William Luscombe, Author at North American Outdoorsman

Fly Fishing: Backing, Leaders And Tippets – All You Need to Know

Fly lines are generally around 25 to 30 yards long. That might seem like a pretty good distance, but believe me, it’s not very far when a fish wants to run away from you when it’s hooked. In addition, because the tip of the fly line is far too thick to tie a fly to,…

ByWilliam LuscombeAugust 9, 2022

How to Fish

Guidance For Picking The Correct Fly Line

Many people, especially beginners, find it baffling when they start looking at lines and rods and reels in combination with one another. It’s not all that complex once you understand the elements that control how they all fit together. The type of rod and reel to buy is dependent upon what “weight” of line you’re…

ByWilliam LuscombeJune 10, 2022

Fishing Gear

How To Pick A Fly Rod

“How do I pick a fly rod?” It’s certainly a valid question, and although experienced fly-fishers often look at beginners who ask this with a wondrous eye, it is probably the first really good question that beginners ask. Fly rods are not complicated pieces of equipment. Like any other rod, they have basic components: the…

ByWilliam LuscombeMarch 31, 2022

Fishing

8 Essential Fly-FIshing Knots (And How To Tie Them)

Your fly-fishing system consists of numerous parts. Backing, fly line, leader, and tippet all form a critical piece in a tapered fly line system and are joined together by knots or loops to form a single strand that connects you to the fish. If one of these parts fails or if one knot fails the…

ByWilliam LuscombeFebruary 22, 2022

Gear

The .410

For decades I have used a 12 gauge shotgun to hunt grouse. I even bought a second 12 gauge pump with a 26-inch barrel and adjustable chokes just for that purpose. In the past few years though I have been realizing that, although the 12 gauge is effective, it is actually a lot more gun…

ByWilliam LuscombeFebruary 18, 2022

Fishing

Early Ice Off Opportunities

Basic Chironomids Thank the Lord spring has arrived. I don’t know about you but I’m ready to get out and do some serious recreating, which in my case means fly-fishing. April through June are arguably the best months to fly-fish. The midge hatches will be starting first and with them comes some of the best fishing…

ByWilliam LuscombeFebruary 15, 2022

Gear

How To Pick A Fly Reel

As great as a nicely functional, good casting rod can be, the rubber hits the road to the greatest degree with your fly reel. Get a bad reel and you’ll suffer nothing but frustration and lost fish. A good one, on the other hand, can let you completely forget about that aspect and focus on…

ByWilliam LuscombeFebruary 5, 2022

Fishing

10 Most Common Fly-Fishing Mistakes And How To Fix Them

I have been fishing pretty much all of my 62 years, and have fly-fished and taught fly-fishing for 30 of those years. I that time I have committed and witnessed many mistakes. Below is a list of the most common. Keep them in mind when you next hit the water and you’ll fair better. 1.…

ByWilliam LuscombeJanuary 31, 2022

Fishing

Forget The Rainbows

The summer sun had been beating down on us our entire trip and the waters of the lakes throughout southern BC were too warm for even the most dedicated of rainbow trout to continue feeding. My wife and I were getting frustrated with the poor fishing, and although we were both getting great tans, we…

ByWilliam LuscombeJanuary 30, 2022

Featured

Hunting The Fool’s Hen

I went north, way north, to the B.C. – Yukon border to hunt moose. We camped and tented for 13 days and we had a great trip, although we never got our moose. However, we caught a lot of Arctic grayling and bagged a mess of spruce grouse. As it turned out, it was decided…

ByWilliam LuscombeJanuary 28, 2022