Fly Line Color However, for top water or floating lines, the color of the line is generally immaterial as far as the fish goes. Whatever the color of the fly line, when looking up, a fish is bound to see it except for at night (when a dark line may prove beneficial). A fish looking up towards the surface of the water will see the fly line regardless of the color since the line itself is lit up from the light of the sky - and thus casting a shadow over the fish. Since this is generally accepted (although arguments do rage on about this), it is generally best to choose a fly line color that is easy for YOU to see. Brightly colored fly lines are much easier for the angler to see, and seeing the fly line is crucial for successful fly fishing - especially when fly fishing with nymphs. This is especially true in low light conditions, where actually seeing your fly is almost impossible, and the angler must instead rely on the actions of the fly line.

Selecting Flies for Pacific Steelhead Popular flies for Steelhead vary greatly whether you are fishing in the Pacific region or in the Great Lakes. The fisheries have developed separately and so have the preferences anglers have for flies cast to their intended prey. We will primarily concentrate on Steelhead flies on the West Coast in this article and concentrate on flies of the Great Lakes region in a future article. There are some common patterns used in both regions as well, and we will point those out as we go along. Fly fishing for Steelhead can be traced back to the Eel River, in Northern California, during the late 1800's.. And many of the first Steelhead pattern's roots can be traced back to the same era as well. There were a few problems during this time, and none more crucial than lack of material with which to tie flies. Standard featherwing trout patterns became the foundation of many steelhead patterns. Other patterns were adopted from English trout patterns and Atlantic Salmon patterns. Many of today's most popular Steelhead patterns can be traced back to these beginnings. Green Butt Skunk, Skykomish Sunrise, Purple Peril, to name just a few all hail back to these early beginnings.

The Mayfly Adult In our last article titled Mayfly Nymph. We covered the basics of the nymph stage of this crucial insect in the world of the freshwater game fish and fly fisherman. We now will cover the adult phases of the mayfly. Although most of its life is indeed spent as a nymph dwelling at the river or lake bottom. It is the adult insect that has truly captured the fancy of fly fisherman. It's the adults that were given the colorful names that we listed in the Mayfly Nymph article. And it is the adult that fly fishing elitists consider the only form worthy of imitation. After spending a year or so as a nymph, the mayfly emerges to the surface. On the way, it shucks its outer skin, and pumps fluids into it's wings. This emerging stage has caught on in popularity in the fly fishing world, as the mayfly emerger is extremely vulnerable. Many mayfly species are clumsy swimmers at best, and combine that with shucking their outer nymph skin, they become a flailing treat for the waiting trout.

Weekly Fishing Trivia Contest
Last Friday I was notified by About.com that I could no longer run this contest. I have had a lot of fun with it during the past nine years and....

Dog days at Hunting Days: Canine visitors, owners enjoy Hunting and Fishing Days (The Southern Illinoisan)
CARTERVILLE - Krypto, the wonder dog, sat quietly by the side of his master, Joe Lewis of Carterville. Lewis of Carterville was spending some time at the kids' fishing area at the Southern Illinois Celebration National Hunting and Fishing Days..