He shuffled five small steps across the plank porch and steadied himself by holding the cedar porch post before he made the 10-inch step to the ground. His knees no longer had their youthful balance. He smiled, and rubbed his white 5-day whiskers with his free hand. Sometime ago he had told his son he could no longer hit and roll if he fell… now he could only thud and flop!…they had laughed hard! He laughed about it to himself again. It wasn't so funny when he thought of it now, now that he was here alone, but then again... maybe it was!
He took the trail to the river. After a 10-minute saunter by the light of a fingernail moon, Matt waded into the dark water and sat on large boulder 10-yards from shore. He tied on a stonefly nymph and waited for the first hint of light on the horizon.
He enjoyed the sounds of life as they awakened around him. As the first reflection of light appeared on the water surface he saw the first fish rise. With the skill of a surgeon Matt made one fluid motion with his rod and placed his fly in the current three feet above the circle, WHAM! A beautiful 5-pound bass blew the surface with a stonefly nymph in his lip. Not bad for the first cast. I wish my boy was here with me…
This week’s typing tip is in response to a question by Hatches reader, Nick S. from Boise, ID. Nick wanted to know if we had any suggestions for a small, lightweight fly tying vise to use streamside, or on backcountry fly-in/ hike-in fly fishing trips.
GLOBE PEQUOT ( THE LYONS PRESS, FALCON), November 1997
Binding Type: Hardcover
Retail Price: $16.95 at the Hatches Store
ISBN: 1-55821-067-9
“The trout’s biggest advantage is selectivity, and we can counteract it only by knowing the insects that make up his diet. This is the reason for the study of stream entomology by the angler, and it is often the weak link in his skill.”
-Ernest Schwiebert
Trout Stream Insects: An Orvis Streamside Guide is by no means a new book. However, since it was first published in 1990, it has successfully been introducing novice …
Called the “bobbin of bobbins,” Marc Petitjean’s “Thread Through Bobbin,” aims to solve a few classic design limitations of standard bobbins.
Sand Creek is a pretty little piece of trout water that harbors some very fussy fish. Clear water in a small creek demands a quiet approach; casting from the bank is a good strategy when fishing small flies to springtime trout. Photo by Russ Forney
Springtime in Wyoming can be pretty elusive. Just when the first flush of prairie wildflowers sweetens the air, the next storm buries them under a foot of snow. Somewhere between the first Meadowlark and the last new calf, winter finally begins to relax its icy grip. …
With rubber legs showing up in more and more fly patterns, one common problem fly tier’s are facing is that they get in the way when tying a whip finish knot. In this week’s Tying Tips, Hatches Magazine staff member Alex Cerveniak shares three quick and easy ways to keep those rubber legs out of the way.
|  Hatches is an annual publication with a strong devotion to professional writing, beautiful photography and informative articles pertaining to both the artistic and practical aspects of fly tying. Each issue features 13 featured articles that span a massive 96 pages.
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