Currently browsing… Fly fishing
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Chasing rainbows: all about and how to catch rainbow trout
Perhaps the most iconic of all trout species, the rainbow is one of the most recognized game fish around the world. With both wild and widely introduced populations, rainbows can be caught on six continents. But this sparkling example of a salmonid traces its humble roots back to North America’s West Coast. With its silvery and…
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The True Cast – The 8-inch “Trophy”
What’s a “trophy” fish, really? Naturally, all of us anglers have been conditioned over the years to believe that bigger is better. And there’s certainly something to that. Catch a 30-inch wild brown trout on the South Fork of the Snake River in Idaho, for example, and the data from shocking surveys collected over many years says that’s beyond a one-in-a-million…
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Stream champion: Bernard “Bud” Nagelvoort
It was a sultry day in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, the combination of heat and humidity creating a heat index that’s uncomfortable at best, dangerous at worst. Sitting in his comfortably air-conditioned home near the Shenandoah River, Bernard “Bud” Nagelvoort was glad he already got his workout in. “I already got my run in,” he said…
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TROUT Tip – troubleshooting the cast
Since we’ve been harping on how warm and low waters are, especially across many favorite trout streams in the West, let’s talk about correcting casting mistakes since that’s a good way to spend your time if you’re not fishing. Typically, one of three mistakes is made when learning to cast a fly rod (and made even years after having…
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TROUT Tip – pink terrestrials
Now that summer is in full swing, you’re sure to find terrestrials crawling and hopping along the banks. Fishing terrestrials can be fun as trout see these bugs as big meals when they get blown into the river or inadvertently crawl or flop themselves into the current. While it can be fun to match this “hatch”…
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Two things anglers can do in times of drought
I had a choice this weekend. I could head down to Shenandoah National Park and fish for native brookies or ply the Potomac for blue catfish and perhaps an occasional schoolie striper. I chose the Potomac. While I love fishing the Potomac, after multiple days of high temperatures, I didn’t feel great about tugging on bespeckled jewels, even in cold small mountain streams. Your actions…
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The True Cast – Fly fishing through drought
Low water? Warm water? You still have options. But you also have responsibilities. It’s no secret that we’re experiencing some whacky, weird, often unfortunate, and sometimes downright devastating water conditions throughout the country now. Fly anglers understand that better than anyone. We are the “boots in the water,” the “canaries in the coal mine” as it…