Chad turned to his wife Erin, “If I don’t make it back, I died doing what I love.” It was well-spoken and sealed with a kiss. The Class III rapids of the canyon are far from the roughest or most consequential white...
Lifestyle
The New Zealand Strike Indicator
I’m not big on gimmicks when it comes to fly fishing. Anything that requires an extra tool on the water, or some complex, newfangled series of steps in order to make something work like it should rarely appeals to me. But my friend Walt Gasson changed my mind...
How to pack for a trip to Bristol Bay
The flights are booked, the lodging is arranged. You’re going to Bristol Bay. Dang, I’m jealous.
The hype is real: A day on the Upper Delaware
“Wait? What? You’ve never fished the Delaware River?” If you live in the East and are an avid (borderline obsessed) trout angler, this is the kind of thing you will hear from peers if you admit that you’ve never wet a line in one of the East’s most famous trout...
FisheWear Wedge Tote
It seems like I’m always short a hand or two and a good tote bag can definitely make life easier, whether running errands or heading to the water, the Wedge Tote from FisheWear is a great addition to any angler’s life. Perfect for hauling gear to and...
The Phoenix in the Elwha River
Editors note: This piece originally appeared in the opinion section of the Spokesman-Review. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to restore wild places to their former ecological and aesthetic glory once human development has altered them. But in some cases, the...
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Fly fishing’s trade association on the rise
As Ben Bulis stepped up to the podium at the annual industry breakfast, the opening event of the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, he looked out at a ballroom full of people. As the president of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, Bulis had to grin....
Hard work has payoffs
Hermosa Creek surrounded by gorgeous San Juan mountains I recently went out with the Five Rivers TU chapter in Durango, Colo., to help plant willows along the banks of the Hermosa Creek. (Full disclosure: I’m on the board of the chapter). Closing in on the final...
Act, then put the Tongass on your bucket list
If you want to catch a very large steelhead in a very small stream, there’s probably no better place on the planet to do so than Southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
Casting into the wind
The wind is considered by many to be among the biggest challenges fly fishers face on a consistent basis. And, to some extent, that’s entirely accurate. A strong headwind can turn an otherwise perfect day on the water into something significantly less enjoyable....
Hanging with the pros
Dave Kielar felt like he had to pinch himself. There he sat, surrounded by what amounted to fly fishing glitterati, at a dinner table at TroutHunter in Island Park, Idaho. Earlier in the week, he got to rub elbows with the venerable Craig Mathews, who for years owned...
Everyone needs a tune-up
Most of us who have fly fished for years–decades, even–are likely self-taught casters who have learned the craft over many moons of trial and error. Casting becomes an intuitive activity, with alterations done to meet certain requirements on the water. ...
Set your fantasy fly lineup
‘Tis the season. Over the weekend, my buddy and fellow TU-er Kirk Deeter and I faced off in fantasy football. We’re both underachieving this year–it seems we both have the bad fortune to play the highest-scoring opponents in the league every week this season, so...
Longtime conservation officer now focused on steelhead and salmon
A fly fisherman searches the water of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho waiting for the elusive tug on the end of his line from a steelhead. Josh Duplechian/Trout Unlimited As a conservation officer with the Idaho Fish and Game Department, Eric Crawford’s...
Tying quill bodies
If flies were measured by their appearance, quill-bodied mayfly patterns would take Best in Show honors every single time. Sleek yet buggy, streamlined, yet high-floating, quill-bodied flies are stylish and functional. Tim Flagler shows us how to tie the perfect...
Alaska TU leaders on public lands: Be an advocate
Explorers, hunters, anglers, hikers, climbers, campers and s’mores artists alike benefit from the bounty of Alaska’s public lands for some of our best memories, the fullness of our chest freezers, or our most engaging tales of misadventure. As such, we assume the responsibility of being active stewards of the land and ethical facilitators when introducing new participants to pursuits on our national commons.
Guiding the guide
Last Sunday we decided we’d go fishing. It was dumping rain, but being outside on weekends is almost always better than in, and we figured we may as well pursue an activity that already involves gear made to keep you dry.
Ode to the Olive
It’s a tiny little bug, but it — and its many variants — might be the single-most important fly of fall. The venerable Blue-winged Olive, the vise-borne imitation of the tiny baetis mayfly, is the dry-fly king of autumn, even though it rarely materializes on the...
Twist the fly when tightening
As anglers, we naturally spend more time thinking about the big stuff—where the fish might be and what flies they might be after—than we do about what makes the big stuff so rewarding. You know … like ensuring our equipment is in good shape, our knots are solid...
Conehead Bunny Leach
Brown trout across the nation are on the move—fall is when they’re most active and most aggressive as they’re preparing to spawn or defending redds. And, often, the best way to elicit strikes from big browns is to chase them with streamers. Step-by-step...
When the old boat is the right boat
The canoe had been sitting for a while. For the better part of two decades it had served me well, dutifully getting me down Appalachian rivers on trips during which trout, bass and sometimes even ducks and geese were the quarry. But then, about two years ago, I...
Fly fishing contortionist
It’s impressive to think about what our bodies do for us while on the hunt for trout. Clawing our way through thick brush, scooting down steep slopes or lunging to jump from boulder to boulder touches on only some of the contortions we make while fishing. ...
Online auction helps with Dorian relief efforts
Many Trout Unlimited members and supporters have asked how they can help with the recovery effort following Hurricane Dorian which completely devastated Abaco and Grand Bahama. While there are a number of good options, and any help in any form is appreciated, you...
A milestone in native trout recovery
Paiute cutthroat are often called the rarest trout in North America. Their historic range is an 11-mile long stretch of a single creek in the eastern Sierra Nevada near the California-Nevada border. Paiute Cutthroat Trout. Photo: California Department of Fish and...
Corridors paved with water
When teaching guide clients how to read a stream, I stressed three basic conditions that dictate where a trout will hold: access to food, access to safety and access to shelter from energy-sapping currents. A healthy and stable abundance of any or all of these...
Boy Scout
Editor’s note: A variation of this piece first appeared in Hatch Magazine. Preparedness was never my thing. There’s a reason I made it to Webelo, but didn’t matriculate farther through the Boy Scout system. You can only show up at the den meeting without your...
Getting out there
Allegra, Grant and I emerged from the densely wooded trail, stepping out onto the wooden bridge for our first view of Resurrection Bay. Mountains jutted up from the water as the evening sun shone through Tonsina Creek valley, and ravens flew overhead. Spawning silver and chum salmon pooled up in riffles below us, and our noses filled with the decaying fish that came before them, soon to be the ravens’ feast.
Tierra del Fuego’s Rio Grande
So you like brown trout? Nahuel Stauch has the fish for you. And thanks to Todd Moen at Catch Magazine, you can get a look at what is likely the largest population of sea-run brown trout on the planet in the Rio Grande of Tierra del Fuego. Stauch, the guide for...
The Woolly Worm
The Woolly Bugger’s less-sophisticated cousin, the Woolly Worm, is an excellent searching pattern for subsurface trout, and it has the added benefit of being an excellent pattern for panfish, like crappy and bluegill. Above, Tim Flagler ties a really durable...
The stress of an ‘un-seasonable’ summer in Alaska
Climate scientists have been correct so far and it is likely that we will see this un-seasonable weather pattern more frequently. The question Alaskan anglers should be wondering is, how resilient are our world class fisheries?
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