Eight flies, one tournament. May the best fly win
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Conservation
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Fishing
The spey cast, part three
How to avoid the collision loop
The spey cast, part two
On the whole, the spey cast looks a lot harder than it really is. But there is an art to it, and RIO’s Simon Gawesworth has mastered that art. For a good spey cast to occur, a lot of little things have to come together, and if you’ve never spey casted...
The spey cast, part one
For some of us long-time trout anglers, the idea of spey casting on trout water used to seem kind of pointless. Who needs to throw that much line, for crying out loud? Well, honestly, you do. And so do I. So, if we don’t know how to spey cast, it’s time we...
Postcards
I didn’t fish the opener of the winter steelhead season this year. Apparently, I have a thing about symmetry as I didn’t fish the close, either. A combination of real-life factors kept me off the water on these dates. I found solace in a petition to the Steelhead...
Voices from the River
Birds, books and flies
Birding has become a distraction for one shut-in Alaska angler
The home float
As the old Toyota truck bounced over the river rocks and headed toward the water I couldn’t help smiling to myself. My brother and I sat together in the cab, our dad behind the wheel. He was dropping us at the river for a day fishing, like so many times before. “You...
Fishing through trying times
A beautiful day on the water can’t be beat. Photo credit: Two Fisted Heart Uncertainty can be trying. Fishing is replete with uncertainty under normal circumstances and can test our patience and resolve. But the entire world is living in much more trying...
Honoring a legacy through wild and scenic designation
This remote section of the Middle Fork of the Gila calls to adventurers who are willing to explore the depths of this incredible place worth permanently protecting. By Dan Roper Restoring watersheds...
Postcards
I didn’t fish the opener of the winter steelhead season this year. Apparently, I have a thing about symmetry as I didn’t fish the close, either. A combination of real-life factors kept me off the water on these dates. I found solace in a petition to the Steelhead...
Trout Tips
The final eight: how to tie some great trout flies
Eight flies, one tournament. May the best fly win
Casting a sink-tip line
Sinking and sink-tip lines are great for getting flies down deep in the water column where the big trout eat, but they can be a pain to cast and then recast. First, these lines are heavy—hundreds of grains, for the most part. Second, they don’t really allow for...
For the love of the Animas
By Ty Churchwell No one in Durango nor Silverton, Colo., will ever forget Aug. 5, 2015 — the day of the Gold King mine spill that sent 3 million gallons of ugly, toxic mine water down the Animas River in southwest part of the...
Skating big dries for big trout
Nicco stood next to me along the middle reaches of Patagonia’s Malleo River in the fading Argentine light. Willows shrouded the creek, and I could only see the silhouette of the big Fat Albert as it drifted in the heavy water just across river. Nicco, my guide...
Making a double spey cast
Spey casting is a growing discipline among fly fishers, even though the method has been employed for centuries. For many of us, though, spey casting is foreign and simply looks incredibly difficult. The long, two-handed rods appear unwieldy and complex. The graceful,...
Video Spotlight
The spey cast, part two
On the whole, the spey cast looks a lot harder than it really is. But there is an art to it, and RIO’s Simon Gawesworth has mastered that art. For a good spey cast to occur, a lot of little things have to come together, and if you’ve never spey casted...
Going to the birds
The fishing had been ok that morning years ago when Corey Fisher and I waded up a small creek in Utah trying not to scare fish — or rattlesnakes. We had each caught a couple, but nothing like the fish we had heard about coming from this remote destination....
The Leisenring Spider
There are few classic wet flies that I like to have in my fly box, particularly when I’m fishing some of the fabled waters of Yellowstone National Park. If I were to open my fly box, buried somewhere in the store room under all holiday detritus that has built up...
The Whitewater
It’s that time of year again… the annual Fly Fishing Film Tour is likely coming to a theater near you, and the films’ trailers are out and about for general consumption. Here’s one, as an angler and a conservationist, that ought to capture your...
Fly Fishing and Backpacking the Bob
Those of use who have the good fortune of living in the West might take for granted the public lands at our doorsteps—we literally have millions of acres of American lands spread out before us that offer some of the best fishing and hunting on the planet. And a lot of...
Travel
Kudeniuk
Cameron donned the headphones in the co-pilot’s seat, the splendor of McGavock Lake spread out before him through the windows of the DeHavilland Beaver. He had a little spring in his step that morning as he jog-walked his way down to the dock where the Beaver...
Of chukar and steelhead in the Snake River country
By Michael Gibson Nothing clears the mind like a good chukar hike. So, when the boss called for a work/chukar retreat in lower Snake River Country, I got excited. Late-season chukar in some of the best, and most rugged, chukar country the...
Fly Fishing Film Tour coming to a theater near you
The annual Fly Fishing Film Tour is under way and likely coming to a theater near you in the weeks and months ahead. Trout Unlimited remains a prominent sponsor of the film tour, and this year’s offerings promise to be among the best yet. Check it out: Common...
