Ranches

According to one stereotype, a rancher’s commitment to the lifestyle is mainly self-serving. The fences they build are as much to keep the public out as to detain resident wildlife (translation: elk) for the purpose of selling high-dollar hunting opportunities. When not dewatering streams, they restore and stock them for their own fishing pleasure and that of paying anglers in search of lunkers in a crowd-free…

New bill would clarify management, improve fishing in Colorado

Anglers should rejoice in the introduction of the CORE Act, particularly if they live or fish in Colorado’s iconic Gunnison Valley. The Curecanti portion of the Act, introduced by Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Joe Neguse, would establish permanent boundaries for the current National Recreation Area making management simpler and creating improved fishing access.   In 1965, Blue Mesa Dam was completed…

How to Drift a Soft-hackle

Last week, RIO Product’s Simon Gawesworth showed us a great way to swing soft-hackle flies for big-river trout. This week, Simon shows us how to drift a soft-hackle for working trout. There are some notable differences, obviously. First is the technique. When swinging a soft-hackle, you’re interested in line tension and the action of the…

They’re back …

You know spring is taking its time in Yellowstone when ice floes are cruising down the river between Lake Village and Canyon on Memorial Day. It’s just been one of those years—lots of late snow, and, as of Monday, more than a solid week of high-country thunderstorms slowed spring to a crawl. Rain gave way…

Politics and the fishing media

A Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. Cutthroat trout today occupy less than 10 percent of their native habitat, and the waters where they do persist are largely headwater streams that could impacted by the EPA’s decision to gut the Clean Water Rule. If the fly fishing media didn’t cover the issue, many anglers wouldn’t know…

The Race up Rock Creek

Some places race horses. Some greyhounds. In Montana, we’re betting on a group of tagged cutthroat trout as they race their way up the Clark Fork River. The project is a joint venture between Trout Unlimited and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to learn more about how trout use the habitat in Rock Creek. Trout…