The early morning air is filled with the enticing smell of a smoky hardwood fire, and the soft pops and crackles of burning wood echo through the stillness as another log is added to the flames. As I open my eyes to the rays of sunlight streaming through the hemlocks, I know my parents are already up, starting breakfast. The wonderful aroma of bacon sizzling on a camp stove drifts into the tent, pulling me from my sleeping bag. It’s hard to beat those childhood memories of camping at Hickory Run State Park back in the ‘60s, surrounded by family and the simple joys of outdoor life. Those early experiences remain some of my fondest and most formative moments in the great outdoors.

Camping was our family’s go-to vacation until my teenage years. As I got older, my adventures expanded from tent camping to backpacking with the Scouts and friends. We hit the Appalachian Trail and even made trips out to New Mexico. I can’t say exactly why I loved camping so much—it was just something we always did, and over time, it became part of who I was. Many of those trips naturally involved fishing. While my dad wasn’t a fly fisherman, he enjoyed trout fishing in Pennsylvania and bass fishing during our camping trips in Canada. I can still recall the unmistakable scent of DEET and pipe smoke while swatting at mosquitoes the size of small birds—somehow, even those moments are fun memories now.

Camping and fishing are a natural pair that enhance each other. It’s hard to say which came first—the chicken or the egg—but for many anglers, camping is the perfect way to complement a fishing trip. Some of the biggest advantages include staying closer to prime fishing spots, making last-minute trips possible, and the convenience of mobility, which means not being tied to one location for days. Many of Pennsylvania’s best wild brook trout streams and natural reproduction waters are found in remote...

Wild Trout Man offers a new video for winter brook trout fishing. WTM provides some amazing winter native brook trout footage showcasing their unique behavior with spectacular winter scenery along a wild trout stream.

More videos can be found at the Wild Trout Man Youtube Channel and Wild Trout Man website.

Wild Trout Man is Dr. Joseph Simons, III. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Wilkes University and a Doctor of Optometry degree from Salus University. He is an avid outdoorsman who loves fly-fishing, camping, kayaking, hiking, scuba diving, nature photography and writing electronic music and soundtracks. Dr Simons serves as the President of the Stanley Cooper Chapter Trout Unlimited.

The Fly Fishing Show is a annual series of events for fly fishing enthusiasts, taking place across multiple locations in the United States from January to March 2025. These shows offer a comprehensive experience that combines vendors, education, entertainment, and shopping opportunities for anglers of all skill levels. Attendees can explore exhibitor booths featuring top fishing brands, guide services, lodges, and conservation organizations. The events provide free instruction centers where Fly Fishers International (FFI) offers complimentary lessons in fly casting, fly tying, and knot tying. Expert lectures by renowned anglers cover a wide range of fishing techniques and situations, allowing participants to enhance their skills and knowledge. The shows also feature the International Fly Fishing Film Festival at select locations, adding a cinematic dimension to the experience.


I like hitting all the vendor and fly tying both with Rick Nyles, Tim Cammisa, Ed Engle, Tom Baltz, Tim Flagler, Phil Rowley, Jonny King and more. The educational seminars offer a great way to hear from experts about many new or familiar locations to fly fish. Always plenty of great info for anglers of any level.


Visitors have the chance to win exciting door prizes, including fishing trips to exotic locations like Costa Rica, Belize, Iceland, and Chile, as well as high-quality fishing equipment. The fourth annual Consumer Choice Awards, held in association with Fly Fusion Magazine and Fly Fishing Journeys, allows attendees to vote for their favorite products and potentially win prizes in various categories. With locations including Marlborough, Edison...

By Dave Weaver

With the brood prevalent in central PA emerging this year, it's an auspicious time to tie up some cicada patterns.

I have fished the brood that emerges in SCPA/MD in 1987, 2004, and 2021 and took careful notes on emergence and fishing results. If you have never fished one of these 17 year broods, it's an amazing, sometimes frustrating, experience. Generally, it has been my observation that the bugs are not evenly spread across the regions indicated on emergence maps. Instead, they seem to emerge in great clusters here and there. You can expect to find them very dense on a section of stream, and a half mile up or downstream, there are none. Some sections with bugs see heavy fish feeding and other sections they seem to be ignored. You will have to explore and improvise.

For the 2021 brood, I tied up a large batch of cicada flies in anticipation. As is my preference, I used foam. These 17 year cicadas are different than the typical annual cicadas that are green over white. Instead, 17 yr bugs are smaller and black or dark gray with orange legs, orange abdominal ribbing, and clear wings with an orange tint. Their body length is about 1 to 1.25" so I tied my flies in that size on somewhat long shank nymph/streamer hooks that matched the body size. I secured the body to the shank using glue and orange floss as ribbing, much like a big hopper fly or a pencil popper. This was a mistake.

