General overview about Trout Senses Additionally, even if you are fly fishing primarily for hatchery born fish, it is still good to know how a trout uses their senses. Why? Quite simply, by knowing how a trout uses their senses, your approach and presentation will be better, leading to less spooked fish and thus better results in the stream. While hatchery born fish are rather stupid, they aren't so stupid as to sit right on top of an anglers foot, patiently waiting for that fake fly to float right by. It's also worth remembering that compared to other fish, trout tend to be smarter than most, especially the cunning Brown Trout. Because of this, when fly fishing for trout, don't go about it like you would go about bluegill fishing. If an angler goes about fishing for trout on the basis that they are stupid, the angler is likely to be disappointed. A trout that can survive the rigors of a trout stream, especially a Brown Trout, is a very cunning animal indeed.

Choosing a Fly Reel The definition of a fly reel has changed a great deal in the last couple of decades. Once thought of as simply ” a place to hold your line” the fly reel has evolved into a highly specialized piece of gear. With phrases such as “startup inertia”, “large arbor”, and “heat dissipative disc drag”, the beginner can often be led to believe that they need to be an expert in Newtonian physics to make an informed purchase. I'll try to simplify things a bit. Fly reel does do more than just hold line. A poor quality fly reel is a wonderful way to lose large fish, especially when fishing on light leaders and tippets. Additionally, selecting the wrong fly reel for a particular fly rod can throw off the entire balance of the outfit. So, let's get started learning about the world of fly reels.

The Importance of Fly Lines Why are fly lines so important? Just like with fly rods and fly reels, fly lines need to match up with the types of fly fishing that you do. This match should be made precisely, too. Thus, if you have a 5 weight fly rod and a 5 weight fly reel, and it extremely important to make sure you have a 5 weight fly line. By not having a properly "balanced" fly rod outfit (which is where the fly rod, fly reel and fly line match in weight), the angler is very likely to have extreme difficulty in casting.

Coast Guard rescues 7 from life raft after fishing boat sinks (ABC 13 Texas)
The Coast Guard rescued seven men from a life raft about 70 miles off the coast Monday after their fishing boat sank..

Allowing myself to be finned wasn't the stupidest thing I've ever done
What is the dumbest thing you've ever done while hunting, fishing, hiking or camping? That question crossed my mind last week after I allowed myself to be finned by a fiddler catfish at Rend Lake.
The Kelvin alas….
The Kelvin, alas, is still out of action after all that rain. So last Sunday was a bit of a non starter when it came to trout rising and flies hatching. I mean the water had settled from the day before- a little lower and clearer but there was very little action. I just took [...].