Fly tying is always an exercise in patience, at least for me. While I enjoy tying flies, I’m good for about a half-dozen at a time. Then I get antsy. So, the less time I spend at the vise and the more time I spend actually fishing the flies I tie is important to me.…
I started using wire in my fly tying about a decade ago, and today, I’m not sure what I’d do without it. It’s a versatile tying material that do anything from add weight to simple sparkle, or to toughen up a fly to make it last longer. I’ve even started using really thin wire on…
So, the shopping season is already upon us. STAY TUNED for a comprehensive gift guide from the editors and field testers of TU, that will be coming your way in Trout Magazine, as well as in a digital format, in the very near future. For starters, however, I have to recommend my friend Mark Koenig’s…
The North American Sportsman Show is a free, online “exposition” featuring just about anything you might find at an actual sportsman’s show, minus the convention center corn dogs and the $20 parking bill. It is “show season” after all, with expos, fly tying shows, fishing shows, boat shows, RV shows and the like hitting expo…
Write a funny caption for this photo, win an heirloom TU fly box. Please check out the next issue of TROUT magazine, which should be arriving in your mailboxes any day now. We’re proud, as always, of our mix of essays, from the likes of John Gierach and Chris Camuto. We have a neat photo…
We have lots of options for tying tippets to flies, and various knots work better for different situations. But, for a good, strong, universal knot, it’s tough to beat the uni knot. Video of How to Tie a