Field and Stream - Tactics for Fall RSS

The CatchFeed: 50 Top Photos from Catchbook, Field & Stream's New Social Fishing App

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:43:40 -0400

These 50 photos are our editors' picks for the best shots posted so far by users of our new Catchbook app!

About Catchbook Fishing Reports
Catchbook is a free social fishing app we built for the iPhone to help you share photos of your fish while recording the spots where you caught them. Check out more great fish photos from around the country (and start posting your own catches) by downloading the app from iTunes! Visit fieldandstream.com/catchbook for details on how the app works, and why it'll help you catch more fish.

Catchbook Photo Contest
We're giving away a Columbia PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap, for the best photo posted each week (as chosen by our editors) from now until then end of July. At the end of each month we'll pick our favorite overall shot and run it in the magazine! Each monthly winner will also receive a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve (men) or Ultimate Chill™ Long Sleeve (women). Click here to learn how you can enter this contest. Click here for the official rules.

The Best F&S Online Record Fish Stories and Photos

Online Editors — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:57:23 -0400

International Nymphing: The Irish Dibbler

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:54:08 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

Not all nymph (or wet-fly) fishing should be confined to rivers. Using subsurface patterns for trout on lakes can be deadly. Fourth-generation ghillie (guide) Neil O’Shea recently explained to me why the traditional “dibbling” technique works well in places like Lough Currane in County Kerry. “The peat-rich soil makes these lakes acidic and less hospitable for mayflies,” he said. “So the migratory trout and salmon are window-shopping more than they are keyed in on a specific food source, like an insect hatch. Showing the trout and salmon bright, attractor wet flies with a slow, methodical retrieve will elicit a reaction strike. This is a technique for hooking curious, rather than hungry or aggressive, fish.”

The Rig: Use a 9- or 10-foot 5- to 7-weight rod with a weight-forward floating line—or a sink tip for targeting trout 8 feet or deeper. From the fly line tie a 6-foot 3X leader. This rig presents three flies—two are on dropper tags. From the leader, tie a 3-foot section of 6- to 8-pound mono tippet, leaving a 6-inch dropper tag. Attach another 3-foot section of tippet, again leaving a 6-inch dropper tag. The leader length is roughly 12 feet.

The Flies: Traditionalists will insist on staples like the Red Arse Green Peter, Bibio, and Silver Stoat, but good luck finding those at your local fly shop. Stick with proven patterns: a size 10 Damselfly nymph, followed by a size 14 Prince nymph, and a size 16 Mercer’s Poxyback PMD as the point pattern.

Where It Works: Dibbling is best suited for flat water—preferably in light wind-driven chop on overcast days when the trout are not dialed in on a specific hatch. Work it over structure, off points, in current lines, and especially near weed mats. Try this technique from a belly boat.

How It Works: Make a long, delicate cast and let the flies sink for a few seconds before starting your retrieve. You want to make long, slow, consistent strips (1). Near the end of the strips, lift your rod tip toward the sky so the flies “emerge” to the surface (2). The trout, which will likely have trailed the rig out of curiosity, will grab a bug—just as it reaches the surface—often within short reach of the boat or shoreline. Not all nymph (or wet-fly) fishing should be confined to rivers. Using subsurface patterns for trout on lakes can be deadly.

Fourth-generation ghillie (guide) Neil O’Shea recently explained to me why the traditional “dibbling” technique works well in places like Lough Currane in County Kerry. “The peat-rich soil makes these lakes acidic and less hospitable for mayflies,” he said. “So the migratory trout and salmon are window-shopping more than they are keyed in on a specific food source, like an insect hatch. Showing the trout and salmon bright, attractor wet flies with a slow, methodical retrieve will elicit a reaction strike. This is a technique for hooking curious, rather than hungry or aggressive, fish.”

