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• The Yukon Territory Part 1 - A Lake Trout Expedition

  Posted on February 12 2020

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  Posted By: Chris Frangiosa

  In the days leading up to our expedition I tried to picture what the Yukon held in store.  Nothing that I had imagined was even close to the beauty that is the Yukon Territory.  This area of the world holds so many wonders that on any given day you cannot possibly absorb everything around you.  The landscapes are breathtaking, the air is clean and within all of this runs river and lake systems teeming with fish.  This is the fly-fisherman’s paradise of the freshwater north, and should be considered what the Seychelle Islands are to saltwater, a Mecca to which all fisherman dream of facing.

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• Winter Dedication and Below Freezing Fortitude

  Posted on January 21 2020

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  Posted By: Chris Frangiosa

  If you don’t know me and just read this BLOG you may start to believe that I am a winter person.  Someone who seeks out the coldest conditions and finds ways to get there and fish. That would be completely wrong. In fact, my main focus for the past 20 years has been the tropics.  That is where I belong, where I feel most at home and the place I dream about.

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• Getting Started with Euro Nymphing Leaders

  Posted on January 14 2020

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  Posted By: Frank Landis

  In Euro nymphing, having an appropriate leader is going to be a huge factor in your success. If you’ve done any research online, you’ve probably found a multitude of different leader formulas. If you’re new to the technique or if you’re new to leader tying in general, it can be confusing and intimidating to sift through the information and find something that is going to work for you. There really is no “right” or “wrong” leader formula, but there are a few constants that I think are really important to being successful while Euro nymphing. I’ll discuss a few different leader materials, a few basic formulas, and options for pre-tied leaders as well. Personal preference will dictate what you end up gravitating towards, but this will be enough to get you started and provide a solid base to work from.

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• Wintertime Dry Fly Fishing - My Go-To Gear and Flies

  Posted on January 07 2020

  2 Comments

  

  Posted By: Tyler Pensyl

  As the weather begins to dip around freezing and the October caddis hatch is a thing of the past, the only thing on my mind: Midge Season! Most of my fishing buddies have a good laugh when I tell them that, but, for me, winter dry fly fishing provides an incredibly fun challenge.

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• TCO End of the Year Steelhead trip

  Posted on December 30 2019

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  Posted by: Chris Frangiosa

  This past weekend some of the TCO crew headed to upstate New York to participate in a Simms dealer camp and to do some winter Steelhead fishing.  These kinds of trips accomplish a few things. Firstly, we always come back with a further knowledge of the products we sell and also get to test plenty of gear.  Secondly, and most importantly, we have a chance to share special moments together as a family both on and off the water. The second one is most important, we are all gathered at TCO for a reason.  We all love fly fishing and the beautiful locations and moments that come from it. In fact, we all took a mo

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• Fly Lines for Euro Nymphing

  Posted on December 17 2019

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  Posted By: Frank Landis

  A fly line is probably one of the most, if not the most, important component of a traditional fly fishing setup. Many anglers would agree that more money spent on a line is a better use of your resources than almost any other piece of tackle. In some cases, having multiple fly lines for different applications is well worth it. For Euro nymphing, this concept changes a bit. The effectiveness of a Euro nymphing setup relies on using a very long leader that inhibits as much drag in your drift as possible. 

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• Top 10 Fishing and Outdoor Gifts for the 2019 Holiday Season

  Posted on December 09 2019

  

  Posted By Chris Frangiosa

  Top 10 Fishing and Outdoor Christmas Gifts for the 2019 Holiday Season

  The fly fishing industry is one of creation and innovation.  There are new products coming out monthly that are always tempting for the gear nut.  Christmas is a perfect time to shop for those new and innovative items for the angler on your list.  The 10 items below represent new and exciting items for the Fall 2019 season. Happy Holidays! 

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• Euro Nymphing Reels: What Really Matters?

