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Articles by Skip Clement
A huge hop, skip, and a jump for tube flies
False albacore by award-winning watercolorist Thom Glace – here’s a link to his awesome gallery. Contact Captain Andrew Derr for Long Island, New York, for spring flats, and fall ocean running gamefish. angling Metal tube flies have seen a dramatic rise in popularity Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023. By Skip Clement Across Europe, especially in Scandinavia, metal tubes are spreading deeper into the UK and many Commonwealth countries, angling communities.
A huge hop, skip, and a jump for tube flies
False albacore by award-winning watercolorist Thom Glace – here’s a link to his awesome gallery. Contact Captain Andrew Derr for Long Island, New York, for spring flats, and fall ocean running gamefish. angling Metal tube flies have seen a dramatic rise in popularity Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023. By Skip Clement Across Europe, especially in Scandinavia, metal tubes are spreading deeper into the UK and many Commonwealth countries, angling communities.
A huge hop, skip, and a jump for tube flies
False albacore by award-winning watercolorist Thom Glace – here’s a link to his awesome gallery. Contact Captain Andrew Derr for Long Island, New York, for spring flats, and fall ocean running gamefish. angling Metal tube flies have seen a dramatic rise in popularity Henry Clement, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, August 2023. By Skip Clement Across Europe, especially in Scandinavia, metal tubes are spreading deeper into the UK and many Commonwealth countries, angling communities.
The WWII Aviators Fishing Survival Kit Fly - Fly Life Magazine
Matt O’Neal ties an unknown fly tied in Massachusetts during WWII By Skip Clement Angie Roth, my fishing partner for the past eight years, is a fan of Savage Flies, as am I. O’Neal’s site is especially valuable for those interested in the origin and history of the flies that he ties and showcases. Matt’s history of this unnamed fly is a true piece of Americana. You will enjoy his intro on the history of the fly.
The best sculpin might be Gapen's 1930s muddler
Long live the Muddler By Skip Clement I was preparing to watch Matt O’Neal of Savage Flies on YouTube tie of a Muddler Minnow variation. Mid-thought, I decided to tie it as a tube fly and take advantage of those merits. My task was what to watch. I landed on Jacklin who is anchored to ‘the way it was in the day.’ I admit there are many more great vids of tying this timeless gem Minnesota’s Don Gapen invented the original Muddler Minnow fly.
Public Lands: 81% want Public Lands protected. MAGA says no
Underfunded, loved to death, and MAGA threatens the best idea America ever had By Skip Clement Preserving public lands has historically garnered broad bipartisan support, reflecting a shared appreciation for these areas across major political parties. Despite this widespread approval, public lands continue to face numerous threats.
Let us ‘Knot’ make that mistake again
A blogger condemning a knot does not necessarily mean it will fail By Skip Clement Failure to properly seat any knot almost assures failure. Correctly seating a knot means that the tying turns do not ride randomly atop each other. However, most knots fail because they are not locked down forcefully, allowing slippage. Of course, choosing the wrong knot for the job it is intended to serve is huge for most anglers, hikers, travelers, and climbers—the latter knot maker deals with life and death.
Profile: Capt. Andrew Derr is the real deal
Derr and the band he played with, The Goods, dented New York’s highly competitive new band scene. It was a young man on the go for Derr, fishing when he could. He became a who’s who in his day job and knew who was who in New York from the Adirondacks to Montauk. It was strange visiting Andrew I met Andrew at the Urban Angler, got introduced to staff and walk-in celebrities, and had a late lunch (two hamburgers, two beers, split a side of fries $70 including tip].
Fly lines can be kept new for years
Choose fly lines by reputation, options, ‘castability,’ and durability By Skip Clement As a lifelong fly fisher, I noticed my friends are like me in one way—we share an unwavering angling avocation for clean water and responsible conservation. Still, we are often baffled about discarding fly fishing items that are no longer used or useful. This seems like a metaphor for how we choose to ‘manage’ fly lines’ health—keep it new or lose it.
