sand beaches, sea breezes, snorkeling, palm trees and tourists everywhere, right? For that reason it was never high on my list of “must see” places… until I discovered Hawaiian jungle smallmouth. Hawaii. Sun, sand beaches, sea breezes, snorkeling, palm trees… and tourists everywhere. These jewels in the Pacific sure have plenty […]
This fly has a bright, flashy cactus chenille body, moderately weighted with lead wire, and a rabbit-strip tail. It might not seem elaborate or particularly exotic, but the Cactus Bugger is a genuine workhorse of a pattern. > It’s easy to retrieve effectively > The fly can be fished fast or slow > It works […]
BOOK EXCERPT– This wasn’t good. I was coughing and spitting water, and I could see blood—mine– below the surface… Let’s start at the beginning. It was late summer on Lake Michigan years ago. My wife and I had reached the lake shore via a little county road in Hiawatha National Forest. From there we tossed […]
Why New Fly Weights? Many fly fishers obsess over finding just the right color fly for this or that situation. While color can certainly influence your catch rate, often an even more important factor is completely overlooked. That’s a fly’s weight. The weight (or sink rate) of a fly determines how deep it will get […]
This pattern isn’t for every situation. This unique fly is designed specifically for tempting wary or inactive smallmouth with a very slow-paced bottom presentation. Used properly, this fly can do what no other patterns do. With weight in the front and its upriding tail, the HiTail Craw can be crawled or slowly hopped along the […]
North America’s largest bodies of water, the Great Lakes are difficult to imagine if you haven’t seen them. Like freshwater oceans, they encompass tens of millions of acres with far distant shorelines invisible to the eye. For smallie fans used to little meandering rivers, you might think a body of water like Lake Michigan sounds […]
BOOK EXCERPT– It was a couple summers ago. My pal Dan and I loaded up the car with a big canoe and lots of tackle and headed northeast. Though the route through Vermont was slow, it was interesting and enjoyable nevertheless. Twisting and winding thru green forested mountains and postcard-pretty small towns, it was easy […]