  Posted on November 25 2019

  4 Comments

  

  Posted by: Frank Landis

  Trout reels. Strike any conversation about reels and you are bound to hear the old adage that all they need to do is hold your line. For a long time, I pretty much held that conviction. To be honest, for the vast majority of situations, I still agree with the concept. As long as the reel is durable and functions every time you use it, does it really matter which reel you have? 

   

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• The Situation: “Cold Feet and the Perils of Winter Fly Fishing”

  Posted on November 18 2019

  4 Comments

  

  Posted by: Neil Sunday

  The Situation: “Cold Feet and the Perils of Winter Fly Fishing”

  The Problem: 

  The Cold weather months are upon us, and many folks just seem to stay inside and let cabin fever grow! But for the anglers that are willing to adjust to the cold water temps, many feeding fish are out there and ready to eat.

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• Outdoor Research UL Compression Sack Review

  Posted on November 09 2019

  

  Posted by: Matt Brindle

  I’ve been backpacking for about 35 years.  For the first five, my Montgomery Ward sleeping bag was rolled and bungee corded to my pack frame.  I stuffed my next bag (a Coleman) into a $5 stuffsack procured from Kmart. For the past 20, my bag has either been stuffed in the bottom of my pack, or stuffed within a trash compactor bag in the sleeping bag compartment of my trusty Gregory Forester.

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• The Hardest Working Rods in My Quiver: Loomis IMX-Pro

  Posted on November 04 2019

  

  Posted by: Brendan Ruch

  As a fly shop employee there is an innate obsession with gear that sometimes gets out of control. Fly fishing is a gear sport after all. Typically when a new premium rod series is released, the shop staff will talk about what models they need to add to their rod quiver. You don’t often hear this kind of buzz around mid-priced rods. The G.Loomis IMX-Pro was announced at IFTD in 2017 and shocked the TCO Haverford staff when we got our hands on them. When we got a chance to fish these rods, it was evident that every rod in this series was designed to meet the needs of a specific style of fishing. Of course, every length and weight of a rod series is meant to serve a specific purpose, but the IMX-Pro series stands out because of how well these rods perform in their given areas.

   

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• Great Lakes Steelhead Flies with Alex Kolivras

  Posted on October 27 2019

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  Posted by: Frank Landis with Alex Kolivras

  As temperatures start to become brisk and the fall weather sets in here in Pennsylvania, you can be sure to see an influx of anglers come to the shop preparing to make their annual pilgrimage to the tributaries of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario for Salmon and Steelhead. As part of this process, the fly tying room becomes a popular place for many of our customers. This is no surprise, as many of the most effective steelhead and salmon flies are simple and cost effective to tie yourself. 

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• Euro Nymphing Rods Explained

  Posted on October 20 2019

  

  Posted By: Frank Landis

  One of the first things people ask here at the shop when thinking about getting into Euro Nymphing is “Can’t I just use my 9 ft 5 Weight?”. The short answer to that question is yes. You could pretty much use any trout rod to Euro nymph. In a pinch, I’ve fished Euro leaders with my fast action 9 ft 5 weight and was able to make it work and catch a bunch of fish. Despite this, myself and most others would agree that getting the right tool for the job is going to make a huge difference. 

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• The Situation: Finding Success in Low and Clear Water

  Posted on October 12 2019

  6 Comments

  

  Posted by: Neil Sunday

  The Problem: At the end of September, I took a road trip to Penn’s Creek located in Central Pennsylvania. When we approached the creek, we were greeted with gin-clear water and lots of exposed rocks. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but we were determined to fish. 

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• What Is Euro Nymphing?

  Posted on September 27 2019

  2 Comments

  

  Posted By: Frank Landis

  If you’ve stopped by a fly shop recently, watched some fly fishing videos online, or simply spend a lot of time on the water, you’ve probably heard somebody talk about Euro Nymphing, tight line nymphing, high stick nymphing, Czech nymphing, Polish Nymphing, Spanish Nymphing, French nymphing...you get the picture. But what does all of that mean? You can probably scour the internet and hear many different versions of what all of the aforementioned techniques entail, but let’s break this down simply. 

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