Guiding at the lodge you are fishing from is such an important piece of your trip puzzle and it can absolutely make or break your entire experience. Regardless of your skill level, weather, and or cooperation of the fish you are chasing, the communication and interaction with your guide during the course of the fishing day is going to be fundamental to your success.

Bonefish are experts at using the tides to their advantage, which allows them to maximize their benefits in the tradeoff between feeding and avoiding predators. I guess you’d expect this from bonefish – they’ve been perfecting this for millions of years. Like many predators, bonefish try to get away with as little travel as possible in their search for a meal. There is no reason for them to expend energy swimming long distances if there is no need

The integration of helicopters into fly-fishing culture in places like Bolivia, Spain and New Zealand has been a truly welcome addition to the sport. The use of helicopters to access more remote and productive rivers and streams has enabled anglers to get deep in to the back country, without the arduous grind of hiking through thick bush and over big mountains just to get to the river.

As we move through the fall and our fly boxes stuffed with Parachute Adams and Pheasant Tail Nymphs are being opened less frequently, my thoughts turn to the saltwater game and the excellent bonefishing available throughout the Caribbean as the warm waters on the flats start to cool down after the long hot summer. I love bonefishing in the mid to late fall and often land my biggest fish of the year during this time frame.

Where I fish for smallmouths in the Great Lakes, I’m looking for the kind of structure that will draw and hold fish during the warm summer months. Early summer I’m looking for transitions zones where bass are feeding and congregating post spawn, on their way to their summer feeding grounds. Mid to late summer I’m looking for any kind of structural anomalies, like ledges, points, and drop offs, with easy access to deeper water. Smallmouth Bass are the ultimate ambush predators so finding structure is going to be the key to successfully finding and targeting smallies with a fly rod.

It doesn’t matter where you’re fishing, be it Alaska, Argentina or Montana, a float trip day adds a great deal to the overall fly-fishing experience. You get to cover and fish so much water on a float day and because you are usually being piloted by an excellent guide who knows the water intimately, you have the opportunity to pick his or her brain throughout the day, which often leads to learning new things and becoming a better angler.

I field questions several times a year from guests who have just heard about the trout fishing in Slovenia. The first question is usually, “where is Slovenia”? So little is known about the country that most anglers who have not already been there, have no idea where it is. They know its somewhere in Europe but that’s about the extent of it. Slovenia shares borders with Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the east and Croatia to the south. Not quite land locked, Slovenia has a small strip of land on the Adriatic Sea. What makes the country so special is that its still 65%

Just thinking back on my last trip to Romano and how well it fished. I tend to fish the late spring early/ summer time frame at Romano for a couple of reasons. Firstly, late April through June generally offers the most consistent weather, with lots of sun and with winds that are usually pretty manageable. Secondly, these months also offer the best opportunities found during the year for shots at the big migratory tarpon that swim these north coast waters during their yearly migration.