Fishy Fridays by Confident Angler: One fly fishing tip, one fly to try, and one inspirational post to get you fired up to fish this weekend. 🎣
Hey Reader,
I hope you are doing well. Things have really cooled down this winter over in my neck of the woods. How are you? How's the fishing been?
I've been thinking about fly selection this week. How overwhelming it felt when I started. I remember walking into fly shops, staring at all those bins, wondering how I'd ever learn what I needed.
Turns out I was overcomplicating it. Most anglers do.
You Don't Need as Many Flies as You Think Walk into any fly shop, and you'll see racks of patterns. Hundreds of flies for different bugs, seasons, and techniques. It's overwhelming. If you're starting out, it feels like you need to learn them all before you can fish on your own.
You don't.
Fish don't know pattern names. They don't care if you're throwing a Copper John or a Parachute Adams. What matters is matching what they're eating. I wrote about a simple framework for that a while back: size first, then shape, then color. You can read that here if you missed it.
But here's the thing, you don't need to memorize every bug on the river. Just learn the main categories first. Midges. Mayflies. Caddis. Stoneflies. Know what they look like and how they behave. That's enough for most situations.
The fly patterns in my seasonal guides have probably put 80% of my fish in the net. Not because they're magic. Because I trust them and I fish them well. Presentation matters more than having the "perfect" pattern. If you want to see my go-to winter flies, grab the free Winter Fly Fishing Guide here.
There are exceptions, of course. A brown drake spinner fall, for example, might need a specific pattern for one or two weeks a year. But that's the exception. Not the rule.
Start simple. Build confidence with a handful of patterns. Then experiment with a few new patterns here and there.
A few years ago, I grabbed this fly off the rack on a whim. It just looked interesting. I was fishing for browns right after spawning season and decided to throw it out there.
I couldn't believe how well it worked.
I even experimented. Clipped the fuzzy part off one to see what would happen. It still caught fish. But nowhere near as many. Turns out that fuzz imitates something specific: a ruptured egg leaking its milky fluid. Without it, you've just got a round blob that can still work. With it, trout see something that stands out more as an easy meal.
It can work well as an attractor pattern all winter, but it works even better closer to the front or tail end of spawning seasons. Dead drift it through deeper runs or below gravel beds. Simple.
My friend Tyson from Leave No Trvce is back with another Pokémon-themed fly rod build. This time it's the Ultra Ball rod, and he's chasing steelhead with it.
If you've been following his series, you know his builds keep getting bigger. The Ultra Ball is designed for big water, long drifts, and the kind of fights only steelhead can deliver.
It's creative, it's fun, and it reminds me that fly fishing doesn't always have to be serious.
P.S. If you’re tired of guessing but don’t want to hire a guide every time, a Trip Blueprint Session gives you the best middle path. In 90 minutes, we’ll build a complete plan so you can show up prepared and fish independently with confidence.
Here's what Cody had to say about one of these sessions...
I’ve been fly fishing for about five years, mostly self-taught through YouTube and guided trips, but I still felt stuck when it came to confidently reading water and dialing in the right rivers and gear. I decided to book a Trip Blueprint session with Derrick, and it was exactly what I needed.
He walked me through specific river recommendations I’d been struggling to figure out and shared practical gear setup tips and tricks that immediately made sense. The session boosted my confidence and gave me a clear path forward instead of more guesswork.
If you’re lacking confidence in reading water, tying knots, or getting your gear set up properly, I highly recommend contacting Derrick. He’ll help you reach that next level.
Note: Some links in this email may include affiliate links. I only recommend gear I use and trust. If you buy through these links, it helps support Confident Angler at no extra cost to you.