When fly fishing water with conflicting currents, we must “mend” our line to get the best possible drift. Achieving the often mythical “drag-free” drift isn’t always possible, but we can usuall extend the life of a fly’s drift over productive water by mending. Trout Tips | Mending from Trout Unlimited on Vimeo. Above, Russ Miller…
We spend a lot of time talking about chasing trout in rivers and streams, but some of the best lake fishing of the year is under way all across the country. Trout Tips | Fly Fishing Lakes from Trout Unlimited on Vimeo. Above, Russ Miller from Fishpond offers up some introductory information, with more to…
Fly fishing lakes for trout can be tricky. With an entire of body of water at their disposal and no need to make quick decisions on food that floats by like it might in a river, trout tend to dial in on what’s in the water at any given time. Still Water Retrieve from Trout…
Choosing the right fly for lakes might seem confounding, but here are a couple of rules to stick to—consider these the “foundation” for choosing flies for stillwater reservoirs, lakes and ponds: 1) Most coldwater lakes that have trout also have small aquatic insects called chironomids. These bugs slowly work their way to the surface, and…
This time of year, when dry-fly fishing is about all I do here on the creeks and streams of the Yellowstone region, I have become a fan of the silica-based fly “dusts” that help soak up water from spent dry flies and give them a second life. Most of us, when fishing dries, apply that…
I love the old-school feel of today’s New Fly Fisher videos. And the short film below is a great all-around tutorial on tackling trout (and bass, frankly) fishing in moving water. Using southern Ontario’s Grand River as a backdrop, host Bill Spicer chases fish with proven guides that have a lot of great information for…
Photo courtesy Colorado Parks and Wildlife. By Garrett Hanks Extinction, as the saying goes, is forever. Reincarnation? Let’s just say the jury is still out. But the case for rebirth grew significantly stronger over the summer when Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed the rediscovery of a native trout species long considered extinct. Thanks to a…
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” which is available online for overnight delivery. You’re throwing a weight and you should feel that. Granted, that weight looks like a 90-foot piece of spaghetti. But unlike conventional fishing, where the weight is concentrated at the lure (or bait), you cast and the…
By Crystal Elliot What do watershed resilience, high-quality fish habitat and sustainable water supplies look like in the Intermountain West? Probably much like it did before western expansion and trapping decimated North American beaver populations in the 19th century. Once numbering in the hundreds of millions, beavers played a principal role in how water moved and…
By Toner Mitchell For the past 10 springs, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish has hosted a release of Rio Grande cutthroat trout fingerlings at the – as of 2014 – Rio Grande del Norte National Monument just west of the village of Questa. Initially the event drew decent crowds, 10 to 20…
Bull trout are the native char of the inland Northwest. They live in the coldest, cleanest water and thrive in the most far-flung places. They get big and surly. They chase gaudy streamers, prey on smaller fish and can be very challenging to pursue. They’re also a vital indicator species when it comes to a…
By Chris Collier Culverts aren’t exactly known to be a reason that people get on a river, but that’s exactly what happened on a warm May afternoon in northern Wisconsin. On a beautiful Northwoods spring day, more than 50 local government, tribal, state, federal and non-profit representatives gathered in Laona, Wisc., to learn about road…
When you find a fly rod that’s essentially made for the kind of fly fishing you like to do—and makes that fishing markedly better—you hang onto it. That’s why I’ll likely never part with the new Sage Trout LL rod. I’m a walk-and-wade stream-fishing junkie. I like the intimate feel of water running around my…
My streamer fishing has been on hold this summer—I’ve been on a dry-fly kick, what with hopper season in full swing here in the West. But, when it comes time in just a few weeks, I’m going to tie a few Pine Squirrel Trout Spey streamers, thanks to the video below from Tim Flagler of…
Trout Unlimited staffers consistently contribute important articles to a number of scientific papers and journals. We are also proud to share two books recently published by the American Fisheries Society. “Trout and Char of the World” is the first comprehensive look at trout and char taxonomy, life history, conservation status, and management across the globe.…
National Park Service removed more than 280,000 invasive fish in 2019 Yellowstone National Park and its crews of contracted gillnetters removed 282,960 invasive lake trout from Yellowstone Lake this summer, a slight dip from previous years, and a likely indication that overall lake trout numbers are shrinking. Nevertheless, there remains work to be done to…
Nicco stood next to me along the middle reaches of Patagonia’s Malleo River in the fading Argentine light. Willows shrouded the creek, and I could only see the silhouette of the big Fat Albert as it drifted in the heavy water just across river. Nicco, my guide for the day, chose the hefty, foam monstrosity…
A 2019 international symposium titled “Advances in the Population Ecology of Stream Salmonids V” held in Granada, Spain (www.salmonidsymposium.es) included a special session entitled, “The Status and Conservation of Trout and Char Worldwide” that was based on the book “Trout and Char of the World” recently published by the American Fisheries Society. The session was…
By Matthias Bonzo Last year TU began to implement a project we’re calling “Trout and Trees.” Funded by a grant from the USDA State and Private Forestry – Landscape Scale Restoration Initiative, the project seeks to improve near stream (riparian) habitats coupled with instream habitat work to provide as complete restoration to a degraded site…
The effort to restore Gila trout in their native range continues to move forward
