Just a shot I pulled from the archives. Kel fishing a deserted stretch of a Montana river. Caddis adult + caddis pupa. Cast, mend, drift, swing. Repeat until it’s “fish on!”

Drawing Flies 52 Irresistible. Caught some plump brookies and gleaming little cutts on this fly. Tech info: Pentalic paper with pencil, pen and watercolor. The drawing went so smoothly that I was done with a few minutes of reserve time on the clock. I forced myself to do a faint pencil underdrawing first, which helped [...]

Some FF&W readers may know that my “back-in-the-day” history involves a five-year stint working in the film and TV industry in L.A. Met a lot of amazingly creative and brilliant people in that time, and got work with a more than a few fellow fly-fishers on-set, as well. In that vein, MidCurrent just posted a cool [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Gartside Sparrow. A little piece for an fondly remembered friend who also gave me the best tour of Boston that I could ever have hoped for (this one’s for you, Jack). Tech info: Pentalic paper with pencil, pen and watercolor. I wanted a fly that reminded me of Jack Gartside. Not just [...]

The Hair-Wing Drake as seen outside, and at the edge of, the fish’s window. I promised a tying piece that related to the “big mayfly” illustration in a previous post, so here it is: the Hair-Wing Drake. This particular pattern goes back a few decades, and has its roots in the Comparadun and various extended-body [...]

I have three things to do this weekend: Get some water-time, do about 3298479857454 book illustrations, and finish the May/June 2010 E-List (not necessarily in that order). I’ll be sleeping between the hours of 2 and 4 in the morning. So, for those of you on the E-List, look for something in your in-boxes on [...]

Want some meat to toss around during run-off? Try a big, juicy Strip Leech. If you’re a tier, Check out the recent “TieTalk” post I wrote up for my friends at “Field & Stream” magazine’s FlyTalk blog. The Strip Leech pattern shown is one of GB’s, and goes back to the days of bell-bottoms (I’ve [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Crayfish (or Crawfish, however you prefer). More specifically, this pattern is the Fleeing Crayfish/Upside-Down Leech. This fly can really do the job on smallies (and big browns). Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Went for the same general technique as last week, but wanted to add some more [...]

With “big mayflies” of various kinds now hatching in many parts of the northern hemisphere, I thought that I’d toss up a drake illustration that I did in the last century. Was originally a pen-and-ink piece, but this sample was subsequently hand-colored (pencil with liquid blender). I think a related fly-tying piece may be in order [...]

Drawing Flies 52 Sofa Pillow. The big salmonflies are out and about in some places, so this fly seemed appropriate. Tech info: Strathmore paper with charcoal, Pigma pen and watercolor. Like the Doc Oatman, I used all 30 minutes here. I had to do an underdrawing/painting first, then rinse/wipe it, and then do the pen [...]

This is a piece I wrote (with additional information/text from my friend and FCI colleague, Dr. Tim McCue) last year for the American Casting Association’s newsletter. While it has somewhat of a competition focus, it also has real-world “fishing casting” applicability. Hope that at least a few FF&W readers find it to be useful. ———- [...]