Murray's Fly Shop Fly Fishing Podcasts

Fly fishing for the smallmouth has really picked up over the last two weeks. The shallow gravel bars along the river banks hold large numbers of shiner minnows. The bass feed in these shiners in a hit and run manner. They literally crash into the shallows and grab several shiners then return to the safety of the deep water. Cast a Silver Outcast Streamer out in front of the maraud

Fly fishing in April is wonderful on the mountain trout streams as the water levels and hatches are ideal. We have good hatches of Quill Gordons, Blue Quill, and March Browns. All three of these start hatching about mid-day and continue until dusk. The spinners return at dusk. This means the last two hours of the day will have the greatest dry fly fishing. The Blue Quill i

Fly fishing in March on the smallmouth streams can be productive in the bank bays. These are indentations which floods have carved back into the river bank. Some of these reach 10-20 feet back into the bank. These block major currents but hold a generous food supply for the smallmouth. Wade or float down the river to 30 feet out from the opening. I begin my casts to the upper

Today let’s discuss the fly fishing on the large stocked trout streams. There are many streams that have an abundance of springs that produce great midge hatches. Big Stoney Creek, Mill Creek, and Hidden Valley of the Jackson are just a few that have great midge hatches. At dusk there are often thick midge hatches in the tails of the pools bringing many trout to the surf

While most anglers don’t like fly fishing for bass in the winter, I know a few anglers that don’t give up. Realizing the bass seek the deep water at this time of the year, concentrate on the deepest pools. The locals usually choose a five mile stretch of the river that has many pools from 5-7 feet deep. Using a canoe or a drift boat they drift from one deep pool to the

Fly fishing in the deep pools between limestone ledges on our smallmouth rivers can be beneficial. The ledges can run all the way across the river, frequently 2-3 feet apart with many 5-6ft deep pockets between them. Before these pools become covered with ice, get out and try your luck. Approach the downstream ledge from below and stay below it. Then wading across the river, I fan

Let’s discuss the different fly fishing options for November. Many of the large bass move into the back eddies to take advantage of the great numbers of minnows that live here. This also provides protection from the full force of the river current. Some of these are located on the side of the river with the slow current below the strong riffles. These eddies may range from 2

Many anglers save their vacation for fly fishing in October because they believe this is “big fish” time. Many of the bass leave their feeding stations along the banks and head for the deep pools and pockets. Hog suckers and madtoms rank high on important foods for large bass. Except for the water behind the dams there are few areas on the North Fork of the Shenand

Fly fishing in September can be excellent with chub and dace minnows. As the rivers get lower it opens the doors for smallmouth feeding on chub and dace minnows. This usually happens in the shallow water in the tails of the pools. At dusk you often see the wakes of bass as they chase these minnows in the water 1-2 feet deep. My favorite tactic is to enter the upper part of the rif

A good approach to fly fishing in August is to use a popper with a dropper. A good friend of mine caught a nice smallmouth using a Bass Stonefly Nymph as a dropper below a Shenandoah Blue Popper size 4. We have used this ploy often with great success. Over the past several years many smallmouth anglers have used this combination of a popper with a nymph dropper to catch many ba