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El Jefe v2 9-foot 8-weight fly rod paired with an El Jefe 7/8 reel, held streamside on a mountain river with fly line running out over the water

8 Weight Fly Rod Combo: One Rod, From Trout Streamers to the Flats

The 8-weight is the most versatile rod you can own. A 5-weight is the trout rod everybody starts with, but an 8 is the one that keeps working when you change water, change species, or get on a plan...

Aug 31, 2026
Rivervault 2.0 - Waterproof Fly Fishing Lumbar & Hip Pack

Fly Fishing Gear: The Complete Equipment Guide

If you are buying your first fly setup, the hard part is not casting. It is standing in a shop or a browser tab with forty options and no idea which ones you actually need. So here is the short ans...

Aug 24, 2026
Essential Trout fly assortment - 24 hand-tied flies for trout in a fly box

The Best Flies for Trout (And Why Each One Earns Its Slot)

There are thousands of trout patterns out there, and every fly shop has a wall of bins to prove it. Most of those flies will never see water. Here is the thing nobody says out loud: a small handfu...

Aug 20, 2026
Fly Fishing TipsA big brown trout caught on an articulated streamer on the White River in Arkansas

Articulated Streamers for Trout: How to Fish Big Streamers

How to fish articulated streamers for big trout — the wounded-baitfish retrieve, sink-tip and short-leader rigging, and the big streamer patterns that pull predatory fish out of hiding.

Aug 13, 2026

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Fly Fishing Pro TipsRiverVault 2.0 waterproof fly fishing hip pack on the water

Fly Fishing Waterproof Hip Pack: Complete Buyer's Guide + Why Sealed Zippers Matter

There's a specific moment every wading angler knows. You step off the gravel bar, the water climbs past your knees, past your waist — and you suddenly remember your phone, your wallet, and your fly...

Aug 13, 2026
El Jefe sealed-drag fly reels in several sizes, showing how reel size matches rod line weight

What Size Fly Reel Do I Need? Fly Reel Size Chart by Rod Weight

Match the reel to your rod's line weight - a 5wt rod takes a 5/6 reel. A fly reel size chart by rod weight, what the numbers mean, when to size up, and whether you need a sealed drag.

Aug 6, 2026
Fly Fishing Pro TipsEl Rey G6 six-section travel fly rod tube packed in a duffel with gear, ready for carry-on travel

The Best Travel Fly Rod (2026): Packable 6-Piece Carry-On Rods, Honestly Explained

What makes the best travel fly rod? An honest 2026 buyer's guide from a company that builds packable rods — why a 6-piece packs to carry-on size, how it compares to a 4-piece, and how to pick lengt...

Jul 22, 2026
Fly Fishing Pro TipsFly rods and reels laid out by line weight, from light trout rods to an 8 weight saltwater setup

Fly Rod Weight Guide (2026): Which Weight for Trout, Bass, and Saltwater

The complete fly rod weight guide — what rod weight means, a quick weight-to-species chart, and which weight you actually need, from the all-around 5wt to the do-it-all 8 weight fly rod for bass, s...

Jul 22, 2026
Rock Creek flowing through a rugged canyon near Missoula, Montana

Fly Fishing Rock Creek, Montana: A Complete Guide

If there's one word that gets me packing a rod tube, it's salmonfly, and no water says it louder than Rock Creek. Fly fishing Rock Creek Montana is a rite of passage: a 50-plus-mile freestone tribu...

Jul 13, 2026
Fly angler casting from a drift boat below a steel bridge on the Missouri River near Craig, Montana

Fly Fishing the Missouri River near Craig, Montana: A Complete Guide

If you spend enough time chasing rising trout, sooner or later somebody tells you that fly fishing the Missouri River near Craig, Montana is a religious experience, and for once the hype holds up. ...

Jul 13, 2026
A large brown trout held above the White River tailwater in Arkansas

Fly Fishing the White River, Arkansas: A Complete Guide

If there's a place in this country where you can stand in cold, clear water and reasonably tell yourself the next take might be a twenty-pound brown trout, fly fishing the White River Arkansas is i...