Matt O'Neal makes tying rewarding and enjoyable
Like many, I look forward to his Wednesday and Sunday tying ‘shows.’ His outgoing personality seems genuine, and his excellent tying skills make following along rewarding and enjoyable. O’Neal also fishes several of his ties on video. That’s a first He starts each segment with where the fly comes from—its history and the book and page/s he read from. Our coffee clutch of fly tiers greatly appreciates that intro information.
How I became an inferior fly tier in just 25 years
Maybe tying flies is not about money By Skip Clement Concluding, probably 24 years ago, that exactness does not make a fly potent. That belief carried me into the new millennium, brimming with confidence. Tying a fly looking like a crippled ‘morsel’ of an aquatic homey is possibly better – including terrestrials. Baitfish and emergers also come to mind as tied as crippled and have proven to work well. Many classic flies are tied as cripples, another encouragement.
Stripers on the fly with a popular guide
What unique backgrounds do the select few elite northeastern striper guides possess? For example . . . Their diverse experiences can offer you invaluable insights and strategies for an unforgettable fishing adventure. By Skip Clement He’s been a licensed United States Coast Guard certified Captain for decades. He lives where he fishes. He loves teaching kids how to cast and how to fish. He ties flies. He owns and maintains a flats boat and a bay boat.
Of praise to my friend and former boss, David Olsen
David Olsen was a good boss and friend and a great fly caster – the best I have ever witnessed By Skip Clement David Olsen, a friend of a quarter century and my boss for a time, passed away in September. His ability to fly cast any fly rod, no matter its design purpose, was remarkable. At the time of his death, he managed White’s Tackle in Vero Beach, Florida. The natural David was like Roger Federer but with a fly rod. He appeared to be doing little because it looked so effortless.
Coffee and fishing knots are best when strong
The first criticism I received from my New Zealand guide was, ‘Do not use that knot?’ A Clinch Knot? By Skip Clement At the time of my visit, Hughie McDowell, New Zealand’s famous guide, author, and world Tournament Fly Fishing champion, said the following knots were essential for outdoor enthusiasts to know.
The Silver Side Sun Ray tube fly by Ruben Martin - Fly Life Magazine
Capt. Andrew Derr’s response to Martin’s ‘Sunray’ is a Sand Eel By Skip Clement I’m not sure if there’s a sunray fish, but its likeness is well established as filet mignon for Atlantic salmon, sea trout, brown trout, and grayling in Europe. Tube flies tied as a ‘Sunray’ version are especially powerful in Scandinavian Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Hacks, a better life for fly tyers
Tips and tactics for fly tyers By Skip Clement At a local gathering of our fly-tying group, we watched a video featuring Brian Flesheg and Tim Flagler. Respectively, from Mad River Outfitters, the video host, and Tightline Productions. Worldwide, almost anyone who ties flies recognizes Tim. His hacks are incredible gifts to anyone who wants to jump from beginner to competent. You can watch his four-tube introductions on Orvis’ One Minute tying tips.
Introduce tube flies to improve angling proficiency
A Woolly Bugger tube fly has never had a bad day By Skip Clement Over the years, better ideas about how to do fly fishing ‘things’ better have come and stayed and come and gone. For you, that means certain ‘things,’ and for others, something altogether different. One such change that made fly fishing a better way to catch trout, salmon, bass, tarpon, and just about anything that swims is Russell Blessing’s fly his daughter named the Woolly Bugger.
Ruben Martin: Easy Nymph Tube Fly
Ruben Martin shares tying a simple tube fly nymph By Skip Clement Life Cycles The life cycles of aquatic insects vary, and flies can be tied to mimic different stages. Using various methods such as tube flies, hook-tied flies, or molded plastic flies.The latter of which is often used by light tackle spin fishers. Fly fishing the nymph stage properly is crucial for success, emphasizing how well one can imitate the movement of the nymph.
Woolly Bugger Tube Fly, the only fly you need
The original Woolly Bugger was olive chenille body, black hackle, and black marabou tail By Skip Clement “The late [1935-2009] Russell Blessing’s 1967 fly was intended to mimic the Dobson fly larvae stage, known as hellgrammite, to attract smallmouth bass, his favorite opponent.
