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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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Pandemic gold rush
A backcountry trek in the Sierra to catch Goldens.
Don From Bakersfield has a thing for coyotes. You can tell by the way he speaks about them, his eyes firing and his voice low. “So I see him crouched on the ground, just down in the meadow right over there, licking his lips. And then I saw the marmots.” We’re at 11,000 feet in…
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Living up to its name: Resurrection Creek
How many partners does it take to restore a salmon stream? A conservation organization, a mining company, and the U.S. Forest Service sit down to plan a project . . . That may sound like the start of a joke, but it is the reality behind the effort to restore a salmon stream in…
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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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Why the federal budget matters for trout and salmon
If you're looking for ways to lose your friends’ attention, try mentioning the federal budget. But the legislation that funds our nation's sprawling government apparatus is vitally important for the lands and waterways that support the country’s water quality, fisheries, public lands, and much more. On Tuesday, the President signed this year's massive $1.5 trillion…
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Volunteers go big on the Hooch
Many Trout Unlimited chapters have used Embrace-A-Stream grants as seed money for projects. A group of TU volunteers in the Southeast took that approach to a different level with an effort to benefit the famed Chattahoochee tailwater near Atlanta, turning a $7,500 Embrace-A-Stream grant into a quarter-million-dollar project and energized the local conservation community. The…