Jul 13, 2026
Angler holding a rainbow trout above the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana

Fly Fishing the Clark Fork River, Montana: A Complete Guide

If you spend enough time fly fishing the Clark Fork River, you start to appreciate that it's really several rivers wearing one name. Montana's largest river by volume, the Clark Fork morphs from a ...

Jul 13, 2026
A river running through Missoula, Montana with a bridge and autumn cottonwoods

Fly Fishing Missoula, Montana: The Complete Area Guide

Fly fishing in Missoula, Montana isn't really about one river — it's about five of them, all within about an hour of the same brewery-and-fly-shop town. Norman Maclean grew up here, and the river o...

Jul 13, 2026
Aerial drone view of a drift boat fly fishing the Blackfoot River through a forested canyon near Missoula, Montana

Fly Fishing the Blackfoot River, Montana: A Complete Guide

Everything you need to fly fish the Blackfoot River near Missoula, Montana — species, best seasons, a month-by-month hatch calendar, flies, access, gear, and the river from A River Runs Through It.

Jul 13, 2026
Angler in a drift boat holding a rainbow and a brown trout on the Bitterroot River, Montana

Fly Fishing the Bitterroot River, Montana: A Complete Guide

If you want to know why so many of us circle late March on the calendar, spend one bluebird afternoon fly fishing the Bitterroot River while the Skwala stoneflies are coming off. This freestone riv...

Jul 13, 2026
El Jefe v2 10 foot 6 inch 3-weight euro nymphing fly rod and reel combo on weathered wood

Euro Nymphing: A Complete Guide

Euro nymphing is a tight-line nymphing technique built on a single idea: stay in direct contact with your flies. No strike indicator, no slack, no guessing. You lead a pair of weighted nymphs throu...

Jul 4, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresAngler Doug holding a bonefish — the first fish of a DIY saltwater grand slam — on the flats of Ambergris Caye, Belize

Saltwater Grand Slam, DIY: A Bonefish, a Permit, and a Tarpon in Three Casts

Doug had never fished the flats. No guide, no problem — he landed a bonefish, permit, and tarpon on three back-to-back casts in Belize. Here's how.

Jul 3, 2026
BassAngler holding a smallmouth bass caught on a streamer fly, lake in Iowa

Fly Fishing for Bass from a Paddleboard on My Home Lake in Iowa

A quick evening adventure fly fishing for bass from a stand-up paddleboard on my home lake in Iowa — and a reminder that you don't have to travel far to find good water.

Jul 3, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresSummer Fly Fishing in Montana - Guest Blog by Jake Hensley

Summer Fly Fishing in Montana - Guest Blog by Jake Hensley

We are excited to provide you with a guest blog from our friend Jake Hensley, AKA @missoulaflyguy out of Missoula, Montana.  If you are heading to Western Montana, this is the guy to fish with!   B...

Jul 3, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresSkwala on the Brain

Skwala on the Brain

But in recent days, the stoneflies have moved around, flipping rocks and searching a few banks have led to some promise for our anticipated spring skwala bite.

Jul 3, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresMinnesota Trout on the Fly During a January Business Trip

Minnesota Trout on the Fly During a January Business Trip

Pretty Brown posing on El Bolso.   My New Years resolution is to catch more fish on the fly. For me, its my Zen, and it’s one of my favorite ways to recharge my batteries. This week, I had several...

Jul 3, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresEverything Will Move Forward

Everything Will Move Forward

  Everyone knows this is a very strange time in the history of our society.  I’ll get to the fly fishing application in a minute. Our family is just like most American families, sheltering in plac...

Jul 3, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresQuarantine Carp on the Fly

Quarantine Carp on the Fly

  Sometimes you just need to get out there and toss a fly, I’m pretty sure everyone can relate to that feeling especially these days.  We had a very calm day here in central Iowa, and my family an...

Jul 3, 2026
Fly Fishing AdventuresLate May Smallmouth on the Fly

Late May Smallmouth on the Fly

  Don‘t you just love it when you show up to your fishing location to find a couple of anglers on kayaks already there?  Well, this one had a funny ending.  They were super nice people, gave me a l...

Jul 3, 2026