It is never too late to protect your skin
Worldwide, of all the cancers, melanoma is the most common By Skip Clement The sun’s damaging UV rays are cumulative. Even if you’ve spent your whole life outside without sun protection, you can still reduce your risk of skin cancer by taking preventative steps now. Whether you’re a newborn, a teen, or an 80-year-old, the sun’s rays can harm your skin if not protected.
Tube Flies: Ruben Martin's tube sac yolk
Martin’s alevin, Tube Sac Yolk, fly plays well, no matter the season. It’s easy to tie By Skip Clement Salmon, Atlantic and Pacific, and steelhead trout eggs lie in the gravel as the embryos within develop. In time, yolk-sac fry, or alevins, hatch. Alevin and juvenile salmon [fry] grow up in freshwater lakes and streams, and fish, birds, and small land animals feast upon them. In the Pacific, rainbow trout and Dolly Varden love to eat alevin and fry salmon.
Small streams stripped of protections, polluters rejoice
Facts, precedents and reality never gets in the way of the Roberts court By Skip Clement A recent study has brought to light a crucial issue-the significant role of small, temporary flowing streams in the water supply of regional river basins. These streams, which lost federal protections last year, are not just a minor detail. NOTE: Above is an aggregated paragraph from the NYTimes story by Brad Plumer on June 27, 2024.
Tube flies and tail biters
Tube and hook-tied flies versus tail biters By Skip Clement Occasionally, there can be frustration dealing with hook-tied flies as well as with tube tied flies being attacked by tail-biting fish, and it is often misunderstood. The problem may stem from the hook being too far separated from the body of the fly, causing the fish to miss the hook. This design flaw can be easily corrected without compromising the integrity of the tube fly, but of no help on hook-tied flies except to discard.
Mangrove Coast fly rods are better than advertised
Finding magic in fly rods designed by a legend and made by TFO By Skip Clement The trend away from super-fast (stiff) action rods has been welcomed. It’s a resounding ‘success’ with many fly fishers north of 65 years old, anglers not comfortable with the physical demands of double-hauling stiff fly rods. A stiff fly rod leaves beginners with self-doubt—they cannot feel the fly rod load. These new rods with slower action are not ‘buttery’ at all However, they’re not the equal of a fast rod.
Trisha Hudson learns tenkara at AI speed
Steve Hudson’s books are different, and his Tenkara 101 will pull you into an orbit of learning that is satisfying By Skip Clement If you want to know what you need to know to participate in the subject activity of fly fishing tenkara style, it is all there. Tenkara 101 is teve’s his twentieth-something book on fly fishing, fly tying, hiking the Appalachian mountain streams, and more. Not even one is disappointing. He stays on point. You never read Hudson and say, Huh?
Learn to double haul and live a happier life
Double haul, and welcome to the most fun part of fly fishing: casting By Skip Clement The double haul seems counterintuitive once you realize it makes it easy to load the fly rod beyond pure muscle. It’s so simple to practice, and catching on quickly is rewarding. To cast using the double haul takes any angler out of the 30-foot cast limit.
Ruben Martin goes one better, a tube fly leech
Leeches are segmented worms that include earthworms, freshwater worms, and marine worms By Skip Clement The American Museum of Natural History leech expert Mark Siddallwrote: “Every continent and body of water on the planet has leeches, except Antarctica. And even then, there are marine leeches in Antarctic waters.
The Clouser Deep Minnow tied by Ruben Martin
Bob Clouser and the Deep Minnow By Skip Clement My initial encounters with Bob Clouser, a pivotal figure in the fly fishing community, took place at Chuck Furimsky’s Fly Fishing Shows in the East, likely in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. By 1985, Clouser’s minnow fly had gained significant recognition, earning a place in the esteemed pages of The Fly Fisherman.
Opinion: If quality matters, this should work for you
Make your own day By Skip Clement If you drove your Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry, you and them good ol’ boys aboard need to find another spot. Luckily, your rods and reels are safe in Rodmounts, and you need to move on.
Tube Flies: In search of a lost value
Why would I use a tube fly for trout? No reason at all. Why do you ask? By Skip Clement The native peoples’ designated tribal fishermen from what is now the Northwest of North America used tubes in their fishing. Artifacts of fishing hollow bird bones provided the conduit for their leather sinew line – the line we call the leader. That was 10,000 years ago. Those intrigued by tube flies have little to go on unless they follow European fly angling, especially Scandinavian fly fishers’ posts and videos.
