Saltwater on the Fly

Our primary focus is Saltwater / Fly Fishing.
Our Passion is Outdoors
#saltwaterflyfishing #flyfishing #flytying #hiking #camping #optoutside

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Jig hook + soft hackle = the buggiest little baitfish you'll fish this fall.

Built this one on the Partridge Ideal Jig SUJ — 60° bend, wide gape, black nickel, barbless. That in-line eye and jig bend means it rides hook-point-up on a slotted tungsten bead, so it's shrugging off bottom snags instead of getting wedged under a ledge.

For the imitator (my take on the Sugar Momma):

🪶 Ewing Marabou Body feathers for the collar — moves like nothing else in the water
🪶 Chickabou for a second collar of fine, breathing marabou-like fibers
🪶 Hen cape for a natural wing profile
🪶 Mallard flank as the first collar for that mottled, buggy pulse

Stack those materials right and you've got a jig streamer that breathes on the dead drift and swims on the strip. This is why I build around this hook — the gape gives you real hook-setting room, and the surehold point stays sharp fish after fish.

Tie your own 👉 Grab the Partridge Ideal Jig SUJ hooks and the Ewing Hackle (Marabou Body, Chickabou, Hen Cape) at https://t.co/7m5q2leZZr — link: https://t.co/tWs4xJpkhc

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

🍂 Hopper season is fading, streamer season is firing up — and the Denny Rickards Signature is built for exactly this window.

Late summer into fall on Montana water means one thing: fish are keying on big meat before winter shuts things down. Grasshoppers are still bouncing off the banks, but streamer eats are getting more aggressive by the day. You need a rod that can do both without apology.

The Denny Rickards 9' 6wt fast-action delivers:

🎯 Backbone to punch heavy streamer patterns through fall wind
🎯 A tip sensitive enough for delicate hopper presentations along the bank
🎯 Tri-Modulus carbon construction — light in hand, brutal on big fish
🎯 Snowbee lifetime guarantee, because this rod is built to outlast the season
Right now it's $199 (down from $299) — that's a legendary stillwater and streamer stick at half the price of rods that don't cast this well.
Fall doesn't wait. Neither should you.
👉 Grab yours before hopper-streamer season peaks: https://t.co/8JVc0lUGxa

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

@farmerKhome That looks awesome, going to have to bake a loaf

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

@farmerKhome Cool, Great information, My starter is 60 yrs. Have a Great Day.

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Two recipes, one starter, zero waste.

Feed it tonight → English muffins griddled streamside at first light.
Discard from the feed → Great Aunt Carol's banana bread, baked by the fire that evening.

Keep a jar of starter riding along on your next trip and you've got camp breakfast and dessert covered. Both recipes are up on the blog.
https://t.co/LbnWaxSrPt

#Sourdough #CampCooking #FlyFishing #GetLostInAmerica

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

🦗 New fly in the box: the Purple Haze Hopper Feel The Rush

Black on top so the fish see the silhouette they expect. Purple underneath and a twist of Semperfli flash fritz woven into the body so they see something they don't. That's the whole idea — give 'em a reason to eat.

Tie a few up before hopper season hits your water. You'll want extras.
https://t.co/Up3WbHnQW6

#flytying #hopperseason #flyfishing #montanaflyfishing #foamhopper #semperfli

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Flip this fly over before you tie it on. 🪝✨

That gold glitter underneath isn't for you — it's for the trout looking up. Dark tan on top so it reads natural against the sky, gold flash underneath so it doesn't look like every other hopper that's drifted over their head today.

Body's Semperfli Caddis Brown Bug Yarn, legs are brown silicone laced with orange glitter for movement on the strip, and we hot-rodded it with Semperfli's Six Aught red thread for a trigger point most guys skip.

Late July through September. Tight to the banks. Don't finesse it — slap it down like the real thing just fell in.

https://t.co/dbLMjEIpRl

#FirebellyHopper #FlyTying #HopperSeason #MontanaFlyFishing #SaltwaterOnTheFly #DryFlyFishing #TightLines

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

There's nothing like the sound of gravel under the trailer tires and a wooden drift boat kissing the water for the first time this weekend. No emails, no schedules — just current, cork, and the next bend in the river.

See you out there.

#FlyFishing #DriftBoat #WeekendAdventures #GetOnTheWater #DisconnectToReconnect

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Meet the Split Decision — black on top so you never lose it in the glare, olive underneath so the fish never second-guess it. Semperfli Caddis Brown legs give it just enough kick, red 6/0 collar gives it the trigger.

Tie a few on, park it against the bank, and let the wind do the rest.
https://t.co/Mv0VWLWNSk

#flyfishing #flytying #hopperseason #montanaflyfishing #saltwateronthefly

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

🐟 Don't let anybody tell you bluegill is a "starter fish."

I've been bit, stung, and humbled by a lot of things in my fishing life — but nothing rearranged my ego quite like the first bull bluegill that buried a 7'6" 3-weight like it owed me money.

