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Dave Ross and KOAA’s Dianne Derby. Photo courtesy Dave Ross, via koaa.com Dave Ross of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a former B-52 pilot who served in Operation Desert Storm, but it’s his work with Project Healing Waters that earned him a Lighthouse Award from his local news station: [His] volunteer work started with cooking for the non-profit’s daylong fishing trips across southern Colorado. He then started to take on the…

The American team bested the hosts, the Czech Republic, to secure their second bronze medal in a row at the World Championship. Photo via Instagram Last week, after five greulling days of competing against the best teams in the world at the 2025 World Fly Fishing Championships in the Czech Republic, the USA Fly Fishing Team finished in third place to win a bronze medal.This is the second year in…

 A cool report from News 5 Cleveland focuses on an Akron woman who’s blazing a new trail in Ohio. Although female-owned guide services aren’t a new concept—Lori-Ann Murphy and Christy Ball launched Reel Women Fly Fishing Adventures in 1992—Christa Clasgens of Silverhen Fly Co. is bringing the same expertise and energy to her local waters: “We’re seeing all sorts of people from all walks of life do fly fishing…

Katherine Ford shows off a fine smallmouth bass, the fish that made her fall in love with fly fishing. Photos courtesy Katherine Ford Wisconsin artist Katherine Ford came to both painting and fly fishing late in life, but she’s certainly made up for lost time. Known for her gorgeous watercolors of flies, she’s also taken to painting different fish species, as well. The results are colorful, impressionistic paintings that really…

Photo: Phil Monahan Father’s Day is fast approaching (June 15, if you haven’t been paying attention), and getting Dad out on the water is a great way to celebrate. Writing in Forbes, my friend Monte Burke has some excellent advice for how to get the most out of your special day fishing with Pops: The reason to fish the water on the public lands now? Dads, by nature, like to…

This week’s Tying Tuesday features three patterns for very different purposes, but they all share one benefit: they’re easy to tie. We kick things off with an elegant March Brown Soft Hackle from Barry Ord Clarke, who walks you through the steps to ensure that you’ve created a durable imitation that has plenty of movement in the water. Next up, a friendly AI voice demonstrates an even simpler way to…

 Ben Sittig, a.k.a Huge Fly Fisherman, stars in this informative and humorous video, making use of his Fisheries Biology degree to offer a primer on the kinds of aquatic insects most important to anglers. Fear not: he doesn’t use Latin names or engage in arcane discussions about subtle differences among specific species. Instead, he focuses on the big picture, explaining how to tell a mayfly from a stonefly from a…

USA Fly Fishing Team in the Czech Republic during pre-event practice. Photo via Facebook Today, the 2025 World Fly Fishing Championships got underway in the Czech Republic, with the opening ceremonies. Over the next five days, anglers from around the world will fish five different sectors—four rivers and one lake. Members of the USA Fly Fishing Team are Jack Arnot, Michael Bradley, Cody Burgdorff, Mike Komara, and Devin Olsen. Go…

By Samantha Marx from Johannesburg, South Africa – Fur bearing trout. Very rare.Uploaded by LongLiveRock, CC BY 2.0, Link Anyone who has poked around the fly-fishing corners of the Internet has probably come across the above the above photo, purporting to be a rare species of trout that’s covered in fur. (There’s even a Wikipedia page on this astounding creature.) It’s the piscine equivalent of the jackalope, but where did…

The Bighorn is famous for its large trout and prolific hatches. Photo: Earl Harper, via Hatch Magazine. A few days on Montana’s Bighorn River provides Chris Hunt of Hatch Magazine with some killer trout, as well as perspectives on everything from killing big fish to dealing with other anglers on the river. The number of trout in the river and the possibility of landing a true trophy are the main…

The Umpqua Bug Locker comes in ten different configurations, to accommodate everything from midges to articulated streamers. By Kubie Brown Fly boxes come in hundreds of sizes, shapes, and colors—some fancy and complicated, some plain and simple. There are small metal fly boxes with flip-open doors; large, flat boxes lined with delicate foam and natural moss; and even leather-covered vintage boxes that feel like you’re fishing in the last century….

 Abel Reels x onWater Fish have teamed up to introduce the first-ever custom fly reel powered by industry-leading river-mapping technology. Anglers can now design the popular Abel TR reel engraved with their favorite “blue lines” using onWater’s mobile app—bringing river exploration literally into the palm of their hand. Each reel is built with Abel’s proprietary CeranoTM Chaos Coating, which fuses durable ceramic coating with precision laser engraving. The Abel…

This week’s Tying Tuesday features three super-simple patterns, and one that might cause you to tear your hair out at the vise (but the end result is worth it). We kick things off with a basic and versatile ant pattern from Kypes & Stripes Outdoors. It floats well, is visible on the water, and you can tie it in a wide range of sizes to catch everything from largemouth bass…

 The rivers that flow through the birthplace of modern fly fishing are suffering from too much water diversion and pollutants from rural sewage plants. England’s chalk streams are legendary waters where the likes of Frederick Halford, George Selwyn Marryat, Frank Sawyer, and John Goddard cast their lines, but modern problems have plagued these ecosystems for decades. A new group of well-known UK celebrities are lending their names to a…

Photos: Phil Monahan We recently published our Father’s Day Gift Guide, but as we all know, there are tons of female fly fishers, as well. Writing in USA Today, fly-fishing advocate Angelica Talan recommends 10 essential pieces of gear specifically for women who love to be out on the water. The list includes everything from waders to rods to fly boxes to backpacks, as well as apparel. Click here for…

Mike Connor caught this redfish with a custom-made 7-foot, 10-inch fly rod. Photo by Mike Conner The standard 9-foot rod works fine for most saltwater applications, but writing in Florida Sportsman, Mike Connor makes a convincing case for using shorter rods in specific situations. A short rod can be light, fast, and accurate for when you’re trying to cast in a tight corridor, tuck a fly under the mangroves, and…

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about threats to public lands in recent weeks, as Congress has been debating whether or not to sell off federally owned land to the states. Well, Kirk Deeter of Angling Trade has some pretty strong opinions about this idea: [W]hat sets the American angler apart from almost any other on the planet is that we have millions of acres and thousands of miles of…

Keep Fish Wet—a science-based nonprofit dedicated to helping anglers improve the outcomes for each fish they release—has launched a cool “Mini-Lesson” about best practices for catch-and-release fishing.  The Mini-Lesson is a great way to learn the science behind catch-and-release, and it’s a great teaching tool for explaining the process to others. “Breaking down barriers to access and sharing is at the core of Keep Fish Wet” says Sascha Clark Danylchuk,…

This week’s Tying Tuesday features a Catskill’s classic dry fly, a more modern emerger from the mind of René Harrop, and simple yet bright wet fly, and a buggy nymph from Austria. Although based in Missouri, Andy’s Flies obviously appreciates the slender, elegant patterns of New Yorker Theodore Gordon, and this Ginger Quill will certainly tempt mayfly-eating trout. (Catskills may have some nits to pick, but the trout don’t care.)…

 Yesterday, saltwater fly-fishing icon Stu Apte celebrated his 95th birthday. One of the pioneers of catching tarpon on a fly, Apte built a name for himself through feats of angling heroics (including 44 world records) and endless self promotion. We posted a great profile of Apte by Jim Chapralis back in 2011: Stu Apte’s angling philosophy demands the best quality tackle rigged to the best of his ability so…