Ken Baldwin

2 weeks ago | si.com | Ken Baldwin

Basic fly fishing instruction tells you to look for and fish the seams, where slow water and faster water come together. In the beginning, this isn't always as easy as it sounds to untrained eyes. Another way to recognize a seam, and one that is easy to see, is foam lines. A foam line is a strip of frothy-looking water that resembles soap suds. Foam will gather along seams and carry flying insects, crawling insects, and organic matter that fish will eat.

3 weeks ago | si.com | Ken Baldwin

I've been waiting a long time for this: wader pants that convert to bibs or vice versa. When I worked full-time as a guide, I preferred wearing waders that only went up to my waist. I found them more comfortable, not as heavy, and easier to move in. Plus, when it comes to a bathroom break, I don't have to remove all my upper layers to get the job done. The only time wading pants became an issue was when I had to wade deeper than my waist, which didn't happen very often, but it did happen.

3 weeks ago | si.com | Ken Baldwin

Recently, I spent a week fly fishing the Niagara River with a group of twenty other anglers spread out in ten boats. I was the only fly angler. The Niagara River is a great fishery full of smallmouth bass, Great Lakes steelhead, brown trout, and lake trout. We were mostly targeting the smallmouth bass. This wasn't a contest, though it can feel like a competition whenever you get in a boat with another angler. Then add a fly rod to the mix, and you really get measured.

3 weeks ago | si.com | Ken Baldwin

I just wrapped up a week of fly fishing the lower Niagara River alongside the town of Lewiston, NY. My main target species was smallmouth bass, but because of the nature of the Niagara fishery, you can also include steelhead and brown trout in the mix. In one week's time, I saw only one other angler throwing a fly rod. This is too bad because the Niagara River is a fantastic fishery easily fished with a fly rod. The first day on the river was slow. It's usually like that for me.

1 month ago | si.com | Ken Baldwin

If you own waders, at some point, they are going to leak, or you will take a spill, and they will fill up with water. Either way, having to put on wet waders is a miserable experience. I'll tell you about another miserable experience: drying out your waders. You have to turn them inside out, or if you are in a hurry, use a handheld hair dryer, which takes forever to dry one leg at a time. You don't have to do that anymore. A Hedgehog dryer will take care of it for you.