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The truth about fly reels
Are they fish brakes? Purring music-makers? Works of art? Answer: all of the above. There are two schools of thought on this one. On the one hand, there are those who think a reel is nothing but a glorified line holder. They don’t see how spending money on fancy disc-drag systems makes any sense at…
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A foray into ‘centerpinning’ for steelhead
When was the last time you fought a hot 10-pound fish on a reel with no drag? For me, the answer was “never.”
Another fishing experiment in a lifetime full of them. The strike was surprisingly violent. Really, it was just surprising. How often does that happen? We take a minute off. Or maybe just a few seconds. And boom! In this case I had been flipping the end of the fishing rod in hopes of removing a…
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Can we be done with “ripping lips” already?
I was talking with some long-time friends the other day during a social hour at the International Fly Tackle Dealer trade show in Salt Lake City, and the conversation inevitably wandered into our latest fishing adventures (surprise, surprise). “We had the best time on the Green the other day, we absolutely destroyed ’em…” said X.…
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This is the golden rule of trout fishing
Watch what the river does, and what the fish do. They’ll tell you how to go about your fishing, much better than any guide, or YouTube video, or book or magazine article ever will.
Some people are just “fishy." Among anglers, that’s tall praise. You probably know what I mean. You’re out for an afternoon on the river with friends, and it’s a pretty average day. But for some reason, Susie is catching fish left and right, while everyone else is struggling. The consensus: “That Susie is fishy!” The…
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Five ways to make that old fly rod sing like an opera star
If you’re like me, you cannot help but wonder as you stare at the “old faithful” fly rod, taking note of its nicks and scratches, its sun-bleached blanks and well-worn grip: “Do I really need a new rod?”
Get ready… here it comes. It’s spring, the fishing season is dawning and next week is the International Fly Tackle Dealer trade show. Which means everyone who fly fishes is about to get bombarded with all sorts of marketing-speak about fancy new fly rods featuring the latest, greatest technologies that promise to up your game…
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Used or new?
What’s the right decision in buying boat equipment?
What’s the right decision in buying boat equipment? Getting into rafting or a hard-sided drift boat can be downright expensive. When starting to do research on what you’ll need, it all can add up rather quickly. Trust me. I’ve spent the better part of seven years building up our raft and there are still things…
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The best fishing trip I ever had . . .
(Where I caught almost no fish at all) Like many anglers, I have often heard of a seemingly mythical place—or maybe more accurately, a state of being—where you don’t really care if you catch any fish or not. We’ve all heard the rumor: first you want to catch a fish… then you want to catch…
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