The Czech Trick

The Spanish Combo

The French Twist

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

International Nymphing: The Irish Dibbler

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:54:08 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

The Czech Trick

The Spanish Combo

The French Twist

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

International Nymphing: The French Twist

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:42:18 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

The French have won six world flyfishing championships by being masters of catching trout in the trickiest, most technically demanding conditions—clear, shallow water and slow-moving currents. When you find trout in these situations, and they are not eating dry flies, the best option is to throw light nymphs on a long, fine leader. The French have devised a rig for this scenario that works better than anything else.

Their twist (literally) is a coiled, two-toned sighter, sometimes called a Curley Q. The sighter is actually at the end of a standard leader, making the total leader system very long—16 feet or more—which can make casting tricky. A deliberately long stroke and wide loop is necessary here. And casts are made upstream rather than working perpendicular to the current, as the Czech tactic requires.

The Rig: Here, the same style of rod used in Czech nymphing works, but you’ll need to chop 5 feet from the tip of the weight-forward floating line. From the line connect an Umpqua 9-foot Power taper leader (butt section at least 2X), followed by the Curley Q.* The length of 5X tippet that extends from the Curley Q should be 2.5 times the water depth. The dropper fly hangs on an 8-inch tag, and the point fly is tied to 5X or 6X tippet 18 to 20 inches below the dropper. *Make a Curley Q: Take a 24-inch section of Jan Siman Bi-Colored Indicator Material (bluequillangler.com) and tightly wrap it around a 3-inch finishing nail. Boil the line-wrapped nail for five minutes, then freeze it for 24 hours. Make perfection loops on both ends.

The Flies: Fish a size 16 (or smaller) tungsten Zebra Midge as the point and a size 18 Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail as the dropper. Egan’s Frenchie is also a great all-around nymph for this tactic.

Where It Works: This rig is ideal in spring creeks and clear tailwaters—water where you know the fish are eating nymphs and emergers, but you think the splash made by a dry fly in a dry-dropper rig would spook your targets.

How It Works: Cast upstream and let the flies drift over your target fish (1). As the flies come downstream, lift the tip of the rod to gather the slack in the line. When a trout takes either fly, the Curley Q will stretch ever so slightly. Set the hook. The long leader makes the cast tricky, requiring a deliberately open loop. After the coil starts to lose its memory, you can refreeze it into form, but once it kinks like a telephone cord, it is ruiné…finis!

The Spanish Combo

The Czech Trick

The Irish Dibbler

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

International Nymphing: The French Twist

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:42:18 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

The Spanish Combo

The Czech Trick

The Irish Dibbler

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

International Nymphing: The Spanish Combo

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:13:44 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

Spanish nymphing blends characteristics of both the Czech and French styles. Like Czech nymphing, you’re using a heavy weighted fly on the point and leading the flies through a run with the rod tip pointed at the water. Like French nymphing, the leader in this technique is very long—15 feet or longer—and rather than feel, you are relying on a sighter that is relatively far from the end of the fly line to tell you when to set the hook.

Spanish flyfishermen created this nymphing technique to help them catch the notoriously elusive fario (brown trout) in Pyrenees mountain streams. They found that the extra-long leader is the key to avoid spooking the fish.

The Rig: The ideal rod for Spanish nymphing is a 10- to 12-foot 3-, 4-, or 5-weight. Use a weight-forward floating line and a 3X to 5X 9-foot tapered leader. Spanish anglers tie a two-tone sighter to the end of the leader. Make the sighter by splicing two 12-inch sections of Sunline Siglon F mono (fishusa.com) together with Uni knots or a Blood knot. Below the sighter, attach 4 feet of 5X tippet and leave an 8-inch dropper tag while adding 2 more feet of 5X for your point fly.

The Flies: Heavy Czech-style flies work best on the point; smaller nymphs on the dropper. As an American variation, try a size 10 Conehead Woolly Bugger on the point and suspend a size 18 Flashback JuJu Baetis on the dropper.

Where It Works: This technique is especially effective in the tailouts of runs, in slow, deep water, and in spots where you have to reach across fast or deep water into a seam where rainbows and browns are holding.

