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Spend summer chasing smallmouth with streamers
Summer has gotten under way with historically low water and high air temperatures, both of which can put a lot of stress on our trout fisheries. What else can we do if we’re not fishing for trout? House projects are caught up, garden chores are done and the yard’s mowed. Now what? Target smallmouth bass on the fly Bronzebacks, small jaws, smallies or whatever you want to call them can be an absolute…
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Chasing rainbows: all about and how to catch rainbow trout
Perhaps the most iconic of all trout species, the rainbow is one of the most recognized game fish around the world. With both wild and widely introduced populations, rainbows can be caught on six continents. But this sparkling example of a salmonid traces its humble roots back to North America’s West Coast. With its silvery and…
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The True Cast – The 8-inch “Trophy”
What’s a “trophy” fish, really? Naturally, all of us anglers have been conditioned over the years to believe that bigger is better. And there’s certainly something to that. Catch a 30-inch wild brown trout on the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho, for example, and the data from shocking surveys collected over many years says that’s beyond a one-in-a-million…
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TROUT Tip – Teaching
Teaching about fly fishing is the ultimate win-win. You get to pass along a craft, a tradition and a respect for species and wild places. Then, in return, you get better. Teaching someone something you love often creates opportunities for you to slow down to explain, reinforcing the lesson and cementing it in your brain in…
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TROUT Tip – troubleshooting the cast
Since we’ve been harping on how warm and low waters are, especially across many favorite trout streams in the West, let’s talk about correcting casting mistakes since that’s a good way to spend your time if you’re not fishing. Typically, one of three mistakes is made when learning to cast a fly rod (and made even years after having…
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TROUT Tip – pink terrestrials
Now that summer is in full swing, you’re sure to find terrestrials crawling and hopping along the banks. Fishing terrestrials can be fun as trout see these bugs as big meals when they get blown into the river or inadvertently crawl or flop themselves into the current. While it can be fun to match this “hatch”…
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Is it too hot?
Did you know that trout are cold blooded? What does that mean, exactly? Well, it means that their body temperature depends on the temperature of the water in which they swim. Why is this important to consider? If the water is too warm, trout struggle to thrive. Warm water carries less dissolved oxygen, which means it is…
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