It’s not the first Friday the 13th we’ve had this year, but it’s the first one that I thought about posting a song to accompany it. Who doesn’t like starting with a little Stevie Wonder on a Friday morning?

Get your groove on, then check out this week’s selection of articles (no videos this week!).

Smallmouth and the Cold-Water Frontier: An Interview with Mike Schultz (Hatch Magazine)

This is a great interview on fly fishing for winter smallmouth in Michigan. Mike Schultz has put enough time on the water to know the tendencies of these fish, and gives some insight on their winter behavior here. The article is an excerpt of the new book, Smallmouth: Modern Fly Fishing Methods, Tactics, and Techniques.

Tom Rosenbauer’s 12 Essential Trout Flies (Orvis Fly Fishing)

Tom Rosenbauer shares his list of top flies to help narrow down the myriad choices that you see in the fly bins at the shop. It’s always fun to experiment with new patterns, but these are some tried and true ones that he’s selected. For our list, check out the 5 Flies We Always Carry.

The Minute Detail of Artist Chase Bartee (Orvis Fly Fishing)

Chase and Aimee Bartee (of Tight Loops) not only make great films, they also make beautiful art – the amount of detail in the paintings in the article is incredible. Chase writes about his background in becoming and being an artist, as well as how he creates such detailed paintings. What I really love is that each painting is of a specific fish that chase and Aimee caught on their travels.

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #11 – Tie Your Own Flies (Troutbitten)

Domenick points out that “tying your own flies significantly deepens your involvement in fly fishing. It fundamentally affects the way you see things on the water.” Very true. Tying your own flies also gives you the opportunities to experiment with custom dubbing blends and patterns.

RS2 – One of My Favorite Picky Trout Patterns (Gink & Gasoline)

Kent Klewein writes on the merits of the RS2 pattern, which is a great-looking small Baetis and Blue-Winged Olive imitation. The article also includes a video on how to tie the pattern.