How It Works: Cast at a 45-degree angle upstream (1), then follow the flies with the tip of the rod as they move downstream. With such a long leader, back casting is almost impossible, so lift the rod high at the end of the drift, letting the current load the rod (2), and lob the line back into the target zone. Keep your eyes focused on the sighter and set the hook on the slightest stagger, change of direction, or pause. The key to effective Spanish nymphing is choosing a point fly that is heavy enough to tick the bottom but not so heavy as to hang up on every drift. For that reason, anglers switch point patterns often—usually run by run.

The Czech Trick

The Irish Dibbler

The French Twist

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

International Nymphing: The Spanish Combo

Sarah Smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:13:44 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

The Czech Trick

The Irish Dibbler

The French Twist

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Catchbook Contest: Photo of the Week!

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:41:44 -0400

Congratulations to Austin Bockwinkel, whose spring Iowa largemouth bass takes top prize in our weekly Catchbook Photo Contest! Austin gets a PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap from Columbia, and also qualifies to win our monthly prize, a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve fishing shirt and his mug in the pages of our magazine. Click here to learn how you can enter this contest by. Click here for the official rules.

Catchbook is a new fishing app for the iPhone that automatically turns photos of fish you've caught into detailed fishing journal entries that show up on your map, then shares those entries exclusively with trusted friends. Our goal is to help you and your buddies learn more about the spots you fish. You can download the app from iTunes here.

Holy Mackerel: 2nd-Grader Hooks 68 lb. King Fish

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:10:38 -0400

Andrew Quinn, a spirited Michigan second-grader who wrestles in the 77-pound weight class at his school, is no stranger to grappling with heavyweight foes.

But even Andrew almost met his match when he hooked this 5-foot king mackerel during a deep sea fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico in late March. At the end of a 30-minute fight, Andrew had just enough strength left to boat the giant king, which weighed 68 pounds, 3 ounces—a touch lighter than Andrew but 4 ounces heavier than the current Alabama state record.

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from April 2012

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:25:49 -0400

Each month, Field & Stream editors review the hundreds of photos submitted by readers to our Trophy Room. If your photo is chosen to be printed in the Game Faces section of the magazine, you’ll win a Rapala Fish ‘N Fillet knife!

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

Catchbook Contest: Photo of the Week!

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:21:10 -0400

Congratulations to Connor Brazell, who's early-season pike photo takes top prize in our weekly Catchbook Photo Contest! Connor gets a PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap from Columbia, and also qualifies to win our monthly prize, a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve fishing shirt and his mug in the pages of our magazine. Click here to learn how you can enter this contest by. Click here for the official rules.

Lift a Fish to Land It, Use Your Forearm for Leverage

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:22:46 -0400

by Kirk Deeter

The key to landing fish quickly is knowing how to get their heads above the water's surface. Fish have all the leverage when they're fighting nose-down. You have all the leverage when their noses point up, and you can usually skate a fish right into the net, or land it by hand. The key to making this all happen quickly, which is of mutual benefit for the fish and the angler, is knowing how to "lift" fish.

It's often tricky, especially with large fish. Go ahead and try to pick a 10-pound dumbbell off the floor with a fly rod, fly line and 12-pound test leader. It's almost impossible if you hold the grip normally, gently lift the rod, and expect the flexed graphite tip of the rod to make it happen. When lifting heavy fish, you want to focus the stress into the line itself (trust me, 12-pound Maxima is harder to break than you think) and the butt section of the fly rod. To get that done, you want to grip slightly higher on the cork, bring the reel seat flush against your forearm, and then lift with your arm and shoulder, not just your wrist. This dramatically reinforces the leverage you have on the fish.

Here is a photo my friend J.P. Lipton of "Roughfisher" (you should check out his website, which is dedicated to catching "rough" species like carp on flies) getting ready to land a 20-pound carp on an eight-weight. The butt of the rod is about to snug up against his forearm, and soon after, he steers the fish right to the net.

