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.

A Guest Post by Assistant Editor Kristyn Brady

Western Maryland may not be known as a trophy trout haven, but if you find yourself on Route-81 coming from Pennsylvania or West Virginia and itching to fish, stop in at Beaver Creek Fly Shop in Hagerstown, MD, and chat with shop owner and guide James Harris (below, showing me the ropes). I happened to be in the area last weekend and saw the opportunity to get some more fly fishing hours under my belt and possibly hook a wild brown or two in Beaver Creek—a limestoner that's known for offering year-round opportunity to flycasters. What I got was my first lesson in the challenges of a small, clear eastern creek.

Since I first picked up a fly rod last September, the few places I've fished offered plenty of backcast room. That luxury helped me get comfortable casting pretty fast, as did the chance to take a 30-mile float on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. Covering that much water forced me to cast over and over for days and to choose target spots quickly as we drifted past. But the conditions at Beaver Creek caught me off guard.

By Joe Cermele

Ok, before you judge this video, I urge you to give it a minute. The longer I watched the more I laughed to myself, because there are at least 10 phrases uttered by mock fly fishing guide Hank Patterson that I have heard real fly guides say to me on numerous occasions. Pretty spot-on impression of "that guide." How many of you have fished with a dude like this?

By John Merwin

A kayak is one answer to crowded trout streams. Last week, while camping and fishing in northern New Hampshire, I was discouraged to find three or four vehicles at every riverside access. So Mrs. Merwin and I loaded our kayaks in the truck and headed into the backcountry.

It was a great choice, despite--or perhaps because of--some rough woods roads we bumped along on our way to various remote ponds. Being able to soak up the September sun while casting for brook trout (which is what I’m doing in the photo) was pure pleasure. And best of all, there was nobody else around.