In my over 55 years of fly fishing I have discovered a few “tips’ that most fly fishers don’t think about or would ever think about how they would “improve” their fishing. Of course, many of you have things you do that you found help your fly fishing game. And I would like to hear about them! I will add this article to both the Forum and in our Fly Shop – Tips and Blogs section. Go to the Forum section and add your special tips. I would love to hear about them. 

Hear are a few of my tips (not in any specific order):

1. Add Dr Scholl’s Comfort insoles to your wading boots. Make sure they are made of a rubber material. Wading boots have no arch support or any support for that matter. You will be able to enjoy fishing All Day!!
2. Help keep the streams clean by carrying a tippet/leader trash collector. The Mono-Master is a good brand to have on your vest. Instead of cutting off tippet and discarding it in the river put it into your Mono-Master or other style tippet trash collector and take it home to discard in your trash bin.
3. When arriving at the location you will fish I recommend selecting and putting on your gear in a specific order. I have seen many a fly fisher break a rod or forget to bring something to the river with them because they would have no order in putting on their gear. What do I mean by this? I would put your gear (clothing, boots, waders, etc.) on before you put your rod/reel together. Doing it this way gives you one last thing to do before you depart to the river – set your rod/reel up. When you return from the river at the end of the day break your rod down first and put it away. Less chance for it to fall to the ground, forget it on top of the car and drive off (yes, we have had it happen several times). So, get to the river and suit up first then put your rod/reel together. After fishing, get to your car and break your rod down then remove your waders, boots, etc.
4. I always take way too much gear with me TO THE RIVER!! You can bring all your flies, gear etc with you on a trip but bring to the river, only what you will need. This is the hardest thing for me to do. I take more flies than a fly shop – hey, I never know what I may need. But you don’t need to take 20 woolybuggers or 20 Walt’s worms (which is not really a worm) to the river along with six boxes of other flies. If you know how you are going to fish bring just those flies or bring 5-6 flies of the ones that you do use. If I think about the last 20 trips I have taken I probably have used no more than 10 specific types of flies. That would be a maximum of two fly boxes!! I am still “working” on this so if you see me on the river try not to judge me!
5. Bring an extra pair of wading boot laces. I wear Simms boots and their laces are the WORST! They usually will break after about a year of use. Here is another plug – I love the wading boot laces made by Yakoda Guide laces. They even come in some wild colors for your boots. I have put them in my boots before my Simms laces break and they are still going strong – I have never had them break – yet!!
6. Of course you want to check your gear and make sure that all you will need is going on the trip with you. One thing I forget to check at times is how much tippet I have left on each spool. There have been times that I begin to pull off tippet to attach to my leader and low and behold only 12 inches comes off. The spool is empty. So before a trip, especially a big trip, check to make sure you have enough tippet. I usually carry 3x, 4x, 5x, and two spools of 6x on my vest. Then I will bring one of each full spool along for the ride. Running out of tippet on the water on a remote river is not the time to run out!
7. If you don’t have a “Precious” you ain’t fly fishing! Ok, most of you know what the “Precious” is, right? Don’t tell me you have never seen the Lord of the Rings and the Gollum character? Anyway, my “Precious” is the Ty-Rite tool (the company even gives us a discount). I have used mine well before there was ever a FATC. The Ty-Rite will hold your smallest flies so you can tie them on your tippet easier. I highly recommend that you buy the Ty-Rite Junior (the orange tool not the red tool) AND don’t buy any substitute tool. Only the Original Ty-Rite works properly to help you tie your flies onto your tippet. The easiest way to tie – use the Ty-Rite tool to hold your fly at the bend of the hook, twist the Ty-Rite 5-6 times and then run the tag end through the hole you made near the hook eye and voila, you have tied a clinch knot.
8. Have a temperature gauge with you and check the temps in the morning when you start fishing and in the afternoon. Most fly fishers don’t understand why it is so important to check the water temperatures. Low water temperatures the trout are more lethargic and will hang out more in slower waters or pools to conserve energy. When water temperatures reach 50 degrees to less than 60 degrees the trout’s metabolism turns on and it signals it’s time to feed. You may need to fish in faster moving water with more oxygen when the temperature hits above 55 degrees. Above 68 degrees it may be time to stop fishing as there is less oxygen in the water and trout will exhaust themselves quicker and may not be able to recover after being released. This is why out West they have Hoot Owl restrictions (look it up).
9. This tip we preach to the point that most all of you know it by now. Get yourself an Official FATC gear bag to carrying your gear in – all your gear. We carry a 35 inch/36 inch drop bottom roller bag which will hold your rods, net, reels, vests, gear etc. Why do we do this? I have seen many guys bring on a trip their gear in piecemeal. In other words, they have 10 pieces of gear they throw in the back of the car and ALWAYS forget something. BUT if they have all their gear in one bag that is all they have to make sure is in the car for travel – one bag – they have all their gear!
10. Read the Website often!! Before you go on any trip you should read the website. Why? You should check on the water conditions for the area you will be fishing – yes, even in Missouri. We have had guys head to Missouri locations (including the parks) to find they drove two hours to find the area flooded and impossible to fish. Check the past trips to the area where you will be fishing. This will give you a heads up on what flies are working or where the best spots have been. Fly fishing tips, best knots to tie, Missouri hatch charts, insect/fly identification, and more are all included on your website. Use it and use it often.
11. Check our FATC calendar often! Our calendar has the majority of our trips, events, and special events that are scheduled. Anytime something goes on our FATC calendar you should get an email regarding the trip or event. If you are not getting this then contact us so we can make sure that you are on the list to receive the emails.
12. Attend classes or fly fishing schools offered by the FATC and other organizations to improve your fly fishing. If you think you know all there is about fly fishing then that’s when you will never get “better”. This also holds true for those that fish the same way over and over again. There is NOTHING wrong with that!! If you want to go and enjoy being out there fishing, catching a few fish, etc then that is great. But if you want to improve and be the best all around fly fisher you can be – then work on new things, try new things being taught in the fly fishing world – attend a school or two.
13. Lastly check out the Fly Shop Tips we posted on our website back in April 22, 2024. It talks mostly about gear but always relevant. 

And remember the most important thing about your FATC, “It’s not just about the fly fishing”. We are a fellowship with so much more to give back to our communities, our charities and each other. Join us for our service events. We are a brotherhood. We take care of each other so let us know if you or someone in our fellowship is hurting. We will keep it confidential. And oh yeah, as I always say “get involved – you won’t regret it.