April 2006 Archives

Bass Fishing – Commercial sites with good instructional content
Bass Pro Shops, Outdoors Online. “The Complete Bass Fishing Resource” is not an overstatement.
http://www.landbigfish.com Centering mostly on the Michigan area, this commercial site offers good information; however, you must be a member with a login for archived articles. Good article on jig fishing for trout
Gary Yamamoto’s site and magazine subscription service. Do you want to learn from the creator of the Senko worm? For Senko rigging, follow this link
“Kevin’s bass fishing site – a one stop source for bass fishing information." Good articles.
http://www.bigfishtackle.com The page designs are a bit crowded for my old eyes, but this site is a comprehensive bass fishing site with excellent articles.
http://www.bassresource.com Another good resource.
http://www.aa-fishing.com/bass-fishing.html

Lure Manufacturers
http://www.meps.com

Bass Fishing – Guides and Outfitters with archived articles
http://www.jimporter.org Jim Porter is a published freelance writer with many credits. He has been a TV host, and he runs a guide service in Florida. Good articles.
http://www.nwfish.com Fishing with Oregon’s top guides is a site with good content for fishing for salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River.

On-Line Directories for Bass Fishing:
http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Outdoors/Fishing/
http://www.directory.google.com/Top/Recreation/Outdoors/Fishing/Bass/Directories

Search – Fly Fishing Tips

Fly Fishing – Commercial sites with good instructional content
http://www.davewhitlock.com/articles.htm A must visit and bookmark.
http://www.glaciertoyellowstone.com My Montana site. –Dave Archer
http://www.about-flyfishing.com/

On-Line Fly Fishing Stores
http://www.llbean.com/outdoorsOnline/outdoorSports/flyfishing/tips/rods.html
http://www.orvis
http://bobmarriotts.net/

Fly Fishing – Regional: Tourism: Promotional
http://www.glaciertoyellowstone.com A comprehensive fishing guide to Montana by Dave Archer
http://www.oregon.com/fishing.cfm
http://www.jacksonholenet.com/columns/jack_dennis_jack_dennis_fly_fishing_news.php

Fly Fishing – Guides and Outfitters with archived articles

On-Line Directories for Fly Fishing:
http://www.troutlet.com/link/fishing-directories-fly-fishing.htm
http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Outdoors/Fishing/Fly_Fishing/

Misc.

http://www.quickbrochures.net/fishing-books/fly-fishing-books.htm
http://www.schoolofflyfishing.com/resources/tipslibrary.htm
http://www.mustad.no/index.html
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles03/flyfishing14.shtml
Article on streamer fishing
http://www.troutnut.com/naturals/favorites.php
Great nymph photographs
http://flyfisherman.com/skills/ffmstreamers/
http://www.buckeyeflyfishers.com/Articles/fishing_streamers.htm
http://www.landbigfish.com/articles/default.cfm?ID=2406 jig fishing for trout with a fly rod

In all my years of guiding in Montana, I rarely was able to talk a beginning fly fisher to forego floating a famous Montana river and head for the canyon creeks. It's a pity because one day of instruction on a creek is equal to three or four days on a river. "Mend your line," shouts the guide. "You missed the target. You have to be within six inches of the shoreline, says the guide enthusiatically. "You're casting at the wrong angle. Stay in front of the boat," responds the guide. "Your fly has sunk, and you have line drag," mutters the guide. None of this will happen when you fish a creek.

Instead your guide will be laughing with delight when you miss or land a 7 to 9-inch cutthroat next to every rock and in every pocket. After all, there is basically only three guiding principals to remember.
1. Keep your rod tip high with little or no line on the water.
2. Allow the fly to float with the natural speed of the current. Better yet, let the fly stall.
3. Anticipate the strike and set the hook.
Click on this Montana fly fishing link for a great creek fishing article with lots of photographs. The young model is my son Brandon Archer who returned with me to one of our favorite Bitterroot Creeks.

Mastering the Basics of Fly Fishing was originally an outline that I followed when I taught classes on fly fishing. Working for an outfitter and fly shop owner in Hamilton, Montana, I taught a number of parent/child introductory classes. Later when I set up my Montana Fly Fishing site in the early 90's, I expanded this article for adults who wanted to learn on their own, as well as parents wanting to teach their children the skills of fly fishing. It continues to be one of the most visited sections on my Montana site. The instructional program is broken down into the following steps:

Introduction
Step 1: Pre and Post Test
Step 2: Terminal equipment and Paraphernalia
Step 3: Necessary Knots and Leaders
Step 4: Casting
Step 5: Basic Fly Patterns and Presentation
Step 6: Learning the Basics of Creek Fishing

Click Here for Dave's comprehensive program, Mastering the Basics of Fly Fishing found on his Montana web site, www.glaciertoyellowstone.com