New on https://t.co/7m5q2leZZr: the first stop on our Midwest bull bluegill tour — Illinois' farm pond giants, Ohio's overlooked reservoirs, and Missouri's legendary pond country. Poppers, streamers, nymphs, plus a nod to the conventional tackle crowd. Lake-by-lake, state record stories, and gear that actually holds up.

👉 Read it now — https://t.co/cfK6lOaVkT

#BluegillFishing #FlyFishing #Panfish #MidwestFishing #SaltwaterOnTheFly

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

The W Trek: 50 Miles Through Torres del Paine, Chile Patagonia doesn't ease you in. This is the W Trek — five days, roughly 50 miles, cutting straight through the best of Torres del Paine National Park. Glaciers calving into turquoise lakes, hanging ice in French Valley, and a sunrise finish under the granite Towers that makes the whole grind worth it. In this video: what the trek actually demands, how the routes work (east-to-west vs. west-to-east), refugios vs. camping, and what gear actually matters when the weather turns on you in minutes. 📍 Full trail-by-trail breakdown + packing list: https://t.co/DwS0mgzQFt Fly fishing gear, apparel, and outdoor essentials: https://t.co/tWs4xJoMrE More adventures, less talk. Subscribe for more trips across the Rockies and beyond. #TorresDelPaine #WTrek #Patagonia #HikingChile #GetLostInAmerica

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Two patches. Every color you'll actually reach for.

Scott Biron didn't slap his name on stock hackle — he built the Signature Series to spec for the streamer and salmon patterns that have made his career. Claret for Atlantic salmon and steelhead wet flies. Dark Purple for stained water and low light. Green Chartreuse when you need the universal attractor. Hand-selected. Consistent. No junk feathers hiding in the middle of the patch.

Then there's the Grizzly Deceiver/Streamer Patch — 16 colors deep, from Kingfisher Blue to Coachman Brown to Bright Purple. This is the workhorse patch for baitfish, deceivers, and big articulated streamers where barred movement in the water makes all the difference.

Bottom line: if your fly box is more filler than fish-getter, it's time to re-stock with material that was actually selected to perform — not just packaged to sell.

🎣 Shop both lines now at https://t.co/S9uejMxilm — before your color runs out again.
#ewinghackle #flytying #flyfishing #saltwateronthefly

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Rocky Mountains to Patagonia. Same boots, new mountains.

I've spent over a decade putting Montana rivers under my feet — now I'm trading the drift boat for a 40L pack and pointing south. First stop: the W Trek, Torres del Paine, Chile.

45-50 miles. Granite spires that make you feel small in the best way. Glaciers calving into turquoise lakes. Four seasons of weather in one afternoon, because Patagonia doesn't do easy.

This is the first leg of a bigger run — Rocky Mountains, then Chile, Argentina, Iceland, and Italy. Chasing trail and tippet across four countries this year.

Packing lists, route breakdowns, and the real stuff (blisters included) coming as I go. Follow along.

More to come. 🥾🏔️ https://t.co/DwS0mgAov1

#WTrek #TorresDelPaine #Patagonia #GetLostInAmerica #SaltwaterOnTheFly #RockyMountainsToPatagonia

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Chile's Colchagua Valley produces some of the most acclaimed red wines in the world — Carménère, Cabernet Franc, icon blends that show up on every serious list. The Casablanca Valley does the same for whites. And both are a day trip from Santiago, with an English-speaking guide and all transfers included.

We put together four guided wine routes specifically for the partner on the Chile fishing trip who wants their own adventure. One day or two. Solo, couples, or a group of friends. Prices drop significantly at 4–6 people.

Full tour breakdowns + the article that makes the case → https://t.co/aHJWHtElw9
#winetours #winetasting #ChileanWine #flyfishing

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

🪰 THE DRAKENSTONE — one fly, two hatches, zero excuses.

Years in the making, and the 2026 tie is the best one yet. This isn't a one-trick pattern — it's a dual-action nymph built to imitate drakes AND stones, so it earns a spot in your box every month of the year.

🟢 PALE OLIVE — the money color pre-drake hatch. Fish it now while the naturals are still nymphing up, before the bugs ever hit the surface. Slayed biot tail, peacock/flash thorax, buggy Bug Yard body — it reads exactly like the real thing tumbling through the drift.

🟤 CADDIS BROWN — sized up to a bulky #8, this is your pre-stonefly fly. Same silhouette, same action, built heavier for the bigger naturals moving toward the banks ahead of the hatch on rivers like the Madison and Gallatin.

Two colors. Two hatches. One pattern that just plain catches fish, year-round.

