I’ve been using UV resins on my flies for several years now, all with the intent of making flies last longer on the water
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Conservation
Community
Fishing
Keeping brook trout secrets in Appalachia
In my cusped hands dripped a lustrous jewel. Its belly was streaked pink, and the rest of its body speckled in luminescent hues of amber and bronze. The overall effect was that of a fine watercolor, hand-painted by a master. It was a gem of a fish.
The new Scott Centric is a rod for the ages
When the tube arrived from Scott, I expected it to be something special. So, I wanted the first analysis to more than a cursory shakedown. I headed to the grass field behind my house for some quality one-on-one time, poured myself a small mason jar of red wine, put on some Bose noise-cancelling headphones, strung up the rod, and got ready to “dance.” I put my playlist on shuffle, the first song that came on was AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells”
Catch the F3T, help a local conservation cause
The Fly Fishing Film Tour is available for online streaming right now, and if you’re interested in catching this year’s film offerings, you can buy tickets from an independent screening and help a local conservation cause in the process. So far, the F3T...
‘Get to work and find some answers’
Local sporting businesses are helping to make the case for removing the four Lower Snake River dams Earlier this summer, TU released a report entitled, “Why We Need a Free Flowing Lower Snake River,” that lays out the scientific basis for the federal government’s...
Voices from the River
Mourning summer before it’s over
I was in a gloomy mood. Changing seasons, earlier sunsets and, of course, the inevitable prediction of that first high-country dusting of snow had me in a funk. Couple this with the constant challenges life throws in for seasoning, and it’s a recipe for the blues
Where hope lives: lessons from a limber pine
Some might say the effort is too daunting and without end, but the optimist knows that her swim, though difficult at times and across the flow, will become a habit rooted deep in muscle memory, a rhythm of life, if she allows herself to know, takes her confidence from can, not cannot
Do it for the fish that made a river famous
If the determining factor in the effort to save the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout of Idaho’s South Fork of the Snake River is how hard cutthroats fight at the end of a leader … well, then, the fight is already lost
Healing our Ecosystem: Recovering Belonging from the Wounds of Colonialism
Editor’s note: This post is the first of a series from Rene Henery, PhD, Science Director with TU’s California Program. Henery is an eminent ecologist leading TU’s efforts to improve the timing and volume of flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin...
The Fly Fishing Film Tour goes virtual on Aug. 27
The annual Fly Fishing Film Tour was forced to hit “pause” earlier this spring thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but, as they say, “The show must go on.”
Trout Tips
Tying small dry flies using UV resins
I’ve been using UV resins on my flies for several years now, all with the intent of making flies last longer on the water
Use dubbing to make a solid base
Certain materials, when tied to a hook shank, just don’t take well to being secured with thread. The lack of friction between the material and the metal of the shank makes it very easy for some tying materials to spin, even after multiple wraps and efforts to tightly bound them to the shank
Terrestrial bugs offer great dry-fly fishing on small creeks
Late summer and early fall offer some of the season’s best dry-fly fishing on small creeks in the east. This isn’t hatch-matching fishing. It’s terrestrial season
Fly fishing doesn’t have to be hard
I love to cast a long line, but it doesn’t happen often. If I do, it is ideally with no false casts. The longer my fly is in the air, the more likely it will be caught by a bush. Fewer false casts also means my fly is in or on the water in front of fish longer
How to use shanks for articulated flies
There are a few choices when it comes to choosing which shank to use for the flies you’re tying, but, generally speaking, the idea is the same: shanks let you make longer fly bodies and then hang a “stinger” hook off the rear of the fly
Video Spotlight
Blue lines and social distancing
Learning solid fishing skills on small water helps you with all angling situations
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 Michigan Arctic grayling
Grayling are a tough fish to reintroduce to former habitat. For a long time, it was assumed that once the sailfish of the north winked out of a certain watershed, they were gone for good. Over the last 20 years, though, grayling reintroduction in Montana has shown...
