Heisenberg” as a blue fly name should make sense to anyone who has seen Breaking Bad. If you haven’t, “Heisenberg” was the alias of the high school chemist turned meth cooker, Walter White. His meth was the best, and it was also blue. According to Brian Clemens, a northern California guide who spends a lot of the fall and winter on the Trinity River, “There’s nothing like breaking out the bad, and swinging the Heisenberg – the fish hit it like they are hitting meth.” He also adds, “It’s addicting.”
The Night Terror
Don’t be fooled by this fly’s simplicity. Designed for movement, the Night Terror undulates and pulses in the current without losing bulk and profile – and to top it off, it is easy to cast!
Steelhead Fly Signatures: Hackle Tip Wings
For me, nothing speaks more of steelhead fishing than a brightly colored, finely ribbed, steelhead Spey fly topped with a graceful set of hackle tip wings—a perfect example of form and function. These captivating patterns take us back to the days of Syd Glasso, whose tying would inspire untold scores of anglers to strive for perfection at the vise in an attempt to present the magnificent steelhead with something worthy.
Great Lakes Flies: Then and Now
Part I It has been nearly 150 years since the ova were imported from a tributary of California’s McCloud River to the Caledonia fish hatchery near Mumford, New York, that initiated the Great Lakes steelhead fishery. And whether you consider these creatures steelhead or simply lake-run rainbows, … Become a member of Swing the Fly […]
Prichard’s Western Angler
By Sean Dahlquist I love my fly tying books. I’ve collected dozens over the years and am always seeking more. They are the first thing I reach for in my library; every so often I’ll be flipping through the pages of an old favorite for the hundredth time when, suddenly, I am struck by a […]
A Handful of Flies from the Kola Peninsula: Part I
The Belousiha River Lodge is a small fishing camp on Russia’s Kola Peninsula.