Trout Lake lies in the Northeast Corner of Yellowstone National Park. To reach the trailhead for the lake the angler must pass by the Gardner River, and pass by Blacktail Ponds cross the Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers, drive by the turn off to the legendary Slough Creek and drive along both the Larmar River and Soda Butte Creek. Not many anglers can pass up such storied waters for a hike into a lake without giving in to the impulse and stopping to fish one of these fabled waters.

For several years I have been studying the writings of the ancient anglers looking to see how they tied and fished their imitations. I developed a particular interest in the development and use of soft hackle imitations. Due to the work of Sylvester Nemes the whole fly fishing world is aware of and uses soft hackle imitations, this awareness begin in 1975 with the publication of The Soft-Hackled Fly. Prior to 1975 soft hackles were known and used by very few anglers in North America, they were still in used in Great Britain and in a few places in Europe, however the popularity of this pattern type was a far cry from what it is today.

It was going to rain the rest of the week. The temperatures were also going to be about 25 degrees cooler. That is the best reason I know to go fishing. My best half says that I don't need a reason. The existence of fish is more than enough reason for me to be out. Also if I did not go I might be crankier than usual.

I picked up two rods that I had not used for a while. I got out to the pond and looked at what was on them. I had a Goldie Jr and a white streamer tied with yarn. This one is thicker than fun fur but much longer also, with some sparkle in it.

Before becoming a fly fisherman, I fished bass tournaments for 30+ years and got out because the lakes just became too crowded and when the prize money got bigger, I had to compete against those who wanted to cheat and all this just took the fun out of fishing for me. A friend told me to go purchase a fly fishing outfit from Wally World and go to the rivers and he thought I would find the fun that fishing use to provide me and he was right. I really love fly fishing and I took to it rather quickly.

Most everyone has learned of "Murphy's Law" which states: "If anything can go wrong it will go wrong." A pleasant tale says the name was coined at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949 after Capt. Edward A. Murphy had bad fortune beyond imagining during deceleration tests. Whether or not this is the true source of the expression [which may actually trace back to bad luck English farmers (sods) and their ill-fated crops (called "sod's law")], after six decades of fly fishing misfortune, it is apparent to me that there are several corollaries of Murphy's law applicable to fly fishing.

FAOL celebrated another milestone this month when we completed our 16th year in business. In September 1997 Deanna – The Ladyfisher – and her late husband Jim – Castwell – started out on a new adventure. Neither of them had any computer experience and the idea of publishing an online magazine on the Internet was about as foreign to them as fishing with bait. The Ladyfisher had a background in journalism and Castwell was a jack-of-all-trades with an amazing ability to make things work. Thus the journey began.

Pausing to look over the stream I took a seat on a large maple sweeper that had found the dry gravel of the summer's water its seasonal resting place. Perpendicular to the waters course it was as if nature had envisioned a need for a bench overlooking the long glide in front of me and simply placed the woeful tree in the center as a gift to fishermen. I had begun my morning at daybreak in order to escape the worst of the mid-august heat. The fish however, had only partially cooperated with my efforts. They initially seemed agreeable to rising steadily all morning which had me optimistic, yet they had refused to eat any of my offerings which resulted in a torment that most of us know all too well.

Every so often we run across a fly that fills several roles in one. Such is the case with the fly I give to you today. This is a really great pattern which was designed as a dry fly but is also fished wet as a streamer pattern. As you can imagine from this traditional body style it's also a great attractor pattern. This fly is extremely popular in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. To the best of my knowledge, it's the only famous fly pattern to ever be developed in the Upper Peninsula.

You don't have to be involved with fly fishing very long before you discover that fly fishers are, for the most part, quite opinionate people. This has been so since the earliest days of the sport. Read any of the early fly fishing books and it will quickly become evident that fly fishers have been debating various aspects of fly fishing since its earliest days. Unfortunately, it also became evident that the opinions could quickly become a source of disagreement and some of them even reached the stage of name calling.