Short casts: Golden trout in the Beartooths; new Korker boots; mayflies on the South Island

My buddy Matthew Reilly had the chance recently to wander in the remote Beartooths along the Montana-Wyoming border in search of golden trout. Native to the California Sierra, these rare cousins of rainbows and cutthroats occupy a few lakes in the high country just east of Yellowstone National Park, and, while they don’t necessarily get very big, they are willing fly rod targets, as Matt attests in this story from Hatch Magazine.

Goldens are prized wherever they swim–they are stunning fish. In their native range, they’re quite rare, given the propensity of early prospectors and pioneers to crave trout from the very waters they mined or trapped. Their native range in the Sierra is largely protected today, which is a good thing. And in the high lakes across the Rockies, where they’ve been selectively stocked for years, the fish now offer a unique fishing opporunity for backcountry anglers.

Here’s what else is happening in the fishing world today:

And, finally, your moment of fly fishing Zen from Rio Marie in Brazil:

By Chris Hunt.