Trout Tips: Floating fly boxes

Foam fly boxes float. If you want to see your flies again, make sure fly box floats, too. Several years ago, I was steelhead fishing on Idaho’s Salmon River. I’d spent the week leading up to the trip tying flies and gearing up. Steelhead on the Salmon were—and still are—a fish that came calling on…

Voices from the River: Waiting

“You take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part. “ — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers I made my plane reservations in December. I booked the little house across the street from the beach in November. It sits in the heart of a little fishing village in…

Voices from the River: A boy and his dog

By Dave Ammons Keith was my favorite and most loyal fishing buddy, mostly because he never judged. He paid no mind to a bad mend, a snag on the back cast, or a unnatural drift. He just loved observing quietly from the water’s edge. Keith recently drove with me to Colorado, riding in the back…

Taking action to protect the places we live and love

This week’s news that the EPA was suspending the Clean Water Act’s protections for headwater streams was a stark reminder that elections have consequences. The previous presidential administration worked for years to write the rule, and the new one doesn’t like it. Game over, right? No. Don’t forget an unassailable fact—elected leaders are elected. By…

Gallatin River Lodge: Montana Luxury

I love Montana. I even like Bozeman. Sometimes those are two different things, as lots of Montanans will be happy to tell you. If I were going to pick a place where I could be close to Bozeman and still feel like I was in “real” Montana, I’d stay with some friends at their ranch…

Trout Tips: Turn over rocks

When I was a kid fishing with my grandfather on bigger water, the first thing he always did was flip over rocks as we walked along the river. He’d give each rock a good look, and he’d point out squiggly little bugs to me and my brothers and cousins. “See that?” he’d ask, pointing to…