6 Flies for Tricky Trout tied by Justin Kallbacka are featured in the 2025 Summer issue. Head to your local fly shop to grab a copy, then check out these two bonus patterns!
End of the Line | Justin Kallbacka
Articles
Trout System 2025
If you look at the first trout system and compare it with the new collection of flies featured in the Summer 2025 issue, you’ll see an evolution and an improvement in the patterns. Every year, Jeremy Davies on the hunt for new materials — testing new hooks, beads, dubbing, and other products that will enhance our time and success on the water. What follows are 5 bonus patterns for your summer tying. Pick up the Summer issue to see 20 more innovative flies you will want to add to your Trout System!
One Man’s Way to Catch Cranky Trout – Bonus Flies
In my 1952 second edition of Ray Bergman’s beefy classic volume, “Trout,” there are dressings for and paintings of 476 wet flies. Clearly, you can drown yourself in wet-fly patterns — just as you can with dry-fly, emerger, nymph, and streamer patterns. So, I’ll offer a very manageable selection of a few wets that will carry you a long way. ~ Skip Morris
Here are 6 bonus patterns from One Man’s Way to Catch Cranky Trout by Skip Morris. The full article can be found in the Spring 2025 Issue, now out.
Tying Tip: Rainbow Simi Seal Minnow
From beads and hooks to hackle and dubbing, many new materials have provided the inspiration to create new patterns that have proven effective on the water. Here is the recipe for one of my favourite new flies:
Rainbow Simi Seal Minnow
Hook: streamer hook 3x long, sizes 6 to 12. Lead over first third of hook shank
Head: rainbow brass or tungsten bead
Thread: black, olive or tan Uni-Thread 6/0
Body: dark shade Hareline Rainbow Dubbing
Tail: Claret Marabou with Krystal Flash, grey and blue
~ Jeremy Davies, Fly Tying Contributor, Fly Fusion
Casting Tip: Breaking Down the Roll Cast
The roll cast is an indispensable skill for any fly angler. It enhances your ability to cast in tight spaces, manage line effectively, and present your fly naturally to fish. As you transition from novice to intermediate, refining this technique will not only improve your casting but also elevate your overall fishing experience. Remember, every time you step onto the water, there’s an opportunity to grow as an angler. So, gear up, grab your rod, and head out to embrace the beauty while mastering the roll cast. Here’s some quick tips to mastering the roll cast.
Simms Launches Lightest, Most Packable Wader Ever
Bozeman, MT – May 16, 2025 — Simms Fishing Products, the leader in wader design and innovation, proudly announces the release of the all-new Flyweight Packable Wader — the lightest, most packable wader Simms has ever built. Developed over nearly a decade of design, prototyping, and on-the-water testing, this breakthrough product delivers on a singular vision: to create a technical wader that disappears in your pack but shows up when it matters most.
At just 2.45 lbs. (in standard size Medium), the Flyweight Packable Wader is engineered for mobility and minimalism without sacrificing the performance and durability anglers have come to expect from Simms. Originally created for backcountry anglers willing to hike further, travel lighter, and chase fish to the edge of the map, the wader’s versatility quickly expanded its reach. What began as a niche solution for remote pursuits has evolved into a go-anywhere, do-anything wader that thrives across seasons, fisheries, and travel scenarios.
Lefty Day
Lefty Day is an international celebration recognizing one of fly fishing’s most influential figures.. We’re excited to share the word that our friends at Fish Tales Fly Shop will be hosting this event on May 17. This day is special for Dave and Nancy as they remember back to the start of their guiding days and the impact Lefty had on them….
The Balm of Adventure | Allen Crater
It’s mid-July, hotter than hell, and the AC in the truck is out. My two sons and I are cruising a Montana highway with the windows down and the music up. Kyle came here in 2018 for college and Blake moved in with him at the start of summer. It’s been awfully quiet in the house without them and even more so since our German shorthair of nearly 14-years crossed the rainbow bridge last week.
Hazy heart
A heavy blueish-grey haze has hung over me for the last month, much like the valley we now travel through. Missing the boys. Knowing a small tin of ashes that used to be my faithful dog is waiting for me back home. Feeling my age and the eerie emptiness of a quiet house.
“Remember when time was cheap?” Gene Hill wrote. “The songs we sang about it told us that we had time on our hands, that time stood still, that tomorrow would be time enough. And now we find it was not.”
Grasshoppers and Gladwell | Derek Bird
I want to tell you about my favorite trout from this past summer, but I face a conundrum. I’m certain I remember the day in vivid detail, but more and more over the last few years psychologists and podcasters remind me that memories are unreliable. Are memories really unreliable? The most memorable podcast I’ve listened to on the unreliability of memory was a Malcom Gladwell podcast titled “Free Brian Williams”. And since then, I’ve had to tune out a number of experts discussing the unreliability of memories.
What should I do? Should I forge ahead with the retelling of my favorite fish memory from the summer or should I simply realize that my memories are similar to the meat versus filler ratio of a McDonald’s chicken nugget (45% percent meat, 55 percent “other ingredients” for the wondering mind). Did I even catch fish this past summer? I’m so confused. In spite of Gladwell, I’ll give it a try anyway.
The Birth of an Obsession | Dana Harrison
Identity crisis: What is this pattern supposed to be?
I don’t know if a fly can have an existential crisis, but if it could, it might begin with the question What am I supposed to be?
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