Your landing efficiency will improve dramatically if you remember to use your forearm when lifting fish — especially heavy ones.

Four Deadly International Nymph Rigs and Techniques

Online Editors — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:32:27 -0400

A few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, three Eastern-bloc countries took part in a friendly flyfishing competition on Poland’s Dunajec River that would eventually lead to a worldwide angling revolution. The host Polish team dominated the contest over Czechoslovakia and East Germany, catching more and bigger fish by employing a short-line, heavy-fly system for presenting nymph patterns. In the following years, the Czechs further refined that system to the point that it’s now called Czech nymphing. By any name, it is deadly for catching large trout in numbers.

French and Spanish anglers have since added their own slants on nymphing. And, of course, many traditional wet-fly techniques were developed in the United Kingdom and Ireland decades, if not centuries, ago. The point being, by looking “across the pond,” American anglers can tap into a world of strategies that work great in their own rivers and lakes.

15 Reasons an Early Spring Makes Fishing More Difficult (And How To Catch Fish Anyway)

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:16:26 -0400

Spring has sprung. Actually, it sprang a month ago in much of the country. With the unusual weather pattern setting record-high temperatures on a near-weekly basis, many of you are no doubt scratching your heads and asking, what’s this going to do to the fishing?

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from March 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:00:43 -0400

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

Catchbook Fishing Reports: A Social Fishing App from the Editors of Field & Stream

Online Editors — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:37:45 -0400

If you're an angler, you know that keeping a detailed journal of your time on the water is one of the best ways to up your catch rate. That's because, over time, your journal will show you patterns in when and where fish bite, and what lures and baits work best under different conditions. The more detailed your journal is, the more of these patterns you'll see. But keeping a detailed journal requires time and dedication that most anglers can't afford.

Not anymore. Field & Stream's FREE new Catchbook app, just released on the iPhone, is designed to take all the work out of keeping a fishing journal. The app does this by taking photos of fish you've already shot with your phone and automatically converting them into detailed fishing reports that include the weather and water conditions present when those photos were taken. The app pins each report to a map, then lets you share them exclusively with trusted friends and fishing buddies. The more friends you have, the more reports you see on your map, and the easier it becomes to pattern your spots!

Our editorial team has been working for nearly half a year on the project, and it finally launched last week. Now we're looking for feedback from the people we designed it for. You! If there are bugs, we want to know about them. If there's something you think we can improve, we want to know what that is. And if you love something we've done? We want to know that, too.

We'll incorporate your comments into updates to the app, which we're planning to roll out regularly. You can give us your feedback by commenting on this post, or within a new "Catchbook" category in our online Answers section. And, right now, exclusively for readers of this site (and for a limited time only) if you sign up and request user "Field & Stream" as a friend within the app, we'll add 5,000 points to your F&S Online username.

Click here to view the app in the iTunes store, or follow the jump for more details on how Catchbook works. Thanks for checking it out! -- The Editors

POST YOUR PHOTOS
Catchbook lets you turn any fish photo you’ve ever taken with your iPhone into a detailed journal entry that includes the time, date, location, and weather present when you caught each fish. Upload your old fish photos to get started, then make sure to snap away with your camera the next time you’re out on the water. Add records to your journal by choosing the photos you want to upload and telling us the species of fish in each photo. The app does the rest! Add optional information (such as the size and color lure you were using) to create even more detailed records to share with your friends.

POOL YOUR RECORDS
The more friends you invite into Catchbook, the more catches you’ll see on your map. And the more catches you see, the easier it will be for you to pattern your spots. Inviting friends is easy. Invite people you’re already friends with on Facebook, or send your fishing buddies invites by email. You can also find new people to fish with by searching for other Catchbook users who fish in the same places you do.

