Welcome to Trout and Feather.
Fly fishing and fly tying don’t have to be complicated. My goal is simple: help anglers at every level shorten the learning curve through clear instruction, practical tips, and real on-the-water experience. Explore videos, fly patterns, techniques, and travel stories designed to help you fish smarter and enjoy the process more.
New Year, New Blog!
Winter doesn’t mean the end of fly fishing. Learn where trout actually hold in cold water, when they feed, which flies get eaten, and a simple leader adjustment that can make winter fishing far more productive.
Guide Flies
If you’re like me, there are probably a handful of flies that you use on a regular basis for one simple reason: They ALWAYS catch fish! Typically easy to tie and using few materials, these are the patterns we teacher newer tiers and place on the tippet of beginning fly fishers. Call them confidence flies, guide flies, go-to patterns…whatever. Just use them!
The fly featured here is a Utah Killer Bug, a variation of Frank Sawyer’s classic nymph. With few materials, this is a pattern nearly anyone can tie, plus the addition of a jig hook and slotted bead help to keep this pattern from snagging while fishing moving water. To see some of my favorite guide flies, click the link below.