Fly Fishing International

08/01/2023

It’s not fall yet of course, but the downhill side of summer has us wanting to cram as much as possible into every waking riparian minute. Get it while you can.

07/31/2023

Crowds? Not a problem. Water temps? Not an issue. And if you need a third reason to take up mousing during summer's second half, consider this: the fish of the year—and possibly a lifetime—is waiting for you beneath the stars.

07/30/2023

To a small, masochistic faction of fly anglers, trico time is the very best time of year—a chance to target the season's most technical risers right after morning coffee. If you haven't fished tricos, you are truly missing out. In addition to being profoundly satisfying, scaling down your game and considering every aspect of your presentation will absolutely make you a better angler. And even if you strike out on all of those size 22 spinner sippers, the hopper bite that follows will have you in the black before lunch.

07/25/2023

It’s always food o’clock somewhere.

07/06/2023

“The Essequibo Drainage, flowing northerly through Guyana to the Caribbean, stands as an arapaima stronghold thanks to relatively recent government regulations and a local embrace of ecotourism and adventure angling. The Rewa River and its oxbows are likely the world’s best location to encounter these unbelievably large fish. In many ponds it’s not uncommon to see dozens of arapaima rise in a session—and the average fish might be in the ballpark of 100 pounds. The oldest specimens are wise, but the short season and staggering remoteness only puts anglers in their vicinity a handful of times a year. Land your fly accurately, strip-set properly, and you may well lock into a black-scaled giant beyond 300 pounds. Landing her, however, is another story entirely.”

-FFI Adventurer-in-Chief, Sam Lungren

Photos: Dan Favato

Guts, glory and the world’s prettiest bycatch at the link in our comments.

07/03/2023

What can brown do for you?

Bring a heck of a lot of joy, that's what. Which makes it all the more important to practice good stewardship over our much-loved resource during the hottest, driest time of the year. Do the trout in your waters a solid by fishing early or late on hot days, bailing when water temps enter the upper 60's, and keeping all caught fish wet and happy for the camera.

06/22/2023

Imagine there are no tourists. It’s easy if you try.

No cell service around you. Above you only sky.

No, we’re not dreamers. We’ve just been to Xcalak, a tiny Mexican town near the Belize border that’s everything you’ve ever wanted from a saltwater fly fishing experience: miles of unspoiled flats, incredible local food, and a revolving door of bonefish, permit and snook. So if you’re looking for a place that will make you want to start your life all over again—this time on the beach—we've got some truly great deals on late summer packages. Right. Here.

Located  just a few hundred yards from the world’s second largest barrier reef and a short run from vast Chetumal Bay, the long commute to this nearly-off-the-grid lodge rewards anglers with multi-species sight fishing opportunities.

06/20/2023

Mirror, mirror, on the wall... who's the grabbiest of them all?

06/15/2023

We call catching a tarpon, a permit and a bonefish on the same day a Grand Slam, but it's probably more accurate to refer to it as a triathlon. It's going to take time, stamina, suffering, and a whole lot of strategy to get the job done. Think you're ready?

06/13/2023

It’s almost time to go GDOB ASAP.

06/10/2023

Wilderness fishing for permit that grow to 20 pounds or more—with potential shots at bonefish, tarpon, barracuda, and jacks in the mix? We say “sign us up!”

If you’ve been looking for a fishing-first, permit-centric trip to Belize, Blue Horizon Lodge is the place.

Blue Horizon Lodge, located on a 7-acre island in Belize, provides a unique, permit-focused fishing experience due to its position in the heart of "Permit Alley." The lodge offers comfortable, modern accommodations, a flexible fishing schedule, and fresh local cuisine, all contributing to an immersi...

06/09/2023

They don’t have any tarpon, and the bonefish may be scant, but the flats of coastal Australia are awash in permit—and that’s not a bad way to be.

06/07/2023

Taking a sailfish on the fly takes poise, focus, and NASCAR pit crew-level teamwork, all while the wind whips your face and the waves crash over the gunwale.

Think you've got what it takes?

