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The ethics of the dropper
By Chris Hunt The ethics of fly fishing can get pretty sticky, or at least I’m gleaning that from social media, where some folks aren’t afraid to scold fellow anglers for teetering on the edge of angling impropriety, whether that impropriety is real or perceived. For instance, when did using a “dropper” become taboo? Last…
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Prospecting blue lines
By Chris Hunt South of Old Faithful, a tiny stream runs beneath the Grand Loop Road—thousands of tourists drive over the little bridge every single summer day. A trail generally follows the stream on its gentle course to Shoshone Lake. If you walk the trail, you might occasionally see a tiny brook trout finning in…
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Last Chance Purple Haze
I spent a couple of days last week on the Henry's Fork's upper reaches, trying to fool uber-educated trout in the Box Canyon and Railroad Ranch stretches of the river. This time of year, those tailwater sections of the river are likely the most hospitable to trout — it's been hot (well, hot for Idaho),…
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Fishing a two-fly rig downstream
Fishing two-fly rigs downstream is a great way to pull trout from under rocks and structure
By Jim Strogen As a wet fly fisher, I love to dance my nymphs, Woolly Buggers and leeches downstream in front of rocks and log jams. This strategy surprises many of my friends. They worry about being visible to the fish, and stirring up the creek as they approach a hole. In the small streams…
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Building a better ‘Bugger
Tim Flagler ties up his version of a 'better 'bugger' using weighted wire and a tougher construction
The Woolly Bugger might be the most-tied fly on the planet — for many of us, it was the first fly we ever tied. There's a reason for that, of course. It's among the easiest patterns to master, and, no matter how many times some creative vise-wizard comes up with the next great streamer pattern,…
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Hopper season
Fly fishing with grasshopper patterns can bring big trout to the top, even on small, backcountry streams
Every year about this time, grasshoppers start to show up on the banks of my favorite backcountry trout streams. By mid-July, a few warm days have managed to string themselves together, and, although not terribly big, the hoppers are now officially prolific. They’ll get bigger and bigger as summer progresses, but right now might be…
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Add movement to mimic subsurface insects
Learn about the bugs we mimic when we fish, and work to match not only how they look, but how they move
By Jim Strogen We all know the value of matching the hatch, but often that thinking seems more focused on dry fly fishing. I prefer to fish under the surface. I know that the “bugs” are in front of the fish in their aquatic stages much longer, sometimes a year or more, than during their…
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