Thomas Walsh 
The trout we see feeding at or the near the surface is usually only a tiny fraction of the total number of fish in a river. The majority of them are laying low in the water column, hugging the bottom, these trout are all but invisible from the surface. In most rivers and ponds, a … Read more
When many people think of brown trout, we assume they are native to Europe. While this is true, the species has naturally dispersed over a much greater area than just Europe. Isolated populations also exist in North-West Africa, Central Asia, and Iceland. Iceland straddles the North American and Eurasian plates. One easy way to define … Read more
Most fishermen will claim you need to fish low visibility or clear lines when targeting trout. Is this true, or just confirmation bias? Do the trout actually care? For new anglers, there is no need to take risks when trout fishing. The best color fishing line for trout is clear or green. The clearer, and … Read more
River mouths are often the site where trout gather in large numbers. There are four main reasons why trout gather there. At river mouths, when the fishing is tough, I believe the old adage that 10% of fishermen catch 90% of the fish holds true. Sometimes different tactics can bring very different results. After work, … Read more
I can not say that a Mepps spinner was the first lure I caught a trout on, but it was close. To save money, I actually started my trout fishing journey assembling my own inline spinners. Then one day, I discovered a little Mepps Black fury hanging from some overhead willow branches, and being 6’4” … Read more
The use of gloves when handling trout is very controversial. Like many fishermen I have seen photos and videos of badly injured trout with visible ‘burn’ or ‘fungal’ marks in the exact position a person holds a trout. I have also seen wild trout with palm size fungal marks sulking in rivers. Was that the … Read more
Something about fishermen, we often seem to think the most likely place to find fish is in the deepest hole, or on the featureless bottom of a lake several hundred feet down. We know that fish live in water, so deeper water must be hiding bigger fish. Like most fly fishermen probably already know, this … Read more
The weather was absolutely brilliant today, but I was stuck at home waiting for family to visit in the afternoon, so I decided to sneak out for a short ride, as I was powering home, my chain momentarily got stuck and I slammed my toes directly into the asphalt. The pain was immediate, but it … Read more
I have been kayak fishing for years, and most of the time I do not use a fish finder but I can still consistently get onto trout and many other species of fish. The reason why I don,t use a fish finder is that I often kill mine, and also out of stubbornness. I like … Read more
Fall is normally a time of cool nights, sunny days, and little rainfall. This great weather means many trout streams are flowing low and clear which gives the trout plenty of opportunities to inspect their prey. I will also note that early in the fall river temperatures might still be warm during the day, but … Read more