fly fishing

Casting Instruction - 10% off through April

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I cannot think of a better time than now to learn to fly cast. With many folks having more free time than ever due to the pandemic and warm fresh spring air upon us all, getting outside is a premium for mental health. Why not use this time to learn to fly cast?

We’re still offering lessons and keeping social distancing of six feet. If we get too close during the lesson, there’s a 9 foot fly rod to keep the separation.

Through April, we are offering 10% off all fly casting lessons! All equipment is included. Lessons are conducted at Byrd Park in Richmond.

Here’s an article and video to help get you started:

Five essentials of a good cast

Beginner Fly Casting

Brook trout fishing

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Brook Trout fishing is here! If you have not been fly fishing for brookies prior, now is the time to go! April through June are my favorite time of the year to go after these small but beautiful fish. Native to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Brook Trout are dispersed throughout small streams across the western part of Virginia.

Grab a six to eight foot long two or three weight fly rod, a handful of size 10-18 dry flies and an extra spool of tippet and take your pick of “blue line” to try for them. The high water we have had over the past 12-16 months has given these fish plenty of room and food to grow. This is some of the best brook trout fishing in over a decade. If you’ve never been, now is the time to go!

Fly Fishing Lessons, perfect for the Winter / Off season!

Located in or near Richmond, Virginia, and ever wanted to learn how to fly fish? The winter, or the fly fishing off-season, if you will, is a prime time to do so! While the fishing is slow, learning how to fly cast in the winter allows an angler the opportunity to practice in their free time, so when the waters warm come spring, they can be armed and ready for hungry fish.

Many of our clients want to learn “on the fly,” meaning while they are fishing. While this certainly can be successful (they often are), we have found that taking a bit of time to learn the basic mechanics of fly casting in one of our private lessons exponentially improves the experience for those getting into the sport or looking to knock the rust off. Fly fishing, while not difficult, does take three or four main tenants to be aware of when learning to cast. Working solely on these tenants first prior to actually fishing will lead to improved casting distance, accuracy and better overall casting and fish fighting performance once on the water. Our instructors help all of our clients build a foundation of casting skills in a short, two hour lesson, which can immediately be translated to on the water success.

Our lessons are held at Byrd Park in Richmond, Virginia. With wide open spaces and a large pond to practice casting in, we can help teach anyone from no experience, to those looking for a tune up prior to a tournament or visit to a far off location for any species!

All you need is a positive, can do attitude and a willingness to listen, and we’ll have you fly casting, or greatly improved casting, in under two hours.

Fly Tying is another aspect of the sport that can be learned during the off season. When it’s snowing outside and the rivers are frozen over, beat the cabin fever spending a few hours cranking out Woolly Buggers in preparation for the upcoming summer season. Like fly fishing, fly tying can appear daunting. It isn’t! It simply takes a few small tips and tricks to get going before the beginner is off to the races, tying their own flies. There is nothing more gratifying than catching a fish on a fly tied by oneself! We can teach first time beginners or those with years of experience how to improve their tying skills.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for that special someone in your family this Christmas, why not a two hour fly fishing or fly tying lesson?

Contact us with any questions!

Mid Summer Report

As many of you know, we have had rains of nearly historical proportions throughout the state of Virginia through May and June. 

This has led to tough fishing conditions to say the least. The good news is water levels have finally retreated in Central VA and we are taking lots of folks out to the North Anna River for a variety of species. 

Several folks are taking trips to fish the Chickahominy Reservoir with us, as well as out on the Chesapeake Bay trips at the mouth of the Rappahannock River for striped bass and croaker. Summer is a great time of the year to fish for bowfin and largemouth bass on the Chick, see the photos below of some big fish caught on our very own Bangarang fly!

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Give us a call to plan your trip!

Mid April update

The river are all blown out across the state. It may be another week before the James or New are even close to fishable after all of the rain earlier this week. That being said, the high mountain streams in the Parks are running very well and the trout are whacking dry flies with a vengeance!

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Also, this weekend is the South River Fly Fishing Expo in Waynesboro. I'll have a booth set up and be giving a presentation Saturday and Sunday on shallow water redfish techniques. There should be several good tiers and lots of good fly fishing info, plus some beer!

www.southriverexpo.org

Spring Smallmouth!

Spring Smallmouth Bass fishing is finally here! This year is a bit different for KTRW... Head guide Chris Siess will be running full day float trips on the New River upstream (south) of Claytor Lake. This is an incredible chance to catch big Smallmouth Bass in one of the best Smallmouth rivers in the country! Many of these fish are taken on poppers as well! There will be also shots at striped bass up to 15 pounds, musky and giant carp as well!

The season has started and we've openings now through Memorial Day. Give us a call, send a message or shoot us an email for further information or booking!

Two person, full day floats are $495, one person is $395. 

 

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Shallow Water Redfish Tactics

Many folks have asked me over the years for tips and tricks on catching my favorite quarry, Redfish. Luckily for anyone interested in chasing these hard pulling, crab crushers, I'll be giving presentations on how to catch them on in shallow water at the South River Fly Fishing Expo in Waynesboro on April 21st and 22nd!

For more information, check out www.southriverexpo.com

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

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Fly Fishing Shows

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hello at the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival last weekend! It was a blast meeting many of you and I look forward to fishing with you this season!

The next show I will be attending will be The Fly Fishing Show in Atlanta on February 2nd and 3rd. I'll be tying flies and talking all things fly fishing and have some flies and swag for sale as well. This is one of the best shows in the country, come check it out!

http://flyfishingshow.com/atlanta/

Finally, I will have a tying station at the South River Fly Fishing Expo on April 21 and will be speaking there about shallow water fishing for redfish!

http://southriverexpo.org/main/

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Twenty Eighteen!

To my clients, friends and family, I just wanted to say thank you very much for all of the trips, lessons, orders and support in 2017. This was the best year I have had so far at KTRW! I look forward to 2018 and making many more memories and helping spread my love of fly fishing!

Since it is cold and gnarly outside here in Richmond, I wanted to offer $10 off fly fishing lessons through the end of January. Simply purchase a lesson by the end of January and learn to tie flies for $40! You even get to keep your own creations. Message me at knotthereelworld@gmail.com with any questions or scheduling a lesson!

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GUIDING UPDATE!

For late April and all of May until Memorial Day Weekend I will be guiding in Southwest  Virginia on the New River working directly with New River Fly Fish owner Mike Smith and running his float trips on the New upriver from Claytor Lake. Trips offered are full or half day trips with a focus on smallmouth bass on topwater. This is some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the country! Trips will be available weekdays and on Sundays. 

New River trip pricing: 

Full day $495 ($395 1 angler)

1/2 day $375 (1 or 2 anglers)

For booking a trip, please call me directly for details at 571.334.4721 or send me an email at knotthereelworld@gmail.com. 

Five pound smallmouth