Phat and Phunky Pheasant Tail Nymph
If you nymph at all, chances are you have a few Pheasant Tail Nymphs already in your fly box. The venerable fly is a nymphing staple—it works, and it’s an excellent all-around mayfly nymph indicator pattern that can work throughout the year in virtually any...
Mousing the Aniak
Oh, to be Brian O’Keefe for a day last summer in western Alaska. O’Keefe served as Todd Moen’s fishing subject in Moen’s new short film, “Alaska Fly Fishing with a Mouse,” that’s been crawling the interwebs with a vengeance...
Travel
Hiking the CDT: A trail angel to the rescue
“The next morning we climbed up to the first of the Twin Lakes and we were delighted to see a lot of cutthroat trout swimming around. I finally caught my first trout on this trip. It felt great to break the ice.”
How grayling are propagated across the Centennial State
Arctic grayling provide a unique angling opportunity in Colorado.
Small Stream Colorado
Talk about going home again … Todd Moen of Catch Magazine just dropped his latest short film, and it hit me like a surge of nostalgia. I grew up in Colorado and went to college in Gunnison, where much of “Small Stream Colorado” was filmed. The...
Hiking the CDT: A punny and rough start
“The final day, my spirits were low, only 17 miles away from having to write a humiliating post on a failure of a week. We came across a herd of elk, 25 or so, running through the trees. I excitedly pulled up my TU app and jotted down some quick info on them. At least I wouldn’t come into town empty handed.”
Hiking the CDT: Seven native trout, 3,100 miles, five months
“My hope is the information I gather can be useful to Trout Unlimited as they continue their conservation efforts, especially regarding climate change. I might even get to meet up with TU staff and volunteers along the trail to learn about what’s happening in their different projects. I look forward to reporting in on what I’m learning about the trout and all the water sheds I encounter on the CDT.”
Keeping brook trout secrets in Appalachia
In my cusped hands dripped a lustrous jewel. Its belly was streaked pink, and the rest of its body speckled in luminescent hues of amber and bronze. The overall effect was that of a fine watercolor, hand-painted by a master. It was a gem of a fish.
Rainbows and unicorns
The loud booms forced us off the water and back to the trail, but we thought for sure it would be another dry storm just rumbling its way through the mountains. But, not this time
The new Scott Centric is a rod for the ages
When the tube arrived from Scott, I expected it to be something special. So, I wanted the first analysis to more than a cursory shakedown. I headed to the grass field behind my house for some quality one-on-one time, poured myself a small mason jar of red wine, put on some Bose noise-cancelling headphones, strung up the rod, and got ready to “dance.” I put my playlist on shuffle, the first song that came on was AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells”
Catch the F3T, help a local conservation cause
The Fly Fishing Film Tour is available for online streaming right now, and if you’re interested in catching this year’s film offerings, you can buy tickets from an independent screening and help a local conservation cause in the process. So far, the F3T...
Climate change at its CORE
Stewing in the sun and smoke of the late-August afternoon, even the temptingly titled Shady Island River Park was overmatched. Cottonwoods lining the shore of the Gunnison River offered only modest relief as the mercury climbed north of 95 degrees, and soon enough the haze of Colorado’s largest recorded wildfire would overcome our little oasis as well. To make matters worse, the water was too warm for fishing. The harsh realities of climate change were suddenly inescapable
TU starts public lands gear and knowledge swap via Facebook group
Give and receive, share, lend, and express gratitude through the Trout Unlimited network
Is it good … or bad to obsess?
Fly fishing is arguably the ideal pastime for someone with obsessive tendencies. Inches matter on the stream, as do thousandths when it comes to spools of tippet or fly-tying thread. A guy I once fished with said he never saved leftovers from home-cooked meals; it was a sanitary thing. Sure
Climate change at its CORE
Stewing in the sun and smoke of the late-August afternoon, even the temptingly titled Shady Island River Park was overmatched. Cottonwoods lining the shore of the Gunnison River offered only modest relief as the mercury climbed north of 95 degrees, and soon enough the haze of Colorado’s largest recorded wildfire would overcome our little oasis as well. To make matters worse, the water was too warm for fishing. The harsh realities of climate change were suddenly inescapable
‘Get to work and find some answers’
Local sporting businesses are helping to make the case for removing the four Lower Snake River dams Earlier this summer, TU released a report entitled, “Why We Need a Free Flowing Lower Snake River,” that lays out the scientific basis for the federal government’s...
