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Pillar 1: Mindset
Start here. Why do we fish? How do we venture boldly into the outdoors?
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Pillar 2: Environment
Where do fish live? How can we find them? All about watersheds, rivers, and all those who live in them.
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Pillar 3: Tools
What stuff do I need? Less than you think.
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Pillar 4: Technique
Casting, fly presentation, dry flies, nymphing, streamers and more.
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Pillar 5: Conservation
How to steward these gifts for the next generation
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Pillar 6: Connection
Building your support network inside the sport
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Take your time: Ten ways to make fly-fishing a bigger part of your life
We have a motto around here: "Make fly-fishing a bigger part of your life." Here are ten ways to work in more time on the water, and time spent feeling fishy.
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The Intro to Fly Fishing class in the spotlight
A short video introduction to the Portland Community College Intro to Fly Fishing course, courtesy student-angler Nathaniel Chapman
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The roll cast: A basic fly-fishing cast for tight spots
Whether it's the first cast you learn or the second, the roll cast is a hard-working and versatile arrow in your casting quiver.
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Thinking in watersheds
Understanding watersheds, and the different types of rivers we're going to encounter when fly-fishing
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Fly-fishing with indicators: When and how to use them
All about indicators, floats, suspenders—whatever you call the thing every other angler calls a bobber.
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Fly presentation and drag-free drift
You've rigged up your rod, landed your cast in the right place, your fly is on the water...and, it's waterskiing. Tactics and tips to maintain a drag-free drift that's irresistible to fish.
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Reading the river: The Thalweg
Find the fast water for keys on where to row, where to put your flies, and how the river wants to be.
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How to read a river: Riffles, runs, and pools
Digging one level deeper to understand the different features we find in a river
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From reel seat to tippet: understanding the anatomy of a fly-fishing rig
The knee bone connects to the thigh bone...the thigh bone connects to the hip bone...digging into all the things that attach to your fly rod, from reel seat to fly line to tippet.
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How to buy your first fly rod
There's one mistake I want to help you avoid when you buy your first fly rod.
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The ultimate guide to fly-fishing knots
The do's and do-knot's fly-fishing knot tying. Find out what you need to know, what you don't, and how to build your skills and have confidence in your fly-fishing knots
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Scouting 101: Keys to finding great fly fishing spots
Scouting fly fishing spots can be a major challenge for beginners. It depends on combing through lots of sources of information to find places where you might find great water, then verifying those hunches in real life.
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Finding your Home Waters with the Big Here Quiz
Start your journey to find your home waters by grounding yourself on your home planet.
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Setting your fly-fishing intentions: The CFS Check-in
Check-in with your goals and intentions at the start of every fishing season, or calendar year.
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Fly-fishing gear: What's essential, what's optional?
Here are the four pieces of gear you really need to get started fly-fishing
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What is fly fishing? Why do we fish? A very short introduction
For as long as humans have lived near rivers and oceans, we’ve fished. And I’d argue that fly fishing is the closest to how our ancestors did it.
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My life story as told by water
Who I am, and how that's shaped my fishing life
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Five reasons to start fly fishing
Nobody fly fishes because it’s easy. So why do they do it? Here are five reasons why I fly fish, along with two anti-reasons.
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Streamers and triggering trout aggression
Here are two examples of videos depicting the most visible and dramatic types of eats you'll ever get: territorial brown trout going after streamers.
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Public access and the ethics of fishing trespass
If a trespass happens in the backcountry and leaves no trace, does it make a mark?
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Dapper Don: Stalking large browns with a long rod
Inspiration on moving to a more sight-fishing, patience-oriented trout approach.
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That great fraternity of fishing idiots: Why fly rod warranties matter
There are more ways to break a fly rod than there are to catch a fish. A warranty can help get you back out on the water, but there are nuances to what they cover.
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Adding movement to your wet fly swing: Lift it like Leisenring
Once you're through the main drag-free-drift area, it's never a bad idea to try to impart some motion in your flies. The Leisenring Lift is a great way to accomplish just that.