News On The Fly
Bighorn Trout Shop to Reopen After Fire
Posted on November 24 2006
The Bighorn Trout Shop, which burned down on August 6, will be completed rebuilt by spring, according to Mike Stark of the Billings Gazette. Meanwhile the Yellowtail Market — a gathering place for traveling anglers for many years — will … more
Best British Wildlife Spots
Posted on November 24 2006
The U.K. Independent lists its picks for best places to view wildlife in Britain, including the River Tweed. “The Tweed is one of the most important European rivers for salmon. Salmon born here migrate to Iceland and back. In autumn, … more
Cotter, Arkansas Culture
Posted on November 23 2006
In restitution for our apparent snub of Cotter, Arkansas, yesterday (Cotter resident Judi Sharp commented that it’s “Trout Capital, USA,” not “Trout Town”), we’d like to say that not only does Cotter deserve mention as a fine place to live … more
The Guiding Life: Who Needs Sleep?
Posted on November 23 2006
Let’s see. If Dallas-based fly fishing guide Ken Cole is starting his day at 4 AM and getting home at 10 PM after fishing Lower Mountain Fork River in southern Oklahoma, either he doesn’t fish every day or he gets … more
Gear Junkies' Outdoor Gifts List
Posted on November 23 2006
Just in time for Black Friday in the U.S., Stephen Regenold, proprietor of the TheGearJunkie.com, lists his 13 favorite outdoors gear items for gift giving this winter. Among them: the $79.95 Digital Hero Camera and the $32.95 Swiss Army Clipper … more
Oregon's Deschutes River Steelhead
Posted on November 22 2006
“As I swung my wet fly through a large tail out of the Deschutes River, my line stopped dead — and then promptly changed direction. It began moving back toward the middle of the run, and my blood turned as … more
"Trout Town, USA"
Posted on November 22 2006
The Chamber of Commerce of Cotter, Arkansas has a new marketing plan to bring traffic to their tiny town. They are going to call themselves “Trout Town, USA.” There’s only one problem with the plan: a little place at the … more
Michigan's Hersey Dam Removed
Posted on November 21 2006
As small dams around the country approach the end of their life spans, at-risk communities are finally recognizing the value in their removal. Such is the case with the Hersey River dam in Michigan, recently removed as part of an … more
Anglers, Hunters Help "Define" Colorado
Posted on November 21 2006
Coloradans make a difference in their state’s wildlife and conservation efforts. They vote for license fee increases. They helped create a Wildlife Management Public Education Advisory Council. And they don’t mind paying for things like huge billboards featuring the native … more
The Difference Between U.S. and Canadian Politics
Posted on November 21 2006
In the U.S., we worry about flubbed jokes. In Canada, they don’t even care if the cameramen digitize out their “bits.” Liberal party leadership candidate Bob Rae goes fly fishing and spontaneously jumps buck naked into a lake with RMR … more
Midge Magic
Posted on November 20 2006
Discover midges and you’ll also discover that fly fishing doesn’t end with the last Baetis hatch in November. “What got me interested in midges was the book, Midge Magic by Don Holbrook and Ed Koch (Stackpole Books, 2001). That, and … more
Fly Fishing in Bhutan: Butter Tea and Sentient Beings
Posted on November 20 2006
The U.K.’s Sunday Times excerpts another portion of Charles Rangeley-Wilson’s dialogue from the new BBC series “The Accidental Angler,’ this from Bhutan: “When trout were brought here from Kashmir, they were seeded into streams in the west of the country …
British Women Own Salmon Records
Posted on November 19 2006
Wilma Paterson, the author of Salmon and Women, The Feminine Angle, suggests international fly fishing opportunities for women, encouraging involvement with this note: “It is well known — if seldom mentioned in the male angling fraternity — that three women … more
Fall Tactics: Upper River on the Cumberland
Posted on November 19 2006
“‘When the water’s high like this, you have to prospect and look for pockets that hold fish,’ [guide Gerry McDaniel] said. ‘That’s what we were doing. It’s just like deer hunting. You can be in a tree stand all day, … more
Fly Fishing Techniques: Coping With Rejection
Posted on November 18 2006
New on MidCurrent: Paul Schullery writes about whether or not trout are really as lousy at the job of eating bugs as they seem to be. “If you’ve been fishing even a few years, you’ve watched a trout come up … more
Federal Board Favors Subsistence Fishing in Upper Kenai
Posted on November 18 2006
As we noted back in September (see “Alaska’s Remarkable Rainbows“), some anglers are concerned that subsistence fishing by native tribes and local residents will endanger the large rainbow trout and salmon that have been the focus of Alaskan conservation efforts … more
Fly Rod Builders: Larry Tusoni
Posted on November 17 2006
Like his dad, Larry Tusoni is a bit of a perfectionist, which is a good thing when it comes to building bamboo rods. “He is an expert at making pentagonal rods — five pieces of cane cut and planed to … more
