Voices from the River: Whitefish

The underappreciated mountain whitefish. Photo by Chris Hunt. By Eric Booton With a trip to Montana on the books for a wedding, I immediately began penciling out how I could optimize my time with the groom, my family and seek out new finned friends in some remarkable rivers with my wife. The famed waters of…

Skills: The Palomar knot

A lot of folks use the Palomar knot for heavy lines and big hooks, and that makes sense, because it’s a strong, dependable knot. Fly fishers don’t often use the Palomar because it can be a bit bulky—it’s essentially two separate cords of line pressed together, so the finished knot can be a larger than…

New SweetWater beer and #fishforafish campaign benefits brookies

By Mark Taylor Who isn’t drawn to beer featuring really great trout artwork on cans and packaging? And how great is it when that beer is not only super tasty, but also benefits wild trout? SweetWater Brewery’s new fall seasonal, Mosaic Hazy IPA, checks all the boxes. It’s a juicy, fruity, moderately hoppy (65 IBUs)…

Voices from the River: Call me an angler

By Jenny Weis “My boyfriend didn’t teach me that!” was the way I indecorously retorted when a guide complimented my cast, saying, “Dang, your boyfriend must have been giving you some tips.” He meant no harm. But I’d known how to cast long before I met my boyfriend. My friend Nanci taught me years prior,…

Video spotlight: How to fish riffles for trout

One of the best days I ever had on my local river—the South Fork of the Snake—was spent almost exclusively fishing riffles with big stonefly nymphs, maybe a week or so before the river’s fabled salmonfly hatch that generally happens sometime around the Fourth of July. The upper South Fork is a braided, fishy wonderland…

Fly tying: Freestyle Fall Favorite

It’s a little tough this year to get excited about steelhead season here in Idaho—if there’s a season at all, thanks to what could be the smallest return of ocean-going rainbow trout to the Clearwater and Salmon rivers in 40 years. Nevertheless, steelhead flies are some of the most enjoyable to tie, and there are…