The fly has worked extremely well and has landed more fish for me than any other single fly I have used.

The fly is tied on a light, dry fly hook. It is fished primarily across and down as with most soft hackle patterns. The best method of fishing it is to stand in the center of the stream and cast near either bank and then let the current swing the fly across the water and then directly downstream. This way, you quickly cover the entire stream as you slowly work your way downstream. I tie it on a light wire hook for this reason: I am usually fishing this fly when there are no rising fish. If, however, I see a rise, I do a few quick false casts to dry the fly off and gently land it above the rise. The fly will actually float for a little while and is often taken that way by the rising fish.

Common Snook [Centropomus undecimalis], this specie is native to the coastal waters of Florida (and many other places) they can reach 4.6 feet in length and weigh 53 plus pounds and may live up to twenty years. Furthermore their spectacular aerial displays endear them to the angler and this is one of the very few saltwater species that you can "Lip" without endangering your fingers!

FAOL Member Len Harris from Wisconsin has a book out. I hope that other members get a chance to support one of our own. I know I just finished ordering my copy from Amazon. --Ron--

It is true that midges will hatch during winter months (let's define winter months as from December to February for this chapter) and trout will rise. If one hits it right, one can have superb dry-fly fishing for a short while. Conditions we wish for are: no wind and slightly warm (around freezing point 32F or 0C is warm enough for die-hard local anglers). Then some of readers may speculate that I'm fishing at Livingston's spring creeks. Spring creeks are ice-free and water temperature is slightly higher than Yellowstone River. Yes, I fish DePuy's Spring Creek (www.depuyspringcreek.com) with a winter pass (as I wrote in a series last year). But also, I do hit the Yellowstone River during winter months when conditions are right. Over the last couple of winters, I've been observing something interesting to note. I came up with a comparison.

Standing on the loose gravel bottom and knee deep in water I watched stoically as another fish flashed. From my vantage point it looked to be a 16-18 inch brown, and appeared to be just one of the several dozen fish that were actively feeding within casting range of my position. It was at that point when the evening came together for me. Not that I suddenly had an epiphany of fish catching knowledge, but more in the realization that I would probably not move from that location until it turned dark. I had come to that point where I am most comfortable in my piscatorial pursuits, which is locked in a chess match with fish carrying a brain the size of a number 2 pencil eraser.

We had just got back home from going to help a nephew deal with his wife's death; expected from cancer, but still no fun. It had poured buckets while we were gone. The wind blew about 30 mph for the next two days. I tend not to go out and try to cast in wind like that.

When the weather calmed down I hiked into a pond. It was way too wet to try to drive, because any place there was a depression there was water standing. Even walking I sank down in the mud that was under the water.

Tired of the mess and lack of accuracy when using superglue?

Check out this tip by Rick Z.

It had been a hard year in trout country. The winter snows had been thin and the spring runoff never really developed. By early summer the streams were low and warm, and the trout were lethargic and spooky in the warm shallow water. The prospects of having any quality fly fishing this season were quickly fading with the last days of summer. I had given up hope of any fall fishing and was preparing to store away my gear for the season when my wife called me to the phone.

"Hey, what are you doing?" The voice resounding from my phone was my old fishing buddy from back east. We traditionally planned a fishing trip each year, usually during the fall. Normally we could count on getting some fall spawning browns to chase our streamers, and we were always hoping to have a few days of Baetis fishing.