Winter in Leadville … get used to it
Years ago, while working in the upper Arkansas River Valley as a small-town newspaper reporter and editor, I shared layout space with a number of other local newspapers. Our papers were owned by a small chain based in Salida, and every week, editors from Buena Vista,...
Misadventures in sleep while in grizzly country
Sleeping in bear country is not really sleeping at all. Our family enjoys tent camping and we love the wildest parts of this country. The combination leads to an instant case of temporary insomnia — at least for me. I am envious of people who can sleep in tents while...
Living Waters Fly Fishing is Texas’ fly shop
These members have supported us at every level of our organization. Now, it’s time for us to support them because we’re all in the same boat.
Blackfoot River Outfitters, Flint Creek Outdoors battling through the outbreak
If I’ve learned anything in 42 years as a conservation professional, it is that all of us need one another.
TU, partners release report on pipeline-related sediment regs
The recent and ongoing buildout of pipeline infrastructure in Central Appalachia has brought large-scale construction and earth disturbances to coldwater watersheds throughout the region. TU and our partners at the West Virginia Rivers Coalition have released a new...
Spring Fly Showdown: Pheasant-tail Nymph vs. San Juan Worm
Vote in the Spring Fly Showdown
Spring Fly Showdown: Chernobyl Ant vs. the RS2
Vote in the Spring Fly Showdown
Spring Fly Showdown: Bead-head Hare’s Ear vs. Woolly Bugger
Vote in the Spring Fly Showdown
Spring Fly Showdown: Prince Nymph vs. Dave’s Hopper
Vote in the Spring Fly Showdown
‘Red Gold’ turns 12
Red Gold turns 12; you can stream it for free
Spring Fly Showdown: Lefty’s Deceiver vs. the Adams
Vote and win great fly-tying gear
Spring Fly Showdown: Purple Haze vs. Copper John
Vote and win great fly-tying gear
Spring Fly Showdown: Clouser Minnow vs. Elk-hair Caddis
Vote in the TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown
Help TU help our TU Business members
Support our TU Business Partners
Spring Fly Showdown: The Hornberg vs. the Royal Wulff
The Hornberg vs. the Royal Wulff
Adding some color to the chaos
Bri Dostie is sharing coloring pages for families to use during the coronavirus quarantine hoping to keep students learning about the native fish and ecosystems of the country.
Spring Fly Showdown: Bead-head Hare’s Ear vs. March Brown wet fly
Editor’s note: The biggest sporting event of spring, the NCAA basketball tournament, is simply not happening this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Anglers, though, can still effectively “social distance” and go fishing in areas where it’s safe and legal to...
Inspiration
Fishing lore, wisdom and humor are an antidote for troubled times.
TU Family Field Trip: Streamside scavenger hunt
Thoughts were racing in my mind the other day when I started to panic about how we were going to keep our small children occupied for an undefined period of time thanks to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. It was then, while looking for flour, I thought of it. An outdoor scavenger hunt should be on our list. Scavenger hunts are simple and have been around for generations. It’s one of life’s classic activities. Find something, write it down and move on to the next item. Adults, kids and even crazy bird dogs can easily find entertainment in a scavenger hunt
Spring Fly Showdown: Prince Nymph vs. The Stimulator
Editor’s note: The biggest sporting event of spring, the NCAA basketball tournament, is simply not happening this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Anglers, though, can still effectively “social distance” and go fishing in areas where it’s safe and legal to...
Spring Fly Showdown: The Circus Peanut vs. the Hornberg
Editor’s note: The biggest sporting event of spring, the NCAA basketball tournament, is simply not happening this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Anglers, though, can still effectively “social distance” and go fishing in areas where it’s safe and legal to...
The TU-Loon Outdoors Spring Fly Showdown
The coronavirus outbreak has changed our lives this spring. Here’s a small diversion to take your mind off the crisis for a bit. Right about now, in a normal world, we’d be in the throes of the NCAA National Championship basketball tournament. Many of us would...
Room to breathe
“Mom, has something like this ever happened to you?” Clara looked up from the snowy tire ruts where she was struggling to keep her cross country skis. “You mean like Coronavirus?” “Yeah.” I immediately thought of Sept. 11, 2001, when the planes flew into the towers,...
TU applauds Wyden, Brown for opposition to Jordan Cove project
This week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 2-1 to approve the highly controversial Jordan Cove Energy Project. The project would include an export terminal in Coos Bay, Ore., and a 230-mile-long pipeline from Malin, Ore., to the export facility on the...
Fight not over on Montana’s Smith River
Despite a setback, we’re not giving up
The home float
As the old Toyota truck bounced over the river rocks and headed toward the water I couldn’t help smiling to myself. My brother and I sat together in the cab, our dad behind the wheel. He was dropping us at the river for a day fishing, like so many times before. “You...
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