Five years ago, when I first began fly fishing, many wise men of the water forewarned that picking up a fly rod was only the first step of the life-long addiction I was undertaking. The evolution of a fly fisherman to a fly tier, they said, is an inevitable aspect of the sport.

They were right. Today, I find fly tying as rewarding and exciting as a tight line with a hungry brown on the other end. But whether you’re a trout bum like me, or brand new to fly fishing all-together, fly tying is a natural progression that almost every fly fishermen arrives at before it’s all said and done.

At first, the thought of actually tying my own flies seemed unrealistic and daunting. So many bugs to identify, hook sizes, colors and patterns to match, tools and vises and thread and beads, etc. And then there’s the technique of actually tying. I didn’t have the luxury of one-on-one lessons or tips and trainings from pros.

 Come inside for the full trout tying kit review. 

The big change is that felt soles are slowly disappearing from the shops. The agent for this change has been didymo, the invasive alga that has infected the White and Norfork over the past few years. Once introduced to a stream, there is no known way to eradicate it. Only one cell of didymo is required to start a colony and felt soles are considered to be the most likely culprit in the spread of the alga. Felt is porous and difficult to clean. Because of this several states have outlawed felt soles. As of March 31, 2012, it will be illegal to wear felt soles in Missouri. Will Arkansas be next?

The most common replacement is Vibram, a tough, well wearing rubber sole that has been used on hiking boots for decades. It is much easier to clean and doesn’t absorb water like the old felt soles. The felts were popular with waders because it gripped rocks well and provided sure footing in streams. The vibram soles do not grip the bottom as well as the felts did and are a bit more difficult to wade in, particularly on bed rock.

Come inside the Arkansas Hunting and Fishing forum for the full article from Arkansas fishing guide John Berry

In fact, I have been fishing them for over twenty five years. I first used them for bream fishing. I would tie a bream killer below a popper when targeting bedding bream. It is a killer combination. A year or two later, when I began making an annual pilgrimage out west to fish the storied streams in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Oregon, I noted that the standard rig out there was a small nymph suspended below a large dry fly. I eagerly adopted this technique.

I remember sight casting to a huge Yellowstone cutthroat with a small brassie dropper on a red humpy. He slammed the brassie on the first drift. At a fat twenty three inches, it is my personal best Yellowstone cutt and I still remember the take.

I frequently fished double soft hackles and grasshoppers with a small nymph suspended below when I was outside of Catch and Release sections. The only thing that prevented me from fishing doubles more often was the fishing regulation that did not allow their use in Catch and Release water, where I do most of my fishing. Now, with the recent change to allow their use everywhere, I am fishing them a lot. The most common ways that I fish droppers are double soft hackles, double nymphs or a nymph suspended below a dry fly.

Come inside the forum to read more from fishing guide John Berry.

Of all of the decisions facing the fly fisher, this is easily the most complicated. With the cost of some rods exceeding several thousand dollars, making the wrong decision can be an expensive mistake. There are a lot of criteria to consider.

It all starts with a simple question. What will you be fishing for? The rod you need for largemouth bass is quite different from the rod you need to fish for small brook trout in high mountain streams. It is not necessarily the size of the fish you expect to catch, but the size of the fly you will be casting and where you will be casting it.

Fly rods are made from three basic materials …

Come inside the Arkansas Fishing Forum to read more on how to select a fly rod by Arkansas trout fishing guide John Berry.

Detailed images of how to tie fishing knots and even a GPS-enabled bragging board are in the works so you can show off that huge fish to everyone who uses the new fish ID iPhone app.

See a species of fish you want added into the database? Just visit the support page and FloodedTimber.org will include your fish species suggestions in future application updates.

Check out the video of the Fish ID iPhone app at our Hunting and Fishing iPhone app page.

As a bonus, a percentage of WhatTheFish! proceeds will go directly towards conservation groups dedicated to restoring the Gulf Coast.

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