Year: 2021

Choosing Your Next Fly Tying Vise A collaboration of ideas with Mike Mercer and Justin Miller When you first start tying flies, you learn on what you have, which is often someone else’s old rickety hand-me-down vise or some cheap thing that came in a beginners kit. But if you get hooked by the fly (more…)

The Importance of Eyes in Fly Tying By Eric Ersch Before he proved himself to be a highly-skilled permit fly fishing guide, Jesus Martinez fed his family by fishing with his eyes. Born to a family of fishermen who survived for generations by providing food from the sea, his elders recognized his ability at a (more…)

I am a Gemini. I enjoy foggy morning sunrises on coastal rivers, long walks down gravel bars with friends, single barrel bourbon … Oh wait, wrong bio. My father was a fighter pilot in the Air Force when I was born, so the list of places I have lived is long and short lived when (more…)

So the grass is always greener, right?! Despite having some of the finest wild trout fishing in the country right here in Northern California, for nearly forty years I have faithfully made the pilgrimage to the hallowed trout waters of southwestern Montana. One of the big draws of these Rocky Mountain streams is that with (more…)

Perdigon nymphs are currently one of the hottest items in the nymph fisherman’s vernacular and fly box, and I am right there with them. These small, dense patterns are designed to sink very quickly, even in the fastest of flows. Features like tungsten beads and UV-cured bodies make them heavy, and a relative lack of (more…)

Eric has traveled the globe guiding and managing several lodges in the world of fly fishing. We are excited to have Eric on The Fly Shop’s travel team. My relationship with The Fly Shop® began in the mid-80s when its owner, Mike Michalak, brought a group of friends to our Alaska River Safaris camp on (more…)