In a marketing world where the dominant paradigm says that everything needs to be re-invented every season or two, the venerable Simms Guide jacket continues to set the benchmark for “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Built to last, devoid of unnecessary bells and whistles, and extensively tested in just about every corner of the globe where water falls from the sky, the Simms Guide Jacket is truly a piece of essential equipment if you’re a year-round angler. Particular things we really like: – This jacket sees a lot of use in the fall, when wet weather arrives. … Continue reading →

When most anglers think of a quick and convenient place to put their flies while they’re in a driftboat, a big piece of simple foam glued to the rower’s bench is the usual standard. Leave it to the folks at Cliff Outdoors to kick this idea to the curb and come up with something way better – the Float Patch. The Float Patch offers 3 options for holding various flies in one package; 1) Much like their Bugger Barn, and a number of other Cliff fly boxes, their trademark blue foam has slits that allow you to back the fly … Continue reading →

  High Country Flies has been providing dip tanks for treating wading gear for many years now, and to toot our own horn a bit, have even received special recognition from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for doing so. We use a simple bleach solution in these tanks, which has been proven to effectively treat wading gear from transmitting Aquatic Invasive Species (ANS) such as Didymo, Whirling Disease and mud snails. The water in these tanks gets changed regularly throughout the season. Keep in mind that the solution we use works even if the water looks dirty – it’s … Continue reading →

The Bugger Barn has been around for a few seasons now, which has given us plenty of time to beat the heck out of it… Continue reading →

But there is another knot that we feel is one of the most important knots to master as soon as you start branching out from the basics described above, and that is the Non-Slip Mono Loop….. Continue reading →

…If I could honestly find anything wrong with the Riprap, I’d tell you, but so far I haven’t. I think Simms has hit it out of the park on this one, and finally convinced me that sandals are a thing of the past for wading. Continue reading →

  The past few years have seen a big focus on wading boot soles, over justifiable concern about how aquatic nuisance species (ANS), are transmitted. There has been a strong trend away from felt soles and toward rubber compound sole materials, primarily because rubber soles are easier to clean and dry out quickly. There is certainly a lot of good thinking behind this trend. At HCF, we take these threats seriously, and applaud all efforts to heighten awareness about invasive species impacts. In fact, years ago we initiated, and continue to maintain, dip tanks for treating wading gear at entry … Continue reading →

  For folks who are new to streamer fishing, and/or who have found casting and fishing streamers to be a frustrating experience, we thought we’d share a few tips on how to make your life a lot easier while fishing them. Effective streamer fishing begins with taking the time to put the appropriate leader on. Too often we see people take the light, 8′ – 9′ leader that they already have attached to their line, intended for dry flies or small nymphs, and they simply tie a streamer on to the end of it. This is probably the biggest mistake … Continue reading →

As we wait patiently (ok, anxiously…) for spring runoff to abate and our rivers to clear, this is a great time to go through your gear and make sure everything is solid for the upcoming fishing season. Some of this may seem obvious, but we find that far too many people tend to discover things that should have been maintained or replaced at the worst possible time -  while losing that first big fish of the season, or breaking a rod, as a result of something which could have easily been preventable. So we encourage you – take a little … Continue reading →

With such a diverse region as Jackson Hole it is impossible to list all of the fly patterns an angler might need. Having said that, most of the streams and rivers in Jackson Hole proper, like the Snake River, are not overly technical fisheries (Flat Creek being a notable exception). Attractor patterns, terrestrials, and larger than normal patterns are the norm, not the exception. A good selection of the following dry fly patterns will go a long way towards making your fishing excursion successful. Continue reading →