The CatchGuide Blog
Hacking Fly Fishing
Kayak Hacks
The Fish Camp
As we roll up on steelhead season, many will head to “fish camps” as a part of that annual ritual. Living out of a true fish camp makes the expedition authentic – here’s the skinny.
How to Break Your Rod… and Other Dumb Stunts
Beyond the standard, broad topics easing your introduction into fly fishing, some things are only learnable on a hit-or-miss basis through the school of hard knocks. This article aims to save you some of the tuition with a few costly personal confessions.
What’s in Your Fly Vest?
With almost three million websites selling hundreds of different brands of fly fishing accessories, it’s not surprising new fly fishers may be a bit confused; as if buying the rod, reel and fly line weren’t bad enough! Let’s cut to the chase – here’s what you really need… and what you don’t.
Fly Fishing Vest Selection
Fly anglers are easy marks for every widget and gadget any expert claims will be the difference between catching enough fish to make their arms sore or being skunked. It’s easy to see who has fallen victim to the siren song – their fly fishing vests are so overloaded they look like a Sherpa hauling gear for an expedition. As always in these articles, let’s get back to basics.
Selecting Waders
Anglers have many choices since manufacturers produce waders from rubber, canvas, PVC coated nylon, neoprene and breathable material. Of these, most trout anglers use neoprene or breathable. Rubber, canvas, and PVC coated nylon are durable, but also stiff, horribly hot and damp as the sweat from normal streamside exertion turn them into a mobile steam bath
Wading Boots Basics
We can be successful fly fishing with rods and reels ranging from a $25 Walmart starter kit to a $1,000+ custom setup, but neither will ever see a fish unless we can walk to the stream, and, once there, safely negotiate the challenges of the streambed.
Fly Fishing – Dress for Success
No, this is not about haute couture. No need to eyeball models in boots and waders clumping down a runway in Paris or Milan to see what is in style. A Kardashian might care about fashion; new anglers with limited budgets must pay closer attention to function when purchasing the first set of boots, waders, and vest.
Fly Rod Bass Rig
Frustrated yet? It’s the tail end of summer. All the experts warn about fishing the small mountain trout streams that have probably warmed to the threshold of terminal stress for the sensitive brookies. “Fish someplace else,” they say. Where? For most of us, “someplace else” means the stocked trout water that is also terminally warm – nothing there but… bass!
Fly Fishing – One Leader, Many Seasons
After breathing a sigh of relief celebrating success in hiding the small fortune spent getting outfitted for fly fishing from your spouse, you put the gear to good use on a pristine trout stream. A few fly changes into your day, you realize the tip of your leader is starting to become stubby and must be replaced to maintain the taper from thick leader to skinny tippet. Congratulations! You just discovered the highest hidden cost of fly fishing – leaders!
