By Kirk Deeter

Why not put a fly rod on your holiday wish list? Or, better yet, give the gift of a fly rod, and you inevitably give the gift of fly fishing. Joe Cermele and I put together a big list of our favorite gift ideas, from big ticket items to fishy stocking stuffers, which you can check out here. But I decided that a rod had to top my list. And for the best all-around fly rod value, I think it's mighty difficult to beat a St. Croix Imperial. Classic brand. Costs $200. Smooth casting, fast action rod. Tough as nails. Backed by a lifetime warranty. And best of all it is--and will continue to be--made in the U.S.A.

By Kirk Deeter

Everyone has a "home river" where they started fly fishing. And everyone has a "dream river" they yearn to experience. The more I travel, fish and write, the more I realize that my home river and my dream river are one and the same--the Pere Marquette system in western Michigan.

I just spent a few days fishing the P.M. with guide Jeff Hubbard, owner of Outfitters North, who is hands-down one of the most dialed fly guides I have ever fished with. He showed me new wrinkles and twists for water I've been fishing for 25 years.

By Robert Younghanz

Here's the latest advice from Robert Younghanz, Fly Talk's resident "Bug Guy."

Bundling up, grabbing your fly rod and trudging through drifts of snow in frigid temperatures may be considered nutty. But if you are fortunate enough to live in a state that allows fishing year round, with a bit of preparation and specialized knowledge the intrepid winter fly fisher will often be rewarded with solitude. The trick is trying to figure out what trout are eating when it's 20 degrees on the river. It’s important to keep in mind that the very nature of fly fishing in the winter simplifies the bug selection process. The insect biomass is minimal.

I want to dispel the myth that the only insects that hatch in the winter months are midges. While Chrionomids can and do emerge year round, like all aquatic insects, in order to have a “successful” nuptial flight, ambient air temperatures need to be slightly over 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So on warmer days in the winter, it’s not at all uncommon to witness a variety of mayflies as well as midges hatching from the water. In tailwaters, I have witnessed insects attempting to emerge in temperatures far below 40 degrees, however their survival rate is negligible.

By Kirk Deeter and Tim Romano

A very common problem among fly casters in both saltwater and freshwater situations is that they make a perfect false cast (or two, or three), but when it’s time to let the final cast fly toward the target, everything seems to implode. You might think that’s the fly fishing equivalent of “buck fever,” but legendary angler Andy Mill, points out a simple flaw that’s easy to fix.