The Moonshine Journal — Fly tying

To us, nothing sums up summer more than bass fishing. The water begins to warm up, fish start moving around, and the idea of a largemouth absolutely annihilating a popper gives us the warm and fuzzies all over. Pursuing bass with a fly rod is dynamic, exciting, and accessible to just about anyone, anywhere. Whether you’re talking about smallmouth or largemouth, these fish are aggressive, beautiful, and acrobatic. In other words, it’s fun.  In another article, we ran through some basic strategies for targeting largemouth bass in lakes and rivers. But this time around, we’re going to get a bit...

There are two types of fly anglers: Those who like to pick up rocks and look at the weird stuff they find, and everyone else. If you fall into the former category, you’re probably not even going to read past this sentence because you’re too busy identifying stoneflies and picking apart casings to show off to people who walk by. Godspeed, buggy angler. Now, if you fall into the latter category, we’re not asking you to take an entomology course at your local community college or revisit AP biology. But, we do think there should be more riverside entomologists in...

Welcome to a brand new series! We’re asking some of our favorite fly-anglers (and friends) to drop their five most essential flies and why they always have them on the water. It’s a great way to not only expand your arsenal but also a great way to get into the mind of someone who truly knows what they’re doing.  Speaking of knowing what they’re doing, Landon Brasseur is a great way to kick this series off. As a fly-fishing guide in the Catskills and a close friend of our team, Landon has hauled massive fish out of waters across the...

There are two types of anglers: Those who just need a knot to do its job and those who really like to nerd out about knots. If you fall into the latter category and have been tying the Bimini Twist since you were in diapers, this article may or may not be for you. But, if you’re just looking for knots that work, then step right up because we have six great ones—plus, a few bonuses. When you think about it, most knots operate on a sliding scale. For every extra twist and turn you make, you’re sacrificing something on...