Every fall I start wishing for awful weather. I guess that's from growing up in Michigan where the weather is miserable from October through March. This time of year I always start getting restless to go stand in 37 degree river water in 33 degree rain. This time of year there is only one thing on my brain; Steel. As in Steelhead. Every year when the leaves fall off the trees, the wind starts blowing out of the north, and the cold rain starts to fall, my mind drifts back to s

Well, with high temperatures getting lower and lower, and daylight getting less and less, a lot of people are done fishing for the year. I am not one of those people. Yes, many days heading out to stand waist deep in a stream sounds like a fool's errand, but you're going to be a fool all by yourself. If you'd rather fish without any crowds, this is your time of year. A lot of people are trying to stock their freezers with venison, so they're not on the water. And with the sta

A lot of the streams in and around the Shenandoah Valley are in pretty good conditions right now. They are still low, but better than two weeks ago. They are still quite clear though to you're going to need to downsize your tippet. Before the front came last week, I've had luck with 22/24 Zebra Midge in black, red, and green. With these minuscule flies, I find that using a high-floating dry, like a Royal Wulff or Humpy sized around 12/10 or so takes the place of a traditional