I had trouble with these flies when the hatch started as the hookup ratio was very poor. Curiously, I found that fallfish were getting hooked as they were more deliberate in taking the fly, mostly coming up from behind and inhaling the rear of the fly. Trout, by contrast, tended to be much more aggressive, often charging from the side blowing up on the fly or simply slashing it, and not getting hooked. There were days when it seemed like I only hooked maybe one in ten trout...

Tina Lewis started Wayward Trading Post in hopes of offering some unique art valued by anglers in the local fly fishing region with hand-made fly fishing nets. Wayward has been expanding and growing their reach to more than just the region.

I had a chance to visit her shop last year and learned firsthand her accomplished work in making her handcrafted wooden fly fishing nets. A fun operation in the Philly suburbs working out of her father’s garage.

Follow along to learn how you can enter for a chance to win one of these beautiful artisan-made fly fishing nets from Wayward Trading Post.

Latest Updates
Since Tina opened her shop a few years ago, a lot has happened. Recently, she has developed a custom-designed net in conjunction with TCO, a keystone state fly fishing retailer. The Madison River Fishing Company has selected her nets as part of their new product catalog. The list of retailers carrying Pennsylvania-made goods keeps growing, and the biggest news has yet to drop. Wayward is now a wooden net manufacturer for Orvis. This start-up has gone from a sawdust-filled wood-shop in Philadelphia to having an account with the largest brand in our sport.


Hand-crafted Nets
All the nets at Wayward Trading Post are sourced from Pennsylvania wood, using mostly walnut, hickory, and cherry. Each net is created by gluing together strips of wood to form the hoop and adding a previously crafted handle to the glued-up hoop, setting the pieces into a mold. Once the...

Just a few pics from my trip last week to the Bitterroot on Montana. What an awesome place. My brother, a true trout sicko, lives out in Hamilton so I had a personal guide/shuttle service. Highly recommended. Generally he'd drop me off in some ridiculously gorgeous place, point me in a direction and I'd fish all day then meet up with him in the evening when he'd suddenly catch a bunch of fish that I missed. I probably waded 15 miles of that river and never fished in the same place twice (Montana's rules on wading rule). Flows were low and very few other people were out - I saw 3 other fisherman (one in a raft) over the course of 5 days. I guess everyone else was hunting so I pretty much had the stream to myself. Bonus.

I fished streamers on a 2-handed trout spey rig the entire time save for one afternoon when we found a good pod of cutthroat rising to BWOs. Those rising cutties were stacked up and I could have stayed there for hours, but it got dark. Streamer fishing was really good tho. I caught more 17"+ fish in 5 days than I catch in a year here, lol. Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of the biggest fish of the trip. It was a bad-a** brown, big hump on his back, that deeply inhaled my sculpin. I quickly got the fly out and then the fish, which was spilling out of my 18" net opening, jump out of the net. It was a real specimen. Can't wait to go back.

A very good overview from Tom Rosenbauer at Orvis on tactics for Wet Flies & Nymphs.


Check out more from the Orvis Learning Centre: https://howtoflyfish.orvis.com

It had been several years since my last visit to Harman's Cabins in West Virginia. I chose a few picturesque days at the start of fall to experience the resort's new additions and indulge in some fly fishing.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by Todd Harman himself, along with Tim Caudill, the Fly Fishing Shop Manager. They offered a brief tour of the operations, and we hopped into an ATV for a drive to the property's top ridge. The panoramic view of the area was breathtaking, with fall colors beginning to paint the landscape.


Luxurious Accommodations
We then explored some of the newly updated cabins. Each is equipped for several days of spa-like living, perfect for a getaway trip. All cabins boast well-appointed kitchens, hot tubs, fire pits, and grills. Most also include infrared saunas, steam showers, and rain showers, offering plenty of ways for the whole family to unwind.


First Cast
Late afternoon found me eager to wet a line. I had spotted some risers in one of the first pools below the bridge. The trout appeared to be sipping, so I tried a Griffith's Gnat. The water was a bit low, but recent rains had raised levels to about 100 cfs. When the Gnat proved unsuccessful, I switched to a Caddis with a Zebra Midge dropper. It wasn't long before I was landing several of the big bows that populate Harman's two-mile stretch of the North Fork. I fished productively until darkness fell, then made my way back to Cabin #12 for a relaxing evening and home-cooked dinner.