Mike Williams Art
Posted on November 17 2006
The last thing you’d call Mike’s Williams’s fish paintings and sculptures is “formulaic.” His art will be on display at South Carolina’s Columbia College for the next few weeks. “The exhibition includes his expressionist paintings of fish, marshes, swamps and … more
Remembering Bob Taylor, Steelheader
Posted on November 16 2006
Rob Brown pens a careful reminiscence of Bob Taylor, who passed away on July 6, in the Terrace, B.C. Standard. “It must’ve been a steelhead, I said, as excited as if I’d just hooked it. He agreed that a fish … more
Simon Gawesworth at Bob Marriott's November 18-19
Posted on November 15 2006
Spey casting guru Simon Gawesworth will be demonstrating his flawless technique on the Bob Marriott casting ponds during the California store’s annual Fly Fishing Educational Festival. “The 17th annual fair, returning to the Fullerton store after going offsite the past … more
Dewatering Lawsuit Yields Results for Gunnison
Posted on November 15 2006
Only weeks after achieving the reversal of a Interior Department ruling that could have lowered river flows to 300 cfs, conservationists were in Colorado’s Gunnison River releasing 85,000 rainbow trout fingerlings. “The stocking was the latest attempt to mitigate the … more
Fly Fishing People: Phil Chapman
Posted on November 15 2006
Del Milligan writes about Phil Chapman — Florida conservationist, guide and fly fisher — in Lakeland, Florida’s The Ledger. “Chapman studied marine biology at Florida State, went to work for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Lakeland as … more
USFWS Forced to Reconsider Listing Colorado River Cutthroat
Posted on November 15 2006
“The agency had denied federal protection for the fish in 2004, prompting the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, based in Laramie, and the Center for Biological Diversity, based in Tucson, Ariz., to take the agency to court. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman … more
BBC Fishing Shows: "The Accidental Angler"
Posted on November 14 2006
David Belcher reviews the BBC’s new fly fishing series “The Accidental Angler,” starring Charles Rangeley-Wilson, and likens it to tepid soup, though clearly the producers had something different in mind. “Knowing this, you can see what the Beeb bosses were … more
The Batten Kill: Save Us From Ourselves
Posted on November 14 2006
Samuel Shultis expresses an alternative opinion in the recent war of ideas over how to save the Batten Kill: stop loving it — and Manchester, Vermont — to death. “What we have in the demise of the Batten Kill is … more
Fly Fishing Events: January's San Mateo ISE Show
Posted on November 13 2006
A normal, living, breathing human inhabitant of the northern hemisphere greets mid-January with all the enthusiasm of a slug. The holidays are truly over, the wind is intolerable, and even avid fly tiers are counting the days until spring. But … more
U.S. Weather Maps: Weather.com's Interactive Radar
Posted on November 13 2006
Weather.com recently unveiled the beta of a cool interactive map based on Microsoft’s upgraded Virtual Earth service. The map shows real-time precipation in either satellite or road-map views — pretty handy for lots of uses, including figuring out whether to … more
Nevada's Truckee River: Putting Back Complexity
Posted on November 13 2006
In the 1960s, the Corp of Engineers bulldozed the bed of the Truckee River as part of a “flood-control” project. Now scientists are counting the benefits of restoration done by the Nature Conservancy: 15 miles of spectacular fishing. “As part … more
Fire Restoration Crews Key to Saving Fish
Posted on November 12 2006
After California’s recent spate of fires, communities are taking action to prevent ash from damaging endangered steelhead and salmon habitat. Fire restoration crews attempt to prevent erosion with tree branches, wattles and bulldozed berms. “When sediment reaches a creek, it … more
Why Kayak?
Posted on November 12 2006
“‘I had a flats boat, and even though it had a very shallow draft, I couldn’t get it back to where the redfish were. They’d be so shallow you could see their backs. You couldn’t wade because even though the … more
Pete Fromm's "Snow Cave"
Posted on November 11 2006
Seems like every week you can find a story of someone taking chances they shouldn’t, especially as the weather turns cold. In the November/December issue of Gray’s Sporting Journal, author Pete Fromm tells the story of a father and son … more
Tarpon Fishing: New TV Date for "Location X"
Posted on November 11 2006
Howard Films let us know yesterday that their new film on fly fishing for tarpon will air on Versus/OLN on December 1st at 7PM and 11PM EST (8PM Pacific), not November 16 as previously reported. Apparently the network is pretty …
Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery Puts Squeeze on Salmon
Posted on November 10 2006
Nick Gosling took a trip to the “Spawning Spectacular” at the Craig Brook Hatchery in Orland, Maine and described in vivid detail how arranged marriages between Atlantic salmon actually work. In the Ellsworth American.
