I wanted to know, first-hand, the difference between the Orvis Helios D and F, so I tested both fly rods side by side in tough, real-world fly fishing conditions. Continued from "Are Orvis Helios D ...

From left: Derrick Hicks, Mike Rotz and Johnathon White stand in the Boise River together, clad in fishing gear. The three men met after Hicks found a fly rod in the river days after Rotz lost it.

"'Presentation is everything.' No wiser words were told to me early in my fly fishing learning curve. It's a fact, the fly angler who is skilled in the presentation of his fly will catch more fish." ...

The first time I wandered into a fly shop on my own, I had no idea where to begin. I had been fly fishing before, but always on a boat and with the help of a partner or friends. Being alone—and ...