By Nick Simonson   With pheasant season underway and the temperatures suggesting that a winter of fly tying isn’t all that far off, the Twisted Pheasant streamer is a great way to bring together the attractive coloration of a rooster with a little extra flash from some heavy metal.  A pattern that triggers fish across…

By Nick Simonson From the basic to the bombastic, there are so many ways to tie up foam beetles. An easy fold of foam over an underbody of dubbing, yarn or herl can produce a dozen quick flies to keep the summer fun rolling on a favorite bluegill pond or lake.  Add in a bright…

By Nick Simonson The Double Bunny takes all the fun of a standard bunny leech for pike, bass and other predators, and allows for the addition of more color and contrast with the wiggling motion a standard rabbit strip provides in the water.  A simple tie, involving a bit of sealant and a couple drops…

By Nick Simonson While fishing in the mountains of Norway, everything felt so basic.  From the small matchbox of flies my buddy Einar packed for me, to the wood cup used to scoop water from the hillside springs, simplicity equaled success.  Aside from a handful of synthetic winged silver flies for grayling, everything we threw…

By Nick Simonson Here’s a cure for the summertime blues, tie up a dozen Carey Specials for a great all-around fly that is perfect for bluegills, crappies, rock bass and more, and because it is made with those cool-looking church window pheasant feathers from up around the shoulders of a rooster, you get a simple…

By Nick Simonson The season of large grasshoppers and crickets truly doesn’t kick off for another month or so and those big juicy jumpers of two inches or more are just starting off as little bitty bugs right now.  That doesn’t mean a fast bite can’t happen for panfish and trout as smaller hoppers and…

By Nick Simonson Looking for another beefy pattern to throw to those hungry springtime pike or a succulent streamer to slap in front of a prespawn bass?  Look no further than this week’s fly.  The bunny leech is so easy to tie and so effective to fish that Minnesota has outlawed it.  Just kidding, but…

By Nick Simonson Alright, it’s time for some meat; big honkin’ flies for big honkin’ fish, right?  Hungry nighttime brown trout, aggressive prespawn smallmouth, anything with an appetite for destruction this spring will be looking for something more than the diminutive nymphs and dries tied up so far this winter. Now’s the time to bulk…

By Nick Simonson For a fun, and somewhat ornate fly that’s still easy to tie and exciting to fish, it’s tough to beat the Stimulator.  Designed to float high and dry in the fastest of Montana’s streams, this pattern was originally fashioned to simulate an adult stonefly, but in yellows and greens it can do…

By Nick Simonson Soft hackle flies come in all shapes and sizes.  For dainty fish like trout, tiny spider patterns with wisps of partridge hackle are all it takes to mimic delicate crane flies or smaller aquatic insects just under the surface.  For those hungry fish that want a bit more of a mouthful, heavier…

By Nick Simonson Another great (but often unsung) feather you can get off of the back of a rooster pheasant is the “almond-heart” feather located on the shoulder of the bird. Akin to the church window, this rust-orange plume can be used to create a shimmering back wing on any caddisfly pattern. The most notable…

By Nick Simonson The reports from around North Dakota following this past weekend’s pheasant opener were of a missing crop of young birds, and wily, old carryover roosters from last season that gave dogs the run-around.  Certainly, the challenge of bagging one of these remaining birds made the start to the season memorable for many….

By Nick Simonson As TV shows go, I’m not a fan of many, but The Mentalist was always one I’d watch right off the DVR.  While not every episode focused on the central story arc of the titular Patrick Jane attempting to locate the elusive and sociopathic “Red John” – those that did were always…

By Nick Simonson If you’re looking for a fly that totally catches fish, is completely customizable, and best of all is easy to tie, look no further than Al Campbell’s Swept Hackle Wing All Purpose Fly – or “SHWAPF” for short.  This two-material pattern can be tied with just about any feather or hair for…

By Nick Simonson The Zebra Nymph is a heavy-metal pattern that trout and panfish can’t resist.  With alternating wire strands for the body and pheasant tail fibers for the tail and legs, it’s a perfect combination of flash and finesse.   MATERIALS Hook: Curved Nymph 12-18 Thread: 6/0 Black Head: Black Nickel Bead Tail: 8 PT…

By Nick Simonson Welcome to our first installment of “50 Pheasant Flies” where we’ll get you some of the greatest patterns made from North Dakota’s favorite upland bird.  Now, we recognize that trout fishing opportunities are limited in the Peace Garden State, and because of that, you’ll find a lot of super patterns in this…