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Tying with bucktail
When I first started tying flies, I would avoid tying with bucktail altogether—it was unwieldy and my flies never seemed to come out the way I liked them. But, when I started fishing bigger water, and when I started chasing fish in saltwater, I had to get my head around tying with bucktail, and now,…
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Ice fishing for the converted
Ice fishing in Montana When I was a kid, I had this recurring nightmare. I was probably around 7 or 8 at the time. In it, I would be walking down a dirt road with my dad and in the road were a series of big, muddy puddles, the kind you get after a long…
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Querencia: A love of place
In 2011, when I was still president of New Mexico’s Santa Fe (Truchas) Chapter, I was approached by Nick Streit, president of the Taos (Enchanted Circle) Chapter and owner of the Taos Fly Shop, about restoring a section of the Red River in Questa. The Red had been a workhorse for several decades, impacted by…
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Take a child fishing and make a difference
By Mike Enos The bobber began to twitch and then it submerged twice just before taking off in an arc across the glassy surface of the lake. Just as her line, seemingly possessed by a supernatural force, started to move, the quiet was pierced by my 8-year old granddaughter’s high-pitched squeal of excitement. Avery, whose attention had…
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More progress on Klamath River dam removal
The impacts of dams on anadromous (sea-run) fish are well documented. But today, many dams have outlived their usefulness, or become unprofitable or unsafe. Removing such dams is now a proven way to recover salmon and steelhead populations. Trout Unlimited has supported the removal or retrofitting of dams on a number of high-profile salmon and…
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Magic materials: Antron
Serious fly tiers have known about the "magic" of Antron for some time, and Tim Flagler is clearly a big fan, as you'll see in the video below. I like to tie with Antron (and other synthetic materials), but I also recognize that this nylon fiber doesn't necessarily break down readily in the environment (it…
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Redington Prowler Pro wading boots
Over the past few years, Redington has boldly reinvented itself. What used to be a budget fly-fishing equipment manufacturer is now a quality-based company that produces good equipment for anglers of all stripes for prices that are sometimes significantly lower than their competitors. But let's be clear. Nobody is going to mistake Redington's soft-good equipment…
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