By Joe Cermele

In the Northeast where I live, the carp are fired up right now. Some are still spawning, and the ones that aren't are really hungry. I've been crushing them lately on the fly, but since I found some good bodies of water close to home that are loaded with carp, I've faced a moral dilemma: Do I, or do I not, cast bread flies at them? Whenever I roll up to one of my spots and see kids tossing bread to the ducks, it's both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it gets the carp moving and feeding. On the other, you can cast nymphs, berries, and streamers at carp keyed in on bread until you're blue in the face and they'll rarely strike. I keep telling myself they're just carp and I should hook them up by any means and have fun. But thus far I have not resorted to a bread fly. In the back of my mind, it makes it too easy, and it's the spot-and-stalk I love. What do you think? Though I can't understand the guy in this video, it's a nice Wonder Bread pattern for sure.

By Joe Cermele

Though I get all fuzzy inside when a trout sips a dry fly or slurps a nymph on the swing, I will take the crushing blow of a big brownie slamming a streamer over the more dainty stuff any day. And the bigger and uglier the streamer, the more pumped I am to throw it. That's why I'm really digging Thomas Harvey's Trophy Wife...which just so happens to be tied in this video by Brian Weiss with help from his real trophy wife. Granted, there's about $40 worth of material in this bug, but it's dead sexy and there will be some Trophy Wives in my flybox before my next visit to the river. I particularly like this tying video because of the clear, concise portrayal of each material and step. Yeah, that's it. Let's go with that. Have a great weekend.

By Joe Cermele

Yeah, so this is kinda strange. Apparently, New York City-based Youtube personality Joey Boots stumbled upon Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson flyfishing in Central Park. The conversation that takes place during this encounter is part Jerky Boys, a touch of "The Big Lebowski," and a few healthy dashes of awkward. My favorite part is when Joey Boots asks Tucker if he catches his own flies. 

By Joe Cermele

About 8 months ago I was leafing through Europe's Angling International and a new creation from Spanish company Thinkfish caught my attention. Their new modular fly storage system, dubbed the FlyPad, had scored some awards at a major European tackle convention. Turns out that U.S. fly tackle maker Cortland was intrigued by the FlyPad, too, and they are now the official state-side distributor. That meant I was able to get my mitts on an early sample, and it's a pretty innovative little item, though it does have pros and cons.