PATTERN YOUR SPOTS
Every time you (or one of your friends) posts a photo to Catchbook, that photo gets pinned to a spot on your map. Filter your map to show only fish caught at specific times of the year, at different times of the day, under specific weather conditions and water temps, and much, much more! You’ll quickly see patterns in which spots work best under different conditions. Then use the app’s “Best Baits” features to learn which flies, lures, and baits caught the most fish under the conditions and areas you’ve selected.

Map filtering options include:
-- Fish species and fish size
-- Time of year and time of day
-- Moon phase
-- Wind speed and direction
-- Water temperature, water clarity, lake/river level, and tidal stage
-- Barometric pressure and barometric trend
-- Air temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation type

WATCH CATCHES IN REAL TIME
Keep an eye on what people are catching around the country by clicking on the “Catches” tab. You’ll see all the latest fish entered into Catchbook (photos only — no spot burning here).

SEE WHERE YOU RANK!
Find your name in a list of top users by species.

X-Ray Fish Photos: 41 Incredible Shots From the Smithsonian Institute

Sarah Smith — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:44:31 -0400

X-ray Vision: Fish Inside Out, organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), is an exhibit traveling to museums across the country through 2015. Visit www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/ichthyo/index.htm for the tour itinerary.

SHARK!: A Preview of an Artistic Tribute To The Ancient Apex Predators of the Deep

Sarah Smith — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:07:05 -0400

Millennia before humans first appeared on this planet, sharks were cutting their way through Earth's seas. They come in all shapes and sizes and are found in every ocean in the world as well as in many rivers and lakes.

A major multimedia art exhibition, SHARK!, organized by the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art and curated by acclaimed wildlife artist, author and environmentalist Richard Ellis, brings together art and science in documenting the fascination people have with these apex predators of the sea. In addition to drawings and paintings, the exhibition contains photos, sculptures, and video as well as a section devoted to the sensational impact of the 1975 film Jaws.

Ellis was good enough to give us these photos of pieces from the exhibition as a sneak peak. SHARK! opens on May 13.

For more information on the exhibit, click here.

The 45 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of February 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:46:15 -0500

Submit your photos here!

Here is the gallery of the best reader photos from January 2012.

How to Catch a Wall-Hanger: 7 Tips for Locating, Fighting, and Landing Giant Bass, Walleye and More Big Fish This Season!

Online Editors — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:13:27 -0500

Make this the year to catch a fish so huge you’ll want to admire it for the rest of your life. We found the best lures and baits, the hot lakes and rivers, and the trophy hunter’s top strategies. After this, all you’ll need is a hammer and nail.

Find A Spill or a Fish Kill? Get This Card And Know Who To Call

Sarah Smith — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:55:51 -0500

by Tim Romano

A number of months ago Hal Herring reported on the "Toxic Petroleum Sludge" that was infiltrating the waters of our beloved carp fishery here on the South Platte River in Denver. Local angler and fly fisherman Trevor Taner was fishing for carp in the river on November 27 when he noticed, "weird milky chocolaty sludge", and after fishing for a while noticed his "fly and fingers smelled like gasoline". He also mentioned that he could "see micro-currents and upwells in the water column that you usually can't see."

After talking to Tanner he told me that he spent a very long time trying to figure out who to call about the situation. After multiple phone calls to friends and anglers he finally reached what he thought were the proper authorities. This unfortunately took many hours and didn't really provide the response he had hoped for. They basically told him he was crazy and there wasn't a spill.

Long story short, Trevor was right. There was a pretty serious petroleum "spill" and it was most certainly in the river. Leeching into a tributary of the Platte through layers of soil and sand. It was most likely coming from a local refinery on the east banks of the river. The EPA finally got involved and to my knowledge the cleanup continues.

All of this would have been made much, much easier for Trevor if he knew who to call. Now -- thanks to him I do, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Since the event Trevor was given an award by his local Trout Unlimited chapter and they also did a pressing of some "Spill or Kill Cards" in his honor. Spill for well, a spill of any kind. Kill, for a -- fish kill. You know, lots-o-dead bloated little fishies floating belly up in the water. Duh.

