Articles

Pongola

Not only are the travel logistics smooth, but the action is epic. Using light rods and floating lines to stalk cruising tigerfish in the shallows, amongst the weed beds, hippos and crocs of the flooded margins of Lake Jozini in Pongola, is as good as it gets…if you agree, vote today!

Error getting video from vimeo API.

Flat Out

Flat Out is a collection of the CAST family DIY saltwater flats fishing in Australia and some highlights from an exploratory trip to the Deep South of the Red Sea, Sudan. Have you voted for your Stimmies Awards favourite yet? VOTE TODAY! Winner will be announced October 8.

Error getting video from vimeo API.

The Diamond River

Filmmakers Chris Walley & Pierre Joubert take us dry-fly fishing for yellowfish in Africa! Smallmouth yellowfish are usually caught with heavy nymphs, right on the bottom. In this short film, we introduce a part of a river system where the fish have adapted to feed predominantly on the surface.
Make sure to watch all Stimmies 2021 Top-12 finalists and VOTE today. Winner will be announced October 8th.

Error getting video from vimeo API.

Privilege

Time is our most valuable asset that we possess, once spent, we can never get it back. Like fatherhood, spent wisely, it will return tenfold. Being a father is a privilege, and one not taken lightly for Quinn Styles. Join Quinn and his son Jack as they spend the day fishing for brown trout, spending their valuable time together!

Vote for your favourite Stimmies Awards Film today!

Error getting video from vimeo API.

End of the Line | Intruder Alert!

If you have picked up a copy of the Fall issue of Fly Fusion, you are already enjoying the artful tying of Irene Vucko (@speygirl)!  Well, here’s one more bonus pattern along with the full recipe so you can try your hand at tying a few beauties for your fall fishing!

Freestyle Spey #3

Hook:      Salmon Wet Fly

Thread: Purple Textreme, 6/0

Tag:          Fine Oval Silver Tinsel

Tip:           Purple Glo Brite Floss

Tail:          Golden Pheasant Crest, Chartreuse

Butt:        Peacock Herl

Body:      Rear Half: Charcoal Floss

Front Half: Blue Pheasant Rump, palmered over 50/50 blend of Charcoal Seal dubbing & Purple Ice Dubbing

Rib:          Medium Oval Silver Tinsel

Collar:     Teal Flank, Purple

Wing:       Grizzly Hackle Tips, Blue

Shoulder: smaller Purple Pheasant Rump, Jungle Cock

The Guide Issue

The latest edition is headed to mailboxes as we speak!  Keep an eye out for your copy arriving in the next week or so.  Here’s a little peek into what you can expect from this issue…

Read More

LL’s Perdigon Torch | Landon Lacroix

LL’s Perdigon Torch

Hook: Daiichi 4647 Size 16

Bead: MFC Slotted Tungsten Lucent Bead-Orange

Thread: Uni 6/0w-Doc Blue

Tail: Calftail-Orange

Body: Veniard Stripped Quill-Orange

UV: Solarez Bone Dry

Wingcase: Solarez Thick/Hard and Solarez UV Fly Finish-Black

 

Featured in “End of the Line” in the Summer 2021 issue of Fly Fusion

Stream Lines | Fly Fishing Sucks

Sometimes the best way to say something difficult is just to say it. So here it goes. Fly fishing sucks.

 

It’s actually really hard. The visuals presented in fly-fishing films and Instagram photos are quite misleading. Sure it looks inviting, but there’s so much you don’t see…like how many mosquitoes and black flies the angler had to swat away while holding that prize trout at just the right angle, which is only slightly out of the water (like only one third of the fish). And you also have to position it at the perfect angle, with one hand holding the fish’s tail just slightly outstretched and the other arm, bending only slightly at the elbow, holding the fish’s body nearly fully extended. There’s a reason it’s called “angling.” It’s so complicated. And if you have really large hands and are naturally “big boned” then you need to really question whether or not you want to take up fly fishing at all. Trout appear smaller when held by large people, which will not make for enticing social media images.

 

Read More

Bio Bot | Jake Vanderweyden

Hook – Firehole Sticks 516 #14-16

Bead – 3mm Slotted Tungsten

Thread – Olive UTC 70D

Tail – Coq De Leon Med Pardo

Body – Olive Hareline Turkey Biot

Rib – Olive UTC Ultra Wire 

Thorax/Collar – Natural CDC/Hares Ear

Tied by Jake Vanderweyden (@theflyfiend)

Featured in “Best Ties for Summer Flies” in the Summer 2021 issue of Fly Fusion

Stream Lines | Just Shy of Eighteen

The logjam provided enough depth and structure to hold decent sized trout. I waded in just below it to about thigh deep and made a good cast up to where it looked like the large fish should be holding. My beetle pattern bobbed and drifted a foot or two from about the half-way-point of the jam where a few larger logs protruded into the river. I pulled quickly at the line to manage the slack as the current pushed the terrestrial toward me.

Read More