Atlantic Salmon: We know who the enemy is. Somos nosotros
Oceans and waterways are warming quickly due to the climate crisis, making it harder for cold-water fish to survive By Skip Clement The Atlantic salmon, a keystone species that has survived for millennia, is now facing its biggest challenge yet. The world’s oceans and waterways are warming due to the climate crisis, making cold water harder to find – a significant issue for this cold-water fish.
Opinion: I'm just saying
Allowing bad to flourish at everyone’s expense By Skip Clement Overfishing can be as simple as holiday anglers catching many fish, but throw them away after taking a photo for social media. It can also involve sport fishermen yanking a treble hook from a trout’s mouth, then kicking it back into the water, as witnessed on Idaho’s Wood River.
Tips & Tactics: The Albert Godart Casting Method
Too many punches to the head By Skip Clement We’ve all been down this road, whacking ourselves in the head and back with a fly when it’s windy – especially when using weighted flies. Slow to learn, I finally decided enough was enough. One day, more than a decade ago, while fly fishing for bones in Islamorada, Florida. A lead eye Charlie attacked me from behind and left a residual knot the size of a marble on my thick, Irish skull.
Feature Story: Don't thumb your nose at 'worm' patterns
The crappie world of fly fishing is more fun than watching MTG By Skip Clement At a local fly shop, Alpharetta Outfitters, Alpharetta, Georgia, there was a free fly tying class—my favorite price. The instructor was Steve Hudson, an author with over 30 titles. The class was beginner in orientation, and I knew I’d made a mistake and would be bored, but I determined to be polite and shut my mouth. No, it turned out Smarty Pants didn’t know as much as he thought he did.
Claus Eriksen's Pattegrison can promise you success
Denmark’s Compleat Angler, Claus Eriksen By Skip Clement Grete Paulson, Angie Roth’s partner in crime [former attorney] and my often angling partner, joined our fly-tying group a few months ago after moving back to Atlanta from Alberta, Canada.
Neil Luehring: The undeniable successes of soft hackle
Soft hackle flies do not have pronoun issues By Skip Clement Soft hackle flies are okay with just being called soft hackle. The best of them, or seem to be most desired by trouts, are witnessed tied on #10 hooks to about #18 (hook description by Luehring). Others may choose larger or smaller hooks and or hooks of different physical characteristics.
Conserving riverine salmonoids with paint brushes
Conserving riverine salmonoids with paintbrushes By Skip Clement Thom Glace uses his talents as one of the world’s best-known watercolorists to support trout conservation at Yellow Breeches, one of our nation’s most iconic rivers and a productive source of Oncorhynchus, Salmo, and Salvelinus.
Book Review: Jim Stenson's A Tale of Three Fishes
A Tale of Three Fishes, by Jim Stenson By Skip Clement In Jim Stenson’s book, A Tale of Three Fishes, he uses the subject of iconic sport fish, permit (Trachinotus falcatus), Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), and steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), as backdrop to unleash his dismay on the worldwide lack of meaningful conservation.
Snook out of season on the 'Trail' with an idiot
Please release me, let me go By Skip Clement Post snook season, late in May in South Florida, while on the *Trail, I happened on a fellow angler fishing a bridge. On the Trail, all the bridges have numbers. No, I’m not telling you the number on a bridge – that’s information hard-earned. I call it ‘Double-up.’ I watched a gent hook up from the opposite bank with a nice snook on a light-spinning tackle.
Fly fishing for billfishes - society of a few
Billfish By Skip Clement Phil Caputo, Pulitzer Prize winner, Key West resident and skilled fly angler, described bill fishermen, marlin fishermen in particular, in terms of having a dementia he called “The Ahab Complex” in his 1988 essay by the same name. “ . . . an obsession to pursue and conquer a monster of the depths regardless of the consequences to one’s bank account, career and family life.” Caputo won his Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting on Chicago’s corrupt political system.