The business sized card fits in a wallet and has the National Spill Response Center's phone number (800-424-8802) as well as the twitter hashtag of other local TU members that can keep them up to speed on what's going on. The National Spill Response Center's duty is the "sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills". Supposedly it is the fastest way to get something done if you have an experience like what Trevor went through and have the gumption to do something about it.

So do you and your watershed, lake or coastline a favor and pop that number above into your phone's contact list. Label it something that you'll remember and hopefully never have to use. Someday you might be very happy you did.

Field & Stream Picks the Best New Fishing Gear of 2012

Online Editors — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:48:27 -0500

What's new in tackle this year? Plenty--and we fished with it all. Field & Stream testers hit the water with more than 100 pieces of the latest gear, from humble hooks to the top-of-the-line high-definition sonar units. We winnowed the list down to 16 standout products that clearly are the Best of the Best.

The 50 Best Shots From The 2011 Field & Stream Fall Trail Cam Contest

Online Editors — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:03:25 -0500

Here are the editors' picks for the 50 best entries in our 2011 Fall Trail Cam Photo Contest. Congrats to KSwhitetails who took first place with his "Bobcat catches a turkey in flight" shot and will receive the grand prize: a pair of Steiner 10x42 Predator Xtreme binoculars.

Congratulations to all this year's winners and thanks to everyone for the hundreds of great submissions.

You can check out the top photos from each round of the contest here:
ROUND I
ROUND II
ROUND III
ROUND IV

On the Spot: "The Bug Guy" Robert Younghanz

Sarah Smith — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:48:16 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

Since we first introduced you to Robert "The Bug Guy" Younghanz last April, he's been a busy man--hatching a cool new DVD set, spreading his wings on the speaking circuit, taking flight with new articles and tips (Okay, I'll leave the hokey insect references out now).

I have always thought that fly fishing could be broken into basic areas of understanding--how to cast, how to read the water (to know where to cast), and how to present your flies (so they act right after you put them in the spot). Of course, none of that stuff matters unless you know what fly to put on in the first place! Yet despite that, I would also say that the entomology (understanding bugs) part of fly fishing is the average angler's weakest suit.

I know lots of folks who can cast like a champ, and can't tell a baetis from a mosquito. I have a basic idea what's on the menu most of the time, but I realize I have tons to learn on bugs, especially after fishing with this guy. (Robert, the master entomologist, is also a master angler. Not a coincidence.)

If you have bug questions, go ahead and ask them in the comment thread, and we'll pick a few, twist Robert's arm, and get him to answer them. Failing that, you might want to pick up Robert's instructional DVD. For $30 (two discs) you can go from rank novice to enlightened when it comes to understanding bugs and fly fishing.

As a teaser, I put Robert "On the Spot" with five brief questions:

FlyTalk: You get one dry fly, and one dry fly only to fish anywhere in the country (for trout). What is it?

Robert: A Parachute Adams, in either a size 16 or 18. And that's a pretty easy choice, because it covers all the orders.

FlyTalk: Okay, you get one nymph fly. Which one?

Robert: A size 18 or 20 Flashback Pheasant Tail nymph. That's another solid, all-rounder.

FlyTalk: What's the one pattern that you, as an entomologist who studies and understands bugs, have absolutely no idea how or why it works, but it does?

Robert: Pat's Rubber Legs. Or maybe a hot pink San Juan Worm.

FlyTalk: What's the one fly pattern you wish you had created yourself?

Robert: The Beadhead Prince nymph.

FlyTalk: How do you not drive yourself insane trying to match the hatch? Cant' too much knowledge be a bad thing?

Robert: I carry thousands of different flies when I fish, but I'd say 90 percent of my fishing is done with 10-15 different fly patterns. The key is tuning into what the prevalent order of the day is. Is it a mayfly day? A caddis day? If you take the time to be a good observer before you wet a line, understanding what flies to use is not that complicated.