In the last issue I wrote an article entitled "The Fun Factor" in which I lamented some of the practices that I have recently observed while pursuing trout with a fly rod. I also quoted another angling writer who has observed the same things. Some of our readers took exception to my conclusions and perhaps I'm to blame for their reaction.

Anglers often speak of fishing the surface film during various emergences of insects and at times and under certain under certain circumstances they are successful. However, there are times where anglers are frustrated when trout are feeding in this zone.

The sky was a steel grey as light snowflakes drifted in the windless air as I stepped out of the truck. Off-loading my gear into the camp, the months that separated this day from the last time on the water carried a small amount of urgency. I would be fishing alone for the first half of the day, being the latest arrival to the gathering. But ahead of me was a crystal clear stream although a bit heavy on flow, and not a soul wading its banks. Such are the rewards of the winter fly fisherman, if willing to deal with the lack of feeling in your fingers and ice in your guides.

It was a good day to head out. I had no other activities that required attention and the weather was fairly nice. I picked a pond that I could hike into, but a difficult place to take the canoe. I took a 3 weight and a 5 weight rod and I even put my vest on.

New beginnings are wonderful. There is always a sense of optimism and hope.

Each time we go fishing it's a new beginning. A chance to correct what we did wrong the last time, try a different fly, work on our presentation, fish a new place, extend our horizons. The success of our outing is in our own hands and capabilities to persevere. If we have success we smile, and walk a little taller. Our fishing success, in other words, is our responsibility. What we do is who we are. The fish need to co-operate, and fishing in fishless water is an exercise in futility. To avoid that we do our homework and try to fish where fish reside. We do a number of other things to help increase our odds. Some of us even have a lucky hat or fly to protect us against those things which keep luck from smiling on our endeavors. But the final responsibility for our fishing success is the same as it is in all of our daily lives.

The author is a long time fly fishing guide and a fly fishing instructor which gives him an insight that is very helpful to any angler that desires to improve their fly fishing skills. The book covers all aspects of nymph fishing from stillwaters to running water. There are sections that cover equipment, insects, and fly patterns. There are no tying instructions but the formula for the patterns that are listed can easily be obtained.

In the spring of 2014, as the guide season approached, I had to cut my time for Atlantic Salmon Flies, to spend more time working on trout flies, filling boxes and orders. I noticed some changes right at once. I could tie much better looking flies with great efficiency. Now I got back to what my mentor and outfitter Tom Travis said to me almost all a year before; "If you can learn Atlantic Salmon Flies, you can tie better trout flies, especially some sensitive & careful spring-creek patterns". Thread control, number of thread wraps, knowing materials, handling materials, and so on are all the techniques and knowledge I learned from tying Atlantic Salmon Flies were shining on the much smaller hooks of trout flies.