Author: Mike Mercer

In Memory of John Dietz (December 13, 1963 – July 27, 2023) By Mike Mercer I met John Dietz in 1978, shortly after I took the job at The Fly Shop®. I was 18, he was 15, and it turns out I had taken the job he was hoping for! We laughed about that off (more…)

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…)

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…)