Dave accepts a limited number of speaking invitations each year. He is available for programs, tying sessions, or workshops at club meetings; conclaves; fly fishing shows; or fly shops. Please contact Dave well in advance of any prospective date.
These talks are suited to fly fishing clubs meetings, banquets, conclaves, fly fishing shops, and sportmens shows. Each talk is a powerpoint slide show and is 45-60 minutes long.
Trout From Small Streams. Covers tackle selection, an effective selection of dry flies, nymphs, soft-hackles, and streamers, and the full range of fly fishing tactics applicable to small streams. Dave grew up fishing small streams, has fished them all over this continent and on a few others, and is an expert on them. Based on his book Trout From Small Streams.
Matching the Hatch Simplified. A Latinless introduction to matching hatches, based on the knowledge that size, form, color and behavior are more important to trout than the Latin name of any insect, and that you can observe these things by capturing an insect and looking at it in your hand, without reference to entomology texts. Within each order of aquatic insects--mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, midges, and others--all the species are essentially the same shape, and there are just a few repeated color themes that are easy to match with a few color variations on a narrow range of pattern styles. Based on Dave's book Handbook of Hatches
Nymph Fishing Simplified. Solves the simple formula that is the key to all successful nymphing: the right fly + the right rig + the proper presentation = lots of trout led to your net or held in your hands. This program carefully covers each part of that simple three-part formula, selecting the right nymph or nymphs, choosing the right way to rig it, or them, and then using the proper presentation to fool fish. Based on Dave's books Nymph Fishing and Nymphs for Streams & Stillwaters.
Solving Mayfly Hatches. Includes insect recognition, fly pattern selection, and the best presentation methods. Focuses on dry flies and emergers for rising and actively feeding trout. Based on Dave's book Matching Mayflies.
Reading Trout Water. The initial skill in trout fishing is learning to concentrate your fishing time in water where trout hang out, and to eliminate time wasted fishing water where they do not. Covers creeks, streams and rivers, freestone and spring streams, mountain, foothill, and mature watersheds, plus tailwaters. Focuses on water types: riffles, runs, pools, bank water, eddies, etc. Covers the needs of trout, and the way those needs cause trout to select basic types of lies: holding, feeding, and prime lies. Based on Dave's book Reading the Water.
Selecting Trout Flies. Learn how to select the right type of fly--dry, emerger, nymph, wet fly, or streamer--for the situation you're in, and within that a specific pattern that will fool fish in that set of circumstances. Selecting the right fly pattern is at the core of all trout fishing. Based on Dave's books 's book Handbook of Hatches and Essential Trout Flies.
Tactics for Trout. Covers all of the most effective rigs and methods that you need to know in order to effectively present dry flies, nymphs, wet flies, and streamers to trout on moving and still waters. Based on Dave's books Tactics for Trout and Trout Rigs & Methods.
Exploring the Chilean Fjords. In 2006 Dave and Masako were invited by Nomads of the Seas to fish the Chilean Fjords during the initial season for the cruise ship Atmosphere. It was an adventure, not only the exploring and fishing, but the cast of characters: Dave and Emily Whitlock, Mel Krieger, Rick Hafele, Jim Schollmeyer and many others, famous and infamous. Some of the fishing was by helicopter, more by jet sled, some on hoof, all in the rain, sometimes in torrents. It might not be something you'll do, but it's something you should at least see.
Wade a Little Deeper Dad. I've long wanted to put together a slide show of vignettes: sequences of six to ten slides that tell a mini story. I finally did it. Though it's far from instructional, it is fun. Includes sequences of Professor Ted Leeson trying to teach Wisconsin dairy cows how to fly fish, Jim Schollmeyer running Whitehorse Rapids on the Deschutes River in an undersized 10-foot pram, Rick Hafele fishing nymphs while dressed up as a frog. Many et ceteras.
A Schwiebert Mystery. A 10-minute introduction or conclusion or banquet vignette, for Ernie Schwiebert fans. Unravels the mystery of the presence of wing pads on the cheeks of caddis pupae in Ernie's fine book Nymphs.
Workshops are three to five hours long. They combines three Powerpoint presentations to cover the basic elements necessary to solve situations and catch trout, plus an optional casting demonstration. Workshops are suited to fly fishing clubs, conclaves, sportsmens shows, or fly fishing shops.
Elements of Fly Fishing for Trout. This workshop is suitable for fly fishers at any level from beginner on. It includes three slide shows and a casting demonstration:
Fly Fishing Writing 101. Dave Hughes has dealt with all aspects of fly fishing writing, and has beat his head against all of its brick walls. He has written for all fly fishing magazines, small and large, was Fly Fishing Success columnist for Fly Rod & Reel for five years, and for eight years was editor of Fly Fishing & Tying Journal. Nobody has written more books about fly fishing than Dave. This is a rare chance to let an experienced and extensively published author and editor help you solve the mysteries of magazine and book writing.
Fly tying demonstrations are suited to fly fishing clubs, conclaves, fly fishing shows, and fly fishing store events.
Tying Trout Stream Nymphs. This demonstration introduces the idea of collecting the most important trout foods on your own waters, and tying nymphs to match what you find critical in your own fishing. Demonstration includes showing of naturals, collected in vials, and tying patterns that match them. Based on Dave's most recent book, Nymphs for Streams & Stillwaters. (45 minutes to 1 hour; often combined with a book signing session.)
Tying Wet Flies. Covers tying the three major types of wet flies: soft-hackles, wingless wets or flymphs, and traditional winged wet flies. These flies are often considered old-fashioned and out of date, no longer applicable to today's fishing. But when tied right, and fished with proper presentations, they'll often take trout in situations where dry flies, nymphs, and streamers fail to fool them. Based on Dave's book Wet Flies. (45 minutes to 1 hour; often combined with a book signing session.)