Fly Fishing DVD Reviews: The Kelly Galloup DVD’s

The first time I met Kelly was at a Sportsmen’s Expo in Salt Lake.  I had stopped by the Clackacraft booth and started talking to him about the waters I fish.  He was asking if I ever made it to the Madison River.  I let him know that I had only fished it in Yellowstone Park.  I went on to say that I do make it to Montana once in a while but usually to the Beaverhead, Big Hole or Missouri Rivers.  I went to another booth that was selling DVD’s and asked if they had Kelly’s Nymphing by the Numbers.  They said they were out.  I went back and let Kelly know.  He said, wait a minute and I’ll run out to the truck and get you one for you. 

Nymphing by the Numbers

This is an excellent DVD that I highly recommend.  One of my favorite parts is that Kelly discusses setting up the terminal tackle with various dropper, weights and indicator systems.  He goes into the theory behind each setup and when to use each.  He also does some nymph fishing so you can see someone actually nymph fishing and see some of the setups work.  The DVD is two hours long, which is another reason I like it.  In two hours you can cover a lot of detail which offers information for even the expert nymph fisherman.

Madison River

This is another excellent DVD.  In this one, Kelly covers the various sections of the river (Yellowstone Park to Ennis Lake) and each sections peculiarities, the best tactics (mainly nymphing and streamer fishing) to use and the various access points.  It is enjoyable to watch because most of it is watching Kelly actually in the river.  It is an hour and forty-seven minutes long.  Although it is specifically about the Madison River and the details of the river and access points apply only to the Madison, the fly fishing applications apply to many rivers.  Oh, and the various endings also add a personal touch in making DVD’s that is fun to see.

Streamer Fishing for Trophy Trout & Advanced Streamer Fishing

These are the first DVD’s I have heard of that cover streamer fishing.  They go into a lot of the theory behind trophy fish mentality.  They also cover pattern selection as well as color selection.  They cover fly manipulation as well as tackle used such as recommended rods and fly line. 

Kelly does emphasize the realities of streamer fishing.  You are searching for the few really large trout, not several medium sized trout.  In the first DVD you get to see him streamer fishing while wading and discussing his approach.  In the second one, you get to see him fishing from a drift boat.  I like how he is fishing the Wind River which is a river you don’t hear much about.  He also discusses several flies he designed and the theory of articulated streamers.  These DVD’s total three and a half hours, a lot of video for your money.

While I’m discussing Streamer fishing DVD’s, let me also recommend the book Streamer Fishing for Trophy Trout.  It is written by Kelly along with Bob Linsenman.  It is great reading.  It covers the history of streamers, large trout behavior, reading the water, streamer techniques and effective patterns.

Clackacraft Drift Boats

This isn’t really a Kelly Galloup DVD; it is a Clackacraft DVD which has Kelly Galloup in part of it.  I do like this DVD which discusses how the drift boat is taylor-made for fly fishing.  It also discusses how to row to put the fisherman in the best position for an optimal presentation.  It is 1 hour and 47 minutes long.