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Fooling Dollies with dancing streamers
All trout and char, to some extent, are predators — even the little fish that swim in small water and eat virtually nothing but insects. But there are true predators in the salmonid world, and these are the fish that make fly fishers tremble. They're big browns that feed on smaller fish and, during the…
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A few deep thoughts on fly fishing
What’s it going to take to convince the millions of anglers who found rivers these past few years that “how” is more important than “how many” and is that even possible?
Is it fair to assume that fly fishing is to positive mental health what running or biking is to cardio health? I think so. And if any of you docs or researchers out there want to add to the conversation, I’m all ears, and want to do a deep-dive story. I’m not of native-American ancestry. But my ancestors…
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Fishing the pegged bead
It's the pegged bead — the target of much derision from the purist crowd, but an oft-used technique to catch big trout and char when salmon eggs are in the water
A nice Dolly Varden that fell for a pegged bead. Chris Hunt photo. The ethics and the logic examined Fly fishing is a craft that appeals to the purist in all of us — the notion that fooling a fish by casting something that resembles that animal's natural food source without resorting to bait is…
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Five tips to land trout in a timely manner
Fact: the faster you land a fish, the better the odds of survival. Here are five tips to help you turn a 15-round heavyweight boxing natch into a shorter, tougher MMA fight... and win more often than not. — Use 5X or stronger tippet. I know, there are times when you really feel fine 7X tippet…
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From the TU forum to a real-life fishing trip
Ken Deaver shows his new fishing buddy, Jim Aylsworth, where to cast on a small headwater stream in Montana. Jim Aylsworth photo. The older I get the more I appreciate a good friend. A recent study by Dr. Marisa Franco published in Psychology Today concluded men have fewer close friends in comparison to women. For several years, I have participated in an online…
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Four days in heaven
Explore your surroundings ... and don't forget to pack your fly rod In my little microcosm of the Mountain West, we've been blessed with an impressive monsoon season this year. With all the doom and gloom of the drought, wildfires and effects of climate change, it is nice to be reminded that sometimes weather does…
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Starting over before an Alaska fishing trip
What to do when your fly box looks like the dog coughed up a flamingo
A rebuilt fly box for a trip to Alaska. When the old fly box just won't cut it anymore When I booked a place to stay in Southeast Alaska for this coming week, I still had eastern Idaho carp on the brain. Like a lot of anglers, I have a running "fishing calendar" — a…
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