News On The Fly

Zoey makes for a scary alligator.
Photo by Betsy Lauren

It's always good to re-familiarize ourselves with Halloween safety tips for our dogs, and with the rising popularity of canine costumes, it's becoming more important to keep certain things in. . .

The post Top 10 Tips for Keeping Dogs Safe on Halloween appeared first on Orvis News.

Longtime Great Lakes guide Greg Senyo and his then biggest steelie ever, a 17-pounder.
Photo courtesy Greg Senyo

For this week’s podcast, we have an interview with author, guide, fly designer, and master steelheader Greg Senyo, who grew up in the Steelhead Alley region along the southern tier of. . .

The post Podcast: Exploring Steelhead Alley with Greg Senyo appeared first on Orvis News.

For this week’s podcast we have an interview with author, guide, fly designer, and master steelheader Greg Senyo, who grew up in the Steelhead Alley region and knows it intimately.  If you are heading to Lake Erie this year, or to any of the Great Lakes tributaries, you’ll find some solid tips on how to have more fun.  In the Fly Box this week we talk about “dry fly nirvana”, where to go on a Rocky Mountain trout trip (I don’t give any recommendations and I say why I don’t), how to catch suckers and carp in a trout stream, tying flies with silk, keeping your pant legs down when wearing waders, why expensive sunglasses are worth it, tips on tying Glo Bugs, the benefits of micro jig hooks, and why dry flies sometime twist your tippet.

Here's the winners' spread from the Orvis Fall Hunting Book

As we were putting together our new digital hunting book a few months ago, we realized it was missing something – the photos and stories of our fans and customers in the field. So we put the call out on Instagram asking for your wingshooting photos that captured your hunting experience. The result was hundreds of photos entered, with a dozen chosen to be in the book. We love how the spread turned out and wanted to do more to tell the stories of the people behind the photos. So watch this space for profiles of these intrepid photographers, as well as examples of their work

Our second photographer is Anthony Precopio, from Virginia. His winning photo captured the contented pose of his dear, departed Maddie, just after she had completed her final. . .

The post Orvis Hunt Book Instagram Photographer III: Anthony Precopio appeared first on Orvis News.

Audrey Stone greets her guide dog, Figo, who was returning home for the first time in months.
Photo via cbsnews.com

Back in June, we posted the incredible story of a hero guide dog named Figo, who literally threw himself in front of a bus to protect his blind owner. As a result of his efforts, he suffered a. . .

The post Woman Reunited with Dog Who Saved Her Life appeared first on Orvis News.

Here's an absolutely beautiful video about famed Colorado guide Mark Engler, inventor of the WD-40 Emerger, and the path along which the fly-fishing life has taken him. As the camera follows. . .

The post Video: “Engler,” the Story of a Famed Fly-Fishing Life appeared first on Orvis News.

Too many shelter dogs await an uncertain fate where overpopulation is still a problem.
Photo via Wikipedia

We post a lot about shelter dogs and why adoption is a great choice for many folks looking for a dog. Orvis also works with the Petfinder Foundation in its mission to support shelters around. . .

The post Powerful Essay: Inside the Life of an Unwanted Dog appeared first on Orvis News.

Not a bad way to kick off a few days on the flats of Belize!
Photo courtesy Dan Davala

Dan Davala and head of Orvis Travel Sarah Thies are down at El Pescador hosting the penultimate 2015 Bonefish Bonanaza trip. Dan got to kick things off a day early, so he headed. . .

The post Photo: Hey, That’s Not a Bonefish! appeared first on Orvis News.

Tail Fly Fishing Magazine is now open for submissions. The bimonthly digital publication is devoted to saltwater fly fishing.

Read more in the press release below.

Walleye, northern pike, lake trout, small mouth bass and other fish can be found in abundance in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.  Many an angler has dipped a paddle and wet a line in this epitome of the north woods.  A summer camping, canoeing, portaging and fishing trip here is practically a rite of passage in the Midwest.  Along with the Superior National Forest, the Boundary Waters contains 20 percent of all the fresh water in the entire National Forest System. That prized water that supports world-class remote angling is now at risk.

Proposed sulfide-ore copper mining near the wilderness’ edge threatens the abundance of fishing opportunities in the Boundary Waters that attracts anglers from all over the world. This toxic mining practice would

It’s hard to believe that black Friday is right around the corner. Retailers can look forward to a moderate increase in holiday sales this year. The average consumer is prepared to spend 4 percent more than they did last year according to the report by Deloitte. The competition for those holiday dollars in intense. Standing out in a crowded market will be critical this holiday season. 

Pay attention to the big players

If you’re like me your mailbox has been stuffed full of holiday catalogs the last few weeks. That should be a warning that it’s time to start working on holiday assets. I love watching how other retailers

Thank you for the outpouring of comments related to our recent editorial on product reviews, and the fact that we’re swearing off “participation awards.”  We were, frankly, surprised by the number of comments we got from retailers who said they were jonezing for more honest, straight-shot product trials to help them with their purchasing priorities.  And believe it or not, we heard from a lot of manufacturers who thanked us for setting a level playing field.  Everybody was really hopeful that we would actually follow through with these reviews, and put them in a consumer-facing format.  Trust us, that’s already underway.

