The bonefish has been called the “silver bullet of the flats” and
rightfully so. This member of the Elopiformes order and close relative
of the tarpon possesses lightning quickness and race car speed. In open
water these fish have been clocked at nearly 23 miles per hour. This
astounding physical ability has helped the bonefish survive 125 million
years of evolution, solidifying its place among the earth’s most
ancient species.
Brown Trout
It could be the singular challenge of sight fishing
for massive speckled brown beasts in the cool, gin-clear rivers of New
Zealand. Maybe it’s casting a simple prince nymph across a favorite
freestone stream to a shaded pool and coming up with a huge red and
black spotted hog. Or perhaps it’s the distinctive feeling of line and
leader straining under the tension of a connection with a hulking
Patagonian brown trout. Whatever the fly fishing experience, one thing
remains certain: Salmo trutta command respect.
Caddis (or Sedge)
To freshwater fly anglers, especially those who frequently ply the
trout and steelhead water of the western portion of North America, the
caddis or "sedge" is a fish catching machine. Western fly anglers
aren't the only ones benefiting from the fish-catching power of caddis;
they are available to trout in good numbers across the globe.
Dry Fly
A dry fly is a general term used to describe a type of artificial fly
representative of insects in their mature or adult life stage. When an
insect is completely hatched to its adult form, they can be commonly
found resting on the water's surface before taking flight and
eventually mating or crawling to the safety and shelter of the
riverbank.
During this resting or migration period, hungry and
opportunistic trout actively rise to the water's surface to feed on
these hatched insects.
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Eddy
Eddy is a term used in the physical science of fluid dynamics to
describe the swirling and reverse currents associated with moving
fluids (i.e. air, water) as it passes over and around an obstructing
object, back-filling the void space behind or downstream from the
object with a characteristic swirling current counter to the main
current's forward direction.
In a river environment, eddys
(sometimes spelled "eddies") are quite common and generally occur in
the space downstream from or "behind" large exposed rocks, boulders,
and partially submersed detritus such as fallen tree limbs and other
debris, either natural or man-made.
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Fly Line
Fly line is a common term for the weighted line that, in conjunction
with a fly rod and reel, delivers the relatively weightless fly fishing
lure, or fly, to the targeted game fish in the sport o
f fly fishing. As
described by the 17th Century fly angler and writer, Sir Izaak Walton,
and others, fly fishing line originated as spun or braided lengths of
natural silk. Although these early silken fly lines were quite
effective, they were not known for their ability to cast flies long
distances or for a lasting overall durability.
Fly Line Backing
Backing is a term used in fly fishing that refers to a thin but very
strong section of line that is secured directly to the arbor of a fly
reel and to the back end of a fly line to provide an insurance policy
of sorts on the fly angler's otherwise limited tackle when hooking,
playing, and landing particularly fast or strong game fish species.
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The fly fishing reel is a compact and efficient machine designed to
store, dispense, and retrieve the fly line and backing. Fly reels also
provide an angler with the welcome assistance of a mechanical drag or
braking system that helps slow down a running fish. These devices are
generally constructed of high-grade al
uminum and can be highly
engineered with the assistance of computer software commonly found in
architecture and design firms, or they can be "funny paper simple" in
their functionality.
The fly rod is the defining element in any tackle ensemble as it is
responsible for propelling the weighted fly line and relatively
weightless fly lure out into the river or lake and to the targeted
fish. It is the angler's primary tool, a synthesis of functionality and
art. The very first fly fishing rods were crude instruments that got
the job done, but today's high performance fly rods come in many shapes
and sizes and are constructed of space age materials like fiberglass
and graphite that would no doubt have the earliest anglers salivating
at the advances in the primary tool used in fly fishing.
High Stick Nymphing
In the sport of fly fishing, there are a variety of effective methods
for presenting a nymph fly pattern to a holding or feeding fish. High
stick nymphing is a common strategy employed by fly anglers fishing
nymph flies in the faster, deeper water of pockets and short pools, and
is an extremely effective way to fly fish when there is little or no
observed dry fly activity or visibly rising trout.
Leader
In fly fishing, a leader is a length of thin, transparent line that is
attached to the front end of the fly line and to the rear end of the
tippet material, forming an important component of a fly angler's
terminal tackle. Leaders, whether hand-tied by an angler or
pre-packaged and sold at a fly shop,
are generally tapered, consisting of a
thick level butt section, a
tapering midsection, and a thing level terminal portion called the
tippet.
Mayfly
In fly fishing, the mayfly is an iconic figure and probably the image
most people with conjure when invisioning of the "fly" in the sport's
name. These slender aquatic insects are easily recognizable in their
adult or dun form by their highly visible upright wings and long,
tailed abdomens. Biologically, all mayflies undergo incomplete
metamorphosis, experiencing only three major stages within their
typical life cycle.
Midge
Even though a relatively simplistic midge may not seem as sexy or
interesting to a fly fisher as a giant hexagenia mayfly nymph or the
epic activity of thousands of electric green emerging caddis, trout
think midges are just fine! Midges are relatively small aquatic insects
that can be found in just about any freshwater environment on the
planet, and despite their diminutive size, the hundre
ds of species of
these mosquito-like bugs compose a quite significant portion of a
healthy trout's diet. Midges, like caddis, undergo a complete
metamorphosis, and experience a larva, pupa, and adult stage within a
typical life cycle.
Nymph
In fly fishing, nymph is a general term used to describe a type of
artificial fly representative of sub-aquatic trout food. More
specifically, nymphs are designed to imitate immature (usually aquatic)
insects in their pre-adult or larval stage.
Riffle
A riffle is an important component of a river or a stream's physical
morphology and a fly fisher must read these areas carefully because of
the abundant aquatic life they are able to support.
Spring Creek
Throughout the pages on pages of fly fishing lore, the spring creek has
continually been the prime source of a trout fly fisher's pleasure,
especially for the die hard dry fly angler. Indeed the very essence of
dry fly fishing was developed in England on a series of spring creeks
or streams we know today as simply "the chalk streams." Modern spring
creeks are quite popular from New Zealand to the western United States
and their characteristic cool and clear flows draw anglers from around
the planet.
Steelhead
Each year, a sturdy population of tiny, but energetic, steelhead fry
grows a bit larger and begins the journey of a lifetime, a watery trek
that will take them from their sleepy home tributaries to the raging
mouth of the Pacific Ocean and ultimately to the other end of the world.
Stonefly
The stonefly is a relatively large aquatic insect commonly found in
cool, clean trout water throughout North America. Even though these
bugs are less common than mayflies and caddis because of environmental
factors, stoneflies can be quite important to trout and steelhead
anglers in the western United States (especially in the Pacific
Northwest) and they can make a well-prepared mid-western or eastern
trout fly fisher's day during a prolific spring, summer, or fall hatch
in ultra-clean and higher elevation lakes, rivers, and creeks.
Streamer
A streamer fly pattern is a fly fishing lure designed to be actively
fished beneath the water's surface within the water column itself.
Unlike dry flies, nymphs, and wet flies, which are intended to imitate
a range of aquatic insects, streamers are most commonly tied and used
to imitate a range of small, medium, and large sized bait fish. There
are many species of bait fish, but common examples are mullet, anchovy,
and bunker in saltwater or juvenile trout or sculpin in freshwater.
Striped Bass
In the last few decades, the striped bass has rapidly stolen the
hearts of saltwater fly anglers along the eastern coast of North
America. Members of the Percichthyidae or temperate bass family,
“stripers” are quite simply awesome on a fly fishing rod. These
energetic anadromous fish are native to the inshore regions of the
western Atlantic, but enjoy a wide range (51°N - 24°n, 94°w - 80°w)
thanks to a host of introduction and aquaculture programs throughout
the world.
Tarpon
The tarpon is a giant among saltwater game fish.
Although it is not the largest game fish a fly angler can catch and
release, it’s known as “the silver king” throughout the warm lagoons,
estuaries, thick mangrove swamps, and saltwater flats of southeastern
North America, the Caribbean, and northeastern coast of South America.
The tarpon: saltwater royalty. Adult tarpon can easily reach 6 or 7
feet in length and can weigh well over 150 pounds.
Wet Fly
In fly fishing, wet fly is a general term used to describe a type of
artificial fly (similar to a nymph) representative of sub-aquatic trout
food. Where nymphs are most commonly designed, tied, and fished to
closely and realistically imitate insects in their pre-adult or larval
stage, wet flies are most commonly designed to be more impressionistic
than precise imitations of specific types of food.
