More than 50 percent of the average trout’s diet consists of tiny midges, and it’s these microscopic insects that you’ll most likely find flying above local streams this month. But don’t knock ...

Traditionally fished in the down-and-across presentation common to wet flies, the natural materials of a soft hackle fly impart dramatic and lifelike motion in river currents, resembling mayflies and ...

Fly patterns you should be tying up for your box right now! By Kyle Wilkinson Kyle in the outside Jan 13, 2026 0 2 min to read 1 of 4 ...

When I was young we had a cabin in northern Wisconsin where my dad would invite his childhood friends to come and fish. One such friend had a fear for the leeches we used regularly for bait. He would ...

Since the dawn of civilization, leeches have been firmly attached to medicine. Therapeutic bloodsuckers are seen in murals decorating the tombs of 18 th dynasty Egyptian pharaohs. They got their ...

It’s never too early to prepare your winter fly box. Here are some of our don’t-leave-home-without fly patterns for the coming season: Akin to Charlie Craven’s Two-Bit Hooker, this Dream Cast pattern ...

The biological history of leeches is difficult to study: Their tissue decomposes almost immediately, and their boneless bodies rarely fossilize. But a geological formation in Wisconsin preserved a ...

The fossil record rarely yields leeches. Their bodies are soft and fragile, built with almost nothing that fossilizes easily. So when one does appear, as with Macromyzon siluricus, it’s considered a ...

Leeches are some of the most hated creatures in the world, even though most people rarely (if ever) see one. We even use the word as an insult. A leech is a parasite, someone who lives only to suck ...

Surface-water temperatures at area reservoirs were in the 70s just a few weeks ago, and are starting to drop into mid-60s at most area reservoirs and even dipping into the high 50s at Wild Horse. With ...

It’s a random morning in mid-August. You pour your first cup of coffee, glance at your phone and step outside to let the dog out. Then it hits you. The undeniable freshness that tells you autumn is ...

Around 20 of the 80 North American leech species are found in North Carolina. While leech bites are generally harmless, they can become infected. A common worry among visitors to lakes, ponds and ...