Fly Fishing People: Author John Nichols
Posted on November 10 2006
Pete Warzel interviews the author of The Milagro Beanfield War at his home in Taos, New Mexico and uncovers a rather practical take on fly fishing. “Q: Except John, I know that way down deep you desire a $2,500 Winston … more
Five Top Australian Fishing Spots
Posted on November 10 2006
Rob Sloane, editor of Fifty Places to Fish Before You Die (about Australia/New Zealand and published by Viking Penguin, not to be confused with Chris Santella’s Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die), gives up his five favorite fishing … more
North Carolina's Wily Stocked Fish
Posted on November 09 2006
North Carolina is finishing its semi-annual stocking of the delayed-harvest streams in the western part of the state. Anglers have plenty of choices now, between stocked and wild fish streams. “‘The first few weeks, the stocked fish are not real … more
California's Trinity Sees Outsized Steelhead
Posted on November 09 2006
The San Francisco Chronicle‘s fishing columnist reports that fall fishing for steelhead and rainbows is terrific on the Trinity, Middle Klamath and Lower Sacramento rivers. In case you are not a regular reader of columnist Brian Hoffman, here’s a taste … more
Montana Moving At-Risk Cutthroat From Burned Areas
Posted on November 08 2006
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is rushing to relocate about 1000 Yellowstone cutthroat trout from two creeks south of Big Timber. The trout are threatened by the ash left over from this summer’s 200,000-acre Derby Mountain fire. … more
California Rejects Conservation Curbs
Posted on November 08 2006
Proposition 90, which conservation group California Trout called “perhaps one of the worst statewide propositions to come up for a vote,” was rejected by California voters yesterday. (A similar effort in Montana to place limitations on the ability of local … more
States Locked in Fight Over Bighorn Water Levels
Posted on November 08 2006
“Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said flows from the lake should be reduced; Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer said the plan won’t put enough water into the Big Horn River.” Article by the Associated Press in the Casper, Wyoming Star-Tribune.
California Fish Ladder Photos
Posted on November 08 2006
The Sacramento Bee published these photos of a new fish ladder, designed to help the recovery of steelhead and chinook salmon, at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery this morning.
Handheld GPS Ratings
Posted on November 07 2006
Call me a Luddite, but I’ve never had much use for GPS devices, on a boat or otherwise. Still, Global Positioning is one of those technologies that sort of creeps up on you. You go to sleep one day, and … more
California Literary Review Rates Casting a Spell
Posted on November 07 2006
“Black explores one of the last untrammeled corners of the fly fishing world with wit, thoroughness and passion. But Casting A Spell is much more than a niche effort destined to gather dust in the fly fishing section of local … more
Fly Fishing People: Lou Reed
Posted on November 06 2006
On the outside chance that you were fishing at Val Kilmer’s 6,000 acre New Mexico ranch recently, you may have run into Lou Reed, proving to yourself that gritty, rebellious musician types enjoy contemplating more than dank urban alleyways.
Spey Casting on Idaho's Clearwater
Posted on November 05 2006
In a story about a Missouri River guide’s first spey casting experience, Clearwater River guide Jeff Jarrett gives some simple but sage advice about steelheading: “… stick with the basics. Fish in water that is 2 feet to 8 feet … more
Hoagy Carmichael's Grand Cascapedia History
Posted on November 04 2006
A wonderful analogy emerges from this interview with Hoagy B. Carmichael, son of the legendary composer and author of the recently released first volume of a history of the Grand Cascapedia. It ties together qualities that mark both great writers … more
Montana Bull Trout Spawning More Frequently
Posted on November 03 2006
A new Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks survey shows that bull trout redds in tributaries to the North, South and Middle Forks of the Flathead River and tributaries to the Swan River are on the increase. “Agency biologist … more
"Fluff Chuckers"
Posted on November 03 2006
“I’ve walked into more than a few fly fishing stores over the years and had the ultra-snobby employees make me feel like I was nothing more than an ignorant pile of steaming cow dung. Those kind of experiences certainly don’t … more
International Scientists Predict Fisheries Collapse by 2050
Posted on November 03 2006
“”We have essentially been mining down marine systems by taking the biggest and best fish first, which is the equivalent of gold in a mine,” [senior research associate Reg] Watson said. “Then we’ve moved down to smaller fish and then … more
Dan Rather: Trout Stream Closest Thing to Heaven
Posted on November 02 2006
Among comments about modern news, megaconglomerates and Mark Cuban, Dan Rather notes that he can’t think of anything he likes more than trout fishing in northern Minnesota. And of course since this is a newspaper interview, he notes that there … more