Tying a Tube Bead Head EP Bugger Trout fly
By Skip Clement Jay Nicholas, imperator of The Caddis Fly Shop, Eugene, Oregon, is also the primary tyer in the Pacific Northwest that steps beyond using tube flies solely for steelhead. Jay has been behind tube flies for over a decade, and his revolutionary thinking is leading to new tying techniques for tube flies for any size pattern.
Knots: In fly fishing the value of knots cannot be overstated
The subject of knots sells no tickets, but without secure knots, bad things happen By Skip Clement I can tie almost any knot perfectly in the dark and on a cold, rainy day when blowing 20. That is, of course, if I’m at my tying desk with Murphy asleep on my feet and I have a cold Atlanta 420 brew. At home, I have all the materials I need and anchor points; the BIG factor is plenty of time. No oncoming and unexpected 100-pound tarpon pod ever approaches this neighborhood.
The joy of fly fishing and tuning into everything around you
Becoming aware, like a switch had been flipped By Skip Clement Stories about survival in the forest and mountains are headlines every year worldwide. Hikers and hunters share the most copy. Statistics on Anglers getting lost on foot is way down the count list. There are more anglers than hikers and hunters. With quick detective work, it might be a simple deduction as to why anglers are better at figuring out how to get in and out.
Catch-minded fly fishers carry a lot of tube-tied Zonkers
In the 1970s, tandem flies gave way to attractor patterns, the most famous of which was probably the Zonker By Skip Clement The predator fly and attractor fly patterns have no family. But they are related to each other like orphans would be; they are all very different. No John Doe is tied to the first predator pattern, and a Jane Doe is not associated with the first attractor pattern.
In Maine, it is still all about 'Just Do It'
There is something worth saying about John Larrabee By Skip Clement I introduce HMH because they have everything a fly tyer needs to get into tube fly tying, or tying in general. Anything from a tube tying vise adapter to a tube vise and all the other accoutrements you’ll ever need. HMH pricing is fair; the quality is ‘A’ plus and client communication is revolutionary in the day and age of contacting non-English speakers as company representatives. NOTE: I do not receive any free products from HMH.
The Winter Parachute Midge gets a starting role mid-winter
By Skip Clement This fly by Tim Flagler, Winter Parachute Midge, is tied on a #22 Dai-Riki Scud/Pupa 1X short hook. It’s not one of hundreds of midge imitations. As most everyone knows, midges are generally the only thing taking off and landing in the middle of winter – giving winter trout fishing the get-off-the-couch push needed. It took six tries to get the proportions right. Also, the recipe comprises only some of the materials I carry.
Spinner Sharks: Catching freight trains on a fly
Spinner Sharks By Skip Clement In December 2012, Grant Gisondo, at the time a practicing lawyer and avid angle, curious about spinner sharks, spent an afternoon with a dozen other angling enthusiasts at Darren Selznick’s Ole Florida Fly Shop. They were there to listen to Capt. Scott Hamilton shows and tells what he knew about catching spinners on a fly. Scott is renowned for his knowledge of that subject.
Reilly Rod Crafters’ Chuck Kraft Series fly rods
Reilly Rod Crafters / Chuck Kraft Series 5-weight By Skip Clement Everyone has a favorite fly rod. Most conventional length fly rods with beginner to above average at the casting end will choose 9-foot fly rods.
Thomas McQuane: Reading again - The Longest Silence
I needed a quote, that’s all By Skip Clement Most of the time, clutter is the cloud that has followed me for over 80 years. I tell myself I know where everything is, but I don’t. It took me 30 minutes to find the book Thomas McQuane wrote called The Longest Silence, published in June 2001. The book had fallen behind a bookcase my brother made and it was only 4-feet from my bed. That’s a lot of look misses. I started skimming, looking for the quote After about ten pages, I slowed down.
Micro-rods, bobbers, flies, and panfish aplenty
Panfish: Afternoon fishing with a bobber and flies By Skip Clement A general comment about a micro-crappie rod is that it is a short spinning rod (6-feet or so) with a quick tip to aid in casting fly fishing flies. It has given bait and lure fishers a new dimension, as well as dedicated fly fishers. Dedicated bobber-spin fishers end up using so-called flies with metal attachments – small metal propeller-like additions usually, which makes them lures, not flies.
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