Eric Naguski, a trained entomologist, shares his hatch-matching and fly-tying secrets

A lot of fly fishers like to occasionally drop the Latin names of insects, and some of them are amateur entomologists with a layman’s knowledge of aquatic insects. But Eric Naguski is a trained, professional scientist with a BS in biology from Millersville University with a focus on aquatic entomology and ecology. He’s studied these bugs for more than 30 years and is one of the most meticulous fly tiers alive today. He knows that insects of the same species can vary in size and in color from stream to stream, and a lifetime of research has led him to some very precise conclusions. If you want to know more about insects, and how to elevate your game in terms of matching the hatch both at the surface and below, there’s a lot to learn from Naguski, who is the author of Favorite Flies for Pennsylvania: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts, and a guide and owner of Riseforms Fly Fishing in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania.