Fly Tying? You want me to tie a fly? No way. I can’t even darn socks. I knew I had enrolled in a fly fishing school, but I never thought about the fly tying aspect that would accompany my studies. School started and there I was, my instructor persuading me to give it a try. Reluctantly I went to the tying area. With a heavy heart, I tried my hand at tying my first fly, and managed to make a large and splendid bug. That disheveled fly went on to startle many fish, but one showed interest; all was
Oman … the name alone conjures up images of the desert, sand dunes and camels. This is the place that I now call home and where my husband and I have started our fishing business: Arabian Fly Sport Fishing. Most people’s first reactions are “Oh yeah, I saw the movie Fly Fishing in Yemen. Is it like that?” Well we haven’t built our own river and stocked it with wild salmon, that’s for sure. Our business is saltwater fishing. Oman has over 2000 kilometers of coastline - from rugged, unforgiving cl
Laurentian Great Lakes steelhead are a complex stock of fish. The population is a mixture of hatchery-released and wild, naturally reproduced fish originating from many different streams. Knowing the natal streams of the fish is important to best managing this species, as it allows for targeted conservation and management to the areas that are the major contributors to the total lake population. Fortunately, we may be able to determine the natal stream of a fish by looking at its otolith. Otoli
We’ve all experienced it. You put a new line on your favorite fly rod and, just like that, your cast falls apart. It’s not you, necessarily. It’s the line. Pairing the right line to the setup is key. Pairing the right line to the conditions – also key. Let’s talk saltwater fly lines. It might seem like a no-brainer, but the fly line is arguably the most important part of the system. Without the line, it’s just not fly fishing (sorry, Nome). Recently, fly line manufacturers have inundated
When I first started fishing, I owned one five weight rod and one five weight line. It was the line that the fly shop owner suggested and told me would be perfect for the Sage Light Line I had just purchased. I almost swallowed my tongue when I realized that line I had just plunked on the counter was over $100.00. I’d like to think that the line made all the difference, but honestly I can’t remember. It was all so new, and so confusing those early days, that I have blocked it out of my memory. F
Four years ago, I learned a new sport, my most favorite activity, my passion. This was fly fishing. I grew up in a small town in Western Kentucky. I had fished all my life, but only with a spin rod and bait. Fly fishing was foreign to me. Little did I know that it would empower me to be a leader, a conservationist, talk to others with confidence, want to travel to every state, and to not be afraid to be myself. Fly fishing has taught me to not swim with the flow, but against it. I first learned
My mom likes to wade deep—up to her armpits. And she is a small person. If I am wading upstream from her it is not unusual to see only a pair of arms, a rod, and a cowboy hat clearing the surface of the water. I watch for the reassuring wave of the rod, and then I can settle back into my own fishing for a bit. We are mother and daughter on the water, and we keep track of each other. Do not range too far. Stay where I can see you, or at least just around the bend. At some point I became frig
how does one begin a tale of a love affair? Once upon a time? No, that is too much like a fairy tale. And we all know life is not really like that. This story of love weaves throughout my adult years like a golden thread through a tapestry and has had me wrapped up for a while. But to tell this tale, I need to start at the beginning. Long time ago in a land far away … I grew up on a farm where life was full of freedom and adventure. I have three brothers of which two are older and one younger.
When your twenty-something son takes up fly fishing—at the cost of all other interests—there is bound to be some concern as a parent. This new fishing obsession was interfering with his college education, and baseball pursuits, not to mention preventing him from finding a summer job to help pay his way in the world. This interest seemed to come out of left field. Sure, we went camping and fishing as a family (when his sports seasons allowed), but this had become a rare thing in recent years as t
I started fly fishing when I was 20 on a small, trout-stocked lake in Southwestern Pennsylvania. To be quite frank, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. Over the next few years, if I caught a fish, it was definitely a pure stroke of luck. However, I loved it as I have always enjoyed a variety of outdoor pursuits. It wasn’t my “passion” though. At least not yet. In 2007, I was offered a job at the Fly Fishing Show. It’s a large consumer trade show that travels the country promoting fly fis
Adventure and wilderness experiences heal our souls. We get out in wilderness in many different ways, and for a variety of reasons. There is a theme that runs common for those of us who are driven toward our passions—Joy. What is it that is the undercurrent of the joy we experience through adventuring? Answering this question is where each story becomes real. Uncovering our reasons, unique to all of us, can reveal our hearts. Behind every reason we give for making adventure happen in our lives,
One of the best things about fly fishing is that you always learn something new. You can fish new water, head to unknown places, try different styles, and catch new species. But what happens when all of a sudden you have a baby in your backpack? Do you give up your time on the water, or change your fishing habits? I would say that fly fishing with a baby is more than a decision, it is an attitude, a lifestyle choice all its own. A choice that will require many compromises: more planning, flexib
I fished a little from time to time with my father; trips where the lunch and company were better than the catch. Out by the lake I found the peace I had been missing. I didn’t really understand that at the time. But as I grow older, and wiser, I realize the positivity that being outdoors instills in me. I caught my first sea trout in March of 2016 at 26 years old, and it changed my life. It gave me hope, faith, and a hunger for more. I made a checklist of species to catch. Before the end of
When I started fishing by myself, my dad gave me a can of bear spray. I laughed, thinking he was showing a little too much concern over an animal that had no great presence in my area of the world. “The best kind of friendships are fierce lady friendships where you aggressively believe in each other, defend each other, and think the other deserves the world.” Anonymous Over the years, I have never had to use said bear spray, but its presence on my wading belt has comforted me on occasion. The
Long before I ever picked up a fly rod, I was hauling fish on the decks of commercial fishing boats, off the coast of Maine, as the onboard scientist for a commercial fishery-style survey evaluating groundfish (Atlantic cod, Atlantic halibut, haddock, hake, etc.). I was 22, a graduate student at the University of Maine studying marine biology and marine policy. The fisheries research survey I was part of, known as the Eastern Gulf of Maine Sentinel Survey (Sentinel Survey), was started eight ye