06/02/2023

A violent day of pike fishing recalibrates the angler’s nervous system to a generalized expectation of ambush. Dark closets, blind corners, and even lidded toilets are afterward approached with extreme caution.

If you find yourself getting a bit too cocky in your angling skin, you might need a trip to the deep toothy north. Sight fishing boreal gators, anyone?

While Covid hasn’t shut down my travel plans, it has forced me to stick closer to home than usual. That has allowed me to share my adventures with family and friends. Last summer I was invited by Lori and Pat Babcock to fish at Cree River Lodge, which is located in Northern Saskatchewan, on Lake W...

05/31/2023

"I’ve been chasing pike a long time, in spirit and in flesh. The pike of my earliest years were figments, fragments and phantoms. They broke the stillness of mornings in the fish stories my uncle told, they ruled the bars of middle Wisconsin, where I’d stand on cracked vinyl barstools to count the teeth on head mounts. Instead of doing schoolwork I read Indigenous stories about the “Devil Fish” of the Yukon that swallowed canoes whole; about the ancient peoples of Lake Ancylus—now the Baltic Sea—who built fires on the bows of their boats and poled in the dark, looking to spear a giant; about the Victorian era British gamblers who tied a live frog to a duck’s foot, and when a pike ate, placed bets on either the duck’s or the pike’s survival.

The smart money was always on the pike."

05/30/2023

If a genie popped out of your empty bottle of Gink and granted you one trip per month, all expenses paid, anywhere in the world... where would you go?

When it comes to performing comedy or buying real estate, timing is everything. This can also be said for fly-fishing adventure. I learned this the hard way when a boyhood friend and I drove across North America after finishing graduate school in a first-time quest for steelhead. This was July of 19...

05/27/2023

Smallmouth bass are NOT supposed to get this big.

An Ohio angler has caught the largest smallmouth bass ever reeled from Lake Erie and the Great Lakes.

05/26/2023

If the tug is the drug, swinging kings and steelhead on the Dean is the lotus of the gods.

The big news is we just had a few dates come open for June, early July and August. If the Dean has been on your bucket list, this is a rare chance to get in on some of the best two-handed fishing on the planet. Interested parties should get in touch with Program Director Greg Thomas ([email protected]) immediately. These spots will not last long.

Explore the allure of steelhead fishing in the Pacific Northwest's dense rainforests and brawling rivers. Catch the elusive 15-pound sea-run rainbow.

05/24/2023

To a permit, Del's Merkin Crab presents the illusion of life. To a fly tyer, it presents the illusion of complexity. Until you tie one... and realize how devilishly simple it actually is.

This pattern goes by several different names—Del’s Merkin Crab or Del Brown’s Permit Fly, to name a few. Semantic differences aside, three things are certain—it was invented by Del Brown, it resembles a merkin crab, and it is one of the best permit flies ever invented. But why is it so popul...

05/23/2023

You can learn a lot about a fish by the flies they eat.

05/18/2023

Is it time to add a lunar calendar to your fishing calendar?

05/15/2023

At its best, fly fishing is a thousand different actions that one day, quite unexpectedly and without warning, boil down to a single moment of absolute success.... or utter defeat.

My gallant and typically sure-footed horse, “Estrella,” made an uncharacteristic stumble as we descended a steep, slippery slope, and for a moment I was totally absorbed with staying in the saddle.

05/12/2023

Now Kraft Fur is a great material with a lot of different uses. But like all synthetics, it’s totally uniform—every fiber is the same—and furthermore lacks the natural taper that all living things inherently possess.

While they take some experience to work with, natural furs comes with a lot of diversity, and therefor creative opportunity. Take coyote fur, which like the fur of many animals has both guard hairs and underfur, both of which feature different fishing qualities.

05/11/2023

The pursuit of permit on the flats is elemental, existential and exhilarating.

It had been a long tough week on the flats. Back-to-back cold fronts replete with a savage easterly wind had churned the crystal waters of Cayo Cruz into a milky soup. Overhead, the towering thunderheads had crowded out the sun, further conspiring to make sight-fishing all but impossible. All week m...