Tie it, fish it, thank us later. 🎣

https://t.co/AgGumevzrU

#Drakenstone #FlyTying #FlyFishing #MontanaFlyFishing #Nymphing #MadisonRiver #GallatinRiver #SaltwaterOnTheFly #Semperfli

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Ninety years old and it still out-fishes half the patterns invented last season. 📷 The Girdle Bug was born on Montana's Big Hole River in the 1930s, tied by a guy named Frank McGinnis who just wanted his fly to look right no matter which way the current tumbled it. Turns out he was decades ahead of Charles Brooks, who later built his whole nymphing philosophy — and the Brooks Stone — around the same idea: "tying in the round." New on the blog: the full 90-year history, the classic tying steps, and how to fish it from high runoff all the way down to low, clear water.
https://t.co/PUkI2Uivgu
#GirdleBug #FlyTying #MontanaFlyFishing #BigHoleRiver #StoneflyNymph #TyingInTheRound #SaltwaterOnTheFly

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Some flies you tie because they look good in the box. This one you tie because it flat out gets eaten.

The I Wonder Terrestrial is our go-to attractor pattern for late summer and fall creek fishing — a buggy, do-it-all profile that reads as beetle, ant, small hopper, or stonefly depending on the water and the mood of the fish. Tied on a Daichi 1720, size 14, we only use about 5/8 of the hook shank for the body, keeping a tight, natural profile while leaving more hook hanging below the surface film. That's not an accident — it's why we're seeing better hookup ratios with this fly than with traditional terrestrial patterns.

The build:

Body: 5 strands of peacock herl, twisted and wrapped for that natural buggy shimmer
Shellback: Double-sided foam — chartreuse/purple on top, brown closed-cell foam with gold glitter underneath on the river side, folded forward and tied off 1/3 back from the eye
Legs: Silicone, for that twitch-in-the-water movement fish can't ignore
Wing: Poly, for visibility on those long drifts
Thread: Semperfli 6/0 Classic

This fly has been putting fish in the net on the small creeks around home, but it's really proven itself on bigger water too — it's been killer on the Madison River (five mile bridge down) and the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho. If you're chasing trout on freestone water anywhere in the Rockies this terrestrial season, this one belongs in your box.

Tie it up, fish it hard, and happy hunting.

👉 Grab yours (or the tying materials) at https://t.co/rxxHCMcGOa

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Mount Sopris doesn't need an introduction if you've ever driven into Carbondale and had to pull over just to look at it.
12,965 feet. Twin summits. Standing alone above the valley where the Roaring Fork and Crystal River meet — which, if you're reading this, is really the point.
Fish the Crystal in the morning while Sopris is still catching alpenglow. Move to the Fork by afternoon. Either way, you're casting with that mountain watching over your shoulder the entire day. Few backdrops earn the word "iconic." This one does.
If Colorado's on your list this season, build the trip around Carbondale. The fishing holds its own — the scenery just happens to be unfair.
📷 Carbondale, CO 📷 Mount Sopris, 12,965' 📷 Roaring Fork & Crystal River
#FlyFishing #MountSopris #Carbondale #RoaringFork #ColoradoFlyFishing

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Introducing the I Wonder Terrestrial — Orange/Light Tan

Some flies you tie because they look good in the box. This one you tie because it flat out gets eaten.

The I Wonder Terrestrial is our go-to attractor pattern for late summer and fall creek fishing — a buggy, do-it-all profile that reads as beetle, ant, small hopper, or stonefly depending on the water and the mood of the fish. Tied on a Daichi 1720, size 14, we only use about 5/8 of the hook shank for the body, keeping a tight, natural profile while leaving more hook hanging below the surface film. That's not an accident — it's why we're seeing better hookup ratios with this fly than with traditional terrestrial patterns.

The build:

Body: 5 strands of peacock herl, twisted and wrapped for that natural buggy shimmer
Shellback: Double-sided foam — orange/light tan on top, brown closed-cell foam with gold glitter underneath on the river side, folded forward and tied off 1/3 back from the eye
Legs: Splayed silicone legs for that twitch-in-the-water movement fish can't ignore
Wing: Poly, for visibility on those long drifts
Thread: Semperfli 6/0 Classic

This fly has been putting fish in the net on the small creeks around home, but it's really proven itself on bigger water too — it's been killer on the Middle Fork of the Flathead and the St. Joe in Idaho. If you're chasing trout on freestone water anywhere in the Rockies this terrestrial season, this one belongs in your box.

Tie it up, fish it hard, and happy hunting.

👉 Grab yours (or the tying materials) at https://t.co/rxxHCMcGOa

[Saltwater on the Fly @Saltwateronfly]

Coffee's not ready. Fish aren't moving yet. This is the window.

Great Aunt Carol's sourdough English muffins — mixed the day before, after rising, resting in the cooler while you sleep, griddled streamside while you re-tie tippet. No oven. No proof box. Just time and a warm skillet.

Full recipe (and how to keep your starter alive on the road) : https://t.co/ro8D9wXVQg

🎣🍞 #FlyFishing #CampCooking #Sourdough #GetLostInAmerica