Editor’s Note: This opinion piece originally ran in the Idaho Statesman on Nov. 18. In his recent op-ed, Kurt Miller, the executive director of Northwest River Partners, an association of businesses that supports retention of the federal dams on the Columbia and...
Winter flies that work dependably often don’t look like anything found naturally in the water. For instance, I do really well using a size 12 Prince Nymph here in eastern Idaho, where winter fishing is doable on a few local rivers, like the Bear and the...
A decade ago, Garrison Doctor was a young guy from Colorado looking for a job to replace the freelance architectural rendering gig he lost during the Great Recession. He was guiding, working some odd jobs and spending a lot of time in fly shops. A talented artist and...
Mostly, I felt confident that the U.S. Forest Service would make decisions that benefit, instead of harm, the overall health of fish and wildlife in the Tongass National Forest. That is, until now.
Good fly-tying tools are hard to find. Often, you get exactly what you pay for. Scissors that fall apart or quickly dull. Bobbins that slice thin thread in the middle of a pattern. You know, predictably cheap stuff. But not Loon Outdoors products. I’ve been...
Dark-water denizens The bowfin of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge 7 Way back up in the swamp … The little yellow ‘bugger landed with an appreciative thunk just along the edges of the lily pads. Mere days from blooming and popping with brilliant...
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Nov. 12, 2019, will go down as a historic day for coldwater conservation in South Carolina. After a monumental effort by the Mountain Bridge, Saluda River and Chattooga River Chapters, a brand-new South Carolina Trout Unlimited license plate was unveiled. Designed by...
Tying in hackle that faces rearward can be a bit tricky at times, particularly if you’re using small hackle and small hooks. But, for some patterns—many small soft-hackle recipes come to mind immediately—this is a necessary step in tying the fly. Above, Tim...
I’m certain there’s nothing glamorous nor fun about breaking your knee. Yes, your knee. In college, I shattered my knee (tibial plateau) while skiing in Canada. After two major surgeries, I was on the slow road to recovery, which meant getting super buff crutching...
“We fish here so you can fish there.” So read the note that I sent to all of TU’s staff on Christmas Eve several years ago. The note included two photographs. One showed my colleague, Keith Curley, standing on a shopping cart and casting into a tributary of the...
By Diana Miller The anatomy lesson is always one of my favorite parts of the Adopt-A-Trout program. Students tend to divide into two groups: those enthralled and those grossed out. The Adopt-A-Trout program in Wyoming is a partnership between Trout Unlimited and the...
Over the course of the last few weeks, Bristol Bay and Trout Unlimited’s efforts to stop the proposed Pebble mine have found a new ally- Katie Couric.
Among the many charms of autumn is the advent of steelhead runs in many rivers. Where I live, on the central California coast, most streams aren’t yet connected to the ocean—until the rainy season begins in earnest, the sandbars that have set up over the summer...
“Whoa, whoa, whoa … Joel? Let’s not waste any blood on a nymph.” Yeah, it’s a bit late for us to post the trailer for a Halloween fright-fest film—even if it’s a trailer to a film that doesn’t really exist. But Hank...
It was quite the juxtaposition, honestly. Not exactly what I had in mind for my first fishing trip to Argentina, but then, the whole experience had been somewhat surprising. There I was, casually sitting in the back seat of a Toyota Hilux next to a waifish equestrian...
As baitfish imitations go, Shenk’s Minnow might be the most fun to tie. While other patterns, like Norm Zeigler’s Schminnow, might actually be a little easier to craft, no other simple baitfish patterns calls for baby-blanket yarn in order to put it...
Alaska Program Director Nelli Williams recaps last week’s trip to DC to advocate for Bristol Bay with industry reps and local lodge owners.
A couple weeks ago a buddy posted on social media a picture of himself holding a large brown trout with a brief caption: “No shame.” No additional information was necessary. The other prop in the photo, the one in addition to the gorgeous 22-inch brown, was a...
As a son of Colorado, I can attest to the wonder and beauty found high in the small waters of the Centennial State’s mountains. Chasing trout in off-the-grid creeks is, to this day, my favorite fly-fishing pastime. Above, Todd Moen of Catch Magazine, teases us...
TU’s Hillary Walrath has inspired Wyoming women to connect with rivers Before she was old enough to attend kindergarten Hillary Walrath knew she would end up working in rivers. So, it was no surprise Walrath went right from grad school to working for Trout...
Fall beauty in southern Colorado Fall means trying to do a little bit of everything before the snow flies: the last mountain bike rides on dirt, climbing peaks to glass for elk, leaf peeping before they turn brown and litter the ground and of course,...
Several streams draining from the mountains that enhance my urban viewscape snake their way through Anchorage, paralleling urban trails, bordering neighborhoods and sometimes disappearing underground for blocks at a time. While the aesthetics...
The bucktail wing is one of the elementary ingredients in a number of popular flies, from Clousers to Coachmen … even some caddis patterns call for bucktail. But, man, can it be hard to work with or what? I’ve always struggled with bucktail—I either lash...
Students learn about the hidden, underwater world of macroinvertebrates during TU’s Annual Meeting with Headwaters Youth Program Coordinator, Tara Granke. Each year since 2016, Trout Unlimited offers a family-friendly outdoor event at our Annual Meeting. It’s a...
It’s steelhead season, although here in the Northwest, most folks aren’t nearly as excited about it as they used to be thanks to dismal fish returns in the Columbia River system—it’s an unfortunate recurring theme for anglers in the region who are...
We’ve all been there. It’s summer. We’re headed somewhere fishy and the sooner we get there, the sooner we can assemble the 4-weight and hit the water. We’ve squeezed a weekend’s worth of beer and grub into the back of the SUV, and we’re ready to stand knee-deep in a...
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First a disclaimer. If I don’t have to wear waders, I won’t. Simple as that. I’d rather wet-wade. But the weather doesn’t always make standing in trout water up to your midsection a practical proposition. Fall, winter and spring in the northern...
As the ice began to break away from Alaska’s rivers and the sun elongated our days this spring, I told myself that summer 2019 was going to be the season that I commit to understanding the sport, and really learn how to fly fish. For my personal interest and professional growth, I had no excuses not to.
I am 20 years old; sitting cross-legged on the floor of my dorm room. The words on the page are so freaking clear, but their application remains elusive. “Fly casting makes it possible to deliver a relatively weightless lure or imitation of a living creature on a...
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