COVID-19 closures helped clear the air but crowded fishing parking lots
“The pleasant urban travel experience and clear blue skies I encountered lead me to wonder how much air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions were changing during the quarantine. Drawing from my own expertise as an environmental consultant, I did a little research to figure out how the quarantine was changing things.”
Could “critical minerals” development affect your home water?
Mapping developed by TU’s science team shows that half of the country’s potential critical mineral mines lie in prime trout and salmon habitat
TU blends online learning with the outdoors to serve young people during lockdown
STREAM Girls programs continue with new protocols in place to serve Scouts during the pandemic. Trout Unlimited is serving youth and volunteers in new ways to keep them engaged in our mission to protect, conserve, and restore North America’s coldwater...
Trout Unlimited volunteers fan out to survey Wilson Creek in North Carolina
Armed with mountains of scientific data, Trout Unlimited is starting to dig into reconnection and stream restoration efforts in a large, important watershed in western North Carolina
Use dubbing to make a solid base
Certain materials, when tied to a hook shank, just don’t take well to being secured with thread. The lack of friction between the material and the metal of the shank makes it very easy for some tying materials to spin, even after multiple wraps and efforts to tightly bound them to the shank
Where hope lives: lessons from a limber pine
Some might say the effort is too daunting and without end, but the optimist knows that her swim, though difficult at times and across the flow, will become a habit rooted deep in muscle memory, a rhythm of life, if she allows herself to know, takes her confidence from can, not cannot
TU Business Member SweetWater Brewing Company
SweetWater Brewing Company in Atlanta, GA has made fly fishing and fly anglers the focus of their business. They’ve been a great TU Business member and a great partner in events across the southeast and beyond.
Do it for the fish that made a river famous
If the determining factor in the effort to save the native Yellowstone cutthroat trout of Idaho’s South Fork of the Snake River is how hard cutthroats fight at the end of a leader … well, then, the fight is already lost
Could “critical minerals” development affect your home water?
Mapping developed by TU’s science team shows that half of the country’s potential critical mineral mines lie in prime trout and salmon habitat
TU blends online learning with the outdoors to serve young people during lockdown
STREAM Girls programs continue with new protocols in place to serve Scouts during the pandemic. Trout Unlimited is serving youth and volunteers in new ways to keep them engaged in our mission to protect, conserve, and restore North America’s coldwater...
Trout Unlimited volunteers fan out to survey Wilson Creek in North Carolina
Armed with mountains of scientific data, Trout Unlimited is starting to dig into reconnection and stream restoration efforts in a large, important watershed in western North Carolina
Healing our Ecosystem: Recovering Belonging from the Wounds of Colonialism
Editor’s note: This post is the first of a series from Rene Henery, PhD, Science Director with TU’s California Program. Henery is an eminent ecologist leading TU’s efforts to improve the timing and volume of flows in the Sacramento and San Joaquin...
Trout and Salmon Foundation’s grants make out-sized impact for TU
Small donations from private foundations provide seed money needed to get a big restoration project going
Sept. 11: National Day of Service and Remembrance
Each year since 2009, Sept. 11 has marked a federally recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance. On this day Americans across the country volunteer in their local communities in tribute to those lost and injured in the September 11, 2001 attacks, first responders, and the many of us who have since risen in service
POSTPONED – Instagram Live with Chad Brown
Join me on August 26 – that’s this Wednesday – at 1 PM PDT @troutunlimited when we talk with Chad @soulriverinc about his exciting new “Love Is King” initiative. Clear your calendar and tune in – this will be awesome!
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A nymphing outfit. An all-around trout outfit. A big-water outfit. Take your pick of three Orvis rod and reel outfits!