Truth be told, the trade show happens at a tough time for media.  We see product in July (in booths).  We don’t really get to use it until fall, in most cases.  We try to gear up for product reviews to run in early spring.  So… while we have been testing quite a few products in the waning months of the North American season (43 different products at last count), we did what responsible magazine editors would do to augment the product testing process–we told

I am always amazed by the amount of thought and discussion that the rifle, shotgun, and archery community pours into ammo/arrows.  Seriously.  Google “165 grain or 180 grain ammo for 30.06” for example, and see what kind of results you get.  Or search “cedar shafts for recurve bow” and behold just how much thought and banter people are willing to pour into that.

So why is it that the average fly angler consumer doesn’t really, truly know the difference among most fly lines, while there are many, many highly specific, diligently designed options out there (many of which are sitting in your shops right now).  We did an informal mini-poll, dialing up 10 angler consumers (my fishing friends) and asked a simple question:  What is the fly line you use most?  And nine out of 10 said, simply, “Weight-forward, 5F.”

The minute anglers, as a group, start looking at fly lines as “ammo” rather than accessory, I cannot help but believe that a world of possibilities will open for retailers.  And the retailers are the key gatekeepers to making that happen.

Admittedly, this notion hit me (forehead slap) at

The American Fly Fishing Trade Association deserves kudos for hosting a highly successful Dealer Summit event in Bozeman two weeks ago.  Now in the second year, the summit more than doubled in attendees, involving 41 different retailers from throughout the United States.  Any time you get 41 dealers in the same place, at the same time, to talk about issues relevant to the fly-fishing business world, that’s a very good thing.  AT was proud to be an event sponsor, and we have heard many positive reports from those who attended.  You can look for a longer, more detailed story in the next print issue of the magazine.  For now, here’s what AFFTA had to say:

Hank was 20 pounds lighter but still in good health after his ordeal.
Photo via coloradoan.com

Spend any time around Australian Shepherds, and you'll come to realize that they are pretty tough. A six-year-old Aussie mix named Hank is living proof. In late August, Hank was camping with. . .

The post Dog Survives 60 Days in the Wyoming Wilderness appeared first on Orvis News.

Written by: Geoffrey Klane

Largemouth or smallmouth, bass abound in the canals of this post-industrial metropolis.
Photo by Geoffrey Klane

I first picked up a fly rod in the early spring of 2015. I had fished on and off for years, and something about fly fishing intrigued me. The sport placed particular emphasis on strategizing. . .

The post Photos: Discovering an Urban Fishery in an Old Mill Town appeared first on Orvis News.

New York's dogs donned their very best pumpkin, pope, and pirate costumes yesterday for the annual Tompkins Square Dog Halloween Dog parade. Thousands of people poured into the. . .

The post Video: New York Park Goes to the Dogs for 25th Halloween Dog Parade appeared first on Orvis News.

Ever fished in flipflops and a down jacket? Here's a cool video from northern Vermont that captures the essence of fall in the Northeast. Emerson Jessup fishes the Lamoille River and. . .

The post Video: Fall Brown Trout in Vermont appeared first on Orvis News.

This short video journal shows the final leg of a journey West. The full feature release is upcoming in 2016. Via Tight Loops.

This short film from Julian Wicksteed features his latest travels in Alaska. Via Maniac Films.

After his devastating accident, Schwartz rescued a dog and his own way of living.
Photo by WENDY MAEDA/GLOBE STAFF

Bostonian Jeff Schwartz loved his nine-year-old dog, Buddy, as if it were his child. But then a devastating accident took Buddy away, and Schwartz had to learn how to live. . .and love. . .

The post A Grieving Man Returns to Life Through a Rescue Dog appeared first on Orvis News.

Written by: Frazier Blair, Orvis Vice President of Merchandise Operations & Planning

The chance to reconnect—and to catch wild trout—drew Bob and Frazier to the wilds of Montana.
All photos courtesy Frazier Blair

My dad, Bob Blair, had just retired, and it was a great moment for us to share a trip of a lifetime. For too long, our busy lives had gotten in the way of our connection to each other and to the. . .

The post Photo Essay: A Father-Daughter Trip of a Lifetime to Montana’s Bob Marshall Wilderness appeared first on Orvis News.

Welcome to our latest edition of the Orvis News Friday Fly-Fishing Film Festival, made up of the best videos from around the world. This week, we serve up fourteen great videos, covering. . .

The post Friday Fly-Fishing Film Festival 10.23.15 appeared first on Orvis News.

Yesterday, I discovered that the Internet Archive—non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more—contains a full copy of the first book by our founder, . . .

The post Check Out This Seminal Book in the History of American Fly Fishing Online, for Free! appeared first on Orvis News.

Joey Maxim rediscovered life through fly fishing.
Photos courtesy Joe Maxim

The incredible story of how fly-fishing brought Joey Maxim back to life first came to our attention in 2013, when then-17-year-old Joey wrote a letter to Tom Rosenbauer. Joey did a podcast with. . .

The post Video: Kickstarter Campaign for a Film About an Incredible Fly-Fishing Comeback Story appeared first on Orvis News.

Olive and her new mom enjoy time in the great outdoors. . .with no fences.
Photo by via Facebook/Olive Yonkers

Olive the dog arrived at the Yonkers Animal Shelter in New York when she just just a puppy, and she languished there—loved by the staff but without a real home—for more than a. . .

The post Dog Who Spent 11 Years in a Shelter Now Learning to Love appeared first on Orvis News.