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Off Season
We all have a passion in life, even if, like my kids, we haven't really figured out what it is yet. For fly fishers—real, die-hard, rather-fish-than-eat anglers—our passion is simple. A rod, a line, a fly and some water are all it takes to ignite the lamp in our souls and put our passion to…
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Desert Dries
Steelhead are never easy to catch. If they were ... well, they wouldn't be steelhead. But they might be especially difficult to catch on a skated dry fly. One western river, the desert section of the lower Deschutes, is known for big, fresh-from-the-Columbia chromers that will, indeed, hit a dry fly on the skate. https://youtu.be/uht997Ccw_M…
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Using your line hand while casting
Once you have the simple cast down—the pick-up-and-lay-down cast—it's time to start bringing your line hand into the equation. In the short video below, Orvis' Pete Kutzer shows us the proper method for holding the line while casting, including where your hand should be to avoid catching your line on your reel or the butt…
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Hallowed waters
For more than a decade, Montanans have worked together to create a lasting solution for public lands in the Blackfoot River watershed. That solution is the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act. https://youtu.be/82xLcfm9gpw This bill will protect the Blackfoot River by permanently protecting its most important tributaries. It will also secure and expand outdoor recreation opportunities in…
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Topwater Atlantic salmon fishing
Atlantic salmon—at least those that swim wild in the ocean and migrate into the rivers and streams of Newfoundland and Labrador—are a bucket-list fish for a lot of fly fishers. And they should be. They rival any other salmon species when it comes to taking flies and, of course, when it comes to the fight…
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Dry fly floatation
It's dry-fly season. Well, it's what I like to call "hopper season," especially here in the West, where big trout will look up for terrestrial bugs that will occasionally end up in the water, thanks to a timely wind gust or just dumb luck. But fishing hoppers and other terrestrial flies isn't about dumb luck.…
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How to give the fish what they want
Most of us have lived this scenario: We're rigged up at the foot of a classic riffle that gives way to a nice run that features a deep trough that very likely holds fish. But the fish are also likely deep—we'll need a heavy nymph, and a lot of us fish nymphs under an indicator.…
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