If I was starting over: Fly fishing advice for my younger self | Hatch Magazine
April 14, 2026 
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While it’s still a little hard for me to believe, I’ve actually been fly fishing since Ronald Reagan was president. And the fact that I’ve been at it so long — I started guiding on the Henry’s Fork and the Madison in 1992, and writing about the sport on a national level a couple of years later — had me wondering what type of advice I’d offer myself if I could go back in time and slip a note in my younger self’s pocket.
So here, on the chance it might prove helpful to at least a few of you, is what I came up with:
Fly fishing is a quiet, solitary sport that’s even better when you find the right people to fish with. In fact, you’ll want to put a fair amount of effort into finding the best possible fishing partners.
Most fly fishing businesses exist primarily to turn your passion for fly fishing into profits. And just to be clear, I’m talking about their profits as opposed to yours.
You need to know how to attach your fly to your tippet, and your tippet to your leader — and you need to do so quickly, efficiently and effectively. Which means you should practice whichever knots you prefer until you get good at them. (In my particular case, that’s the improved clinch knot and the blood knot.)
If you want to fish into your 60s and 70s — or even your 80s — treat your body with as much respect as possible when you’re younger.
Nobody really talks about, or thinks about, leaders much anymore. That’s a mistake. You should use leaders that work well for the techniques you favor on the water, and when you modify your leaders, you should take pride in creating a leader that will serve you well and accomplish its purpose.
YouTube is a wonderful place to visit if you’re interested in learning how to do things the wrong way with a fly rod.
Wear a hat, eye protection, and sunscreen whenever you fish.
While it’s far more enjoyable to use good tackle and gear, keep in mind that there’s no direct correlation between how much you spend on your gear and its overall quality.
Fly casting is incredibly helpful and important for those of us who prefer to fish with fly rods. While there will always be people who try to convince us that we don’t need to cast well in order to fish well, listening to them will invariably limit how much fun we have on the water.
It’s super helpful to tie your own flies. So learn how to tie sooner rather than later.
Fly fishing is 100% dependent on clean water and healthy landscapes. If you want to have great fishing, and if you want to pass along your fishing to your kids and/or grandkids, then you should support the handful of conservation organizations that are truly devoted to protecting our waters.
Along those same lines, only vote for people who will do their absolute best to protect the places we fish.
If you only fish for bass, pike and the various salt water species, you don’t need to own rods lighter than a 6 weight and you don’t really need to master anything other than a solid straight line cast.
If you’re going to fish for trout here in the U.S., though, you’ll want lighter rods and a much wider arsenal of presentation casts.
There are a ton of online fly fishing “experts” who are not really experts in any sense of the word. Listen to them at your peril.
Learn how to row a drift boat as soon as possible.
Most of the fly fishers that you’ll see on the water are doing it wrong. Which, in case you’re wondering, doesn’t really matter all that much. Just keep in mind that fly fishing should always be fun.
Never run away from grizzly bears. Especially not in slippers.
Some flies are definitely more effective than others, but there are no “magic” flies.
You don’t need to know the latin names of all the various insects, so don’t worry about memorizing them.
Keep your fish wet. Any fish that you’re going to release needs to stay in the water as much as humanly possible.
Fly shops — or at least the good ones — are wonderful places to hang out.
Never trust that a fly rod is well-suited for casting the line weight that’s printed on the rod. Many 4 weight rods, for example, are actually designed to cast a 5 weight or 6 weight line at normal fly fishing distances. Why? Nobody knows …
Although we’ve lost some giants over the years, there are still some truly amazing fly fishers at the pinnacle of our sport. If you get the chance to read something from (or listen to) Craig Mathews, or Tom Rosenbauer, or John Juracek, or Rene’ Harrop, don’t miss that opportunity.
Nobody fishes Double Taper lines anymore. That’s a major mistake. Opt for DT lines for the vast majority of your trout fishing.
Your ego is not as important as a fish’s life, so remember to play your fish and release it as fast as you possibly can. There’s no excuse for killing a fish by playing it too long, or handling it poorly once you’ve landed it.
If you want to model your casting after someone, please don’t pick your cousin Earl or the teenage YouTube influencer at the local fly fishing show. Instead, pull up a clip of John Juracek — or Chris Korich, or Maxine McCormick, or Steve Rajeff, or Brant Oswald, or Pat McCabe, or Whitney Gould, or Tim Rajeff, or Joan Wulff — and try your best to mimic what you see.
Don’t wade over your thighs in fast-moving water.
Get as good as you can at fishing dry flies, nymphs, streamers and wet flies, then focus your time on the stuff you enjoy the most.
When you find a fly rod you absolutely love, buy two if you can afford it. The manufacturer will stop making that particular rod sooner or later and it’s much better to have a spare hanging around in case you break the first one.
When you buy waders — which you will — always buy waders with zippers. And always wear your wading belt.
Embrace the golden rule and treat the other anglers you meet on the water the same way you hope that they will treat you.
Unless you’re looking for a rod that can double as an emergency wading staff, steer clear of fast action fly rods.
On those occasions when you’re lucky enough to fish, always remember to stop, look around, smile and give thanks.
When someone asks you about the size of that fish you just caught, deduct 20 percent from the actual length or weight of the fish. It’s good karma to do so, and it helps balance out all the anglers who routinely overestimate the size of the fish in their net.
Always dress appropriately and stay hydrated.
We all love to catch fish. At the end of the day, though, fly fishing is less about hooking and landing a fish and more about spending time immersed in the natural world.
Remember to take more pictures of your friends and the scenery, and fewer photos of the fish you bring to hand.
If you give it a chance, fly fishing can be an absolute blessing. It can also help to keep you sane in a world that frequently seems to have gone off the rails. With that in mind, never take your angling for granted and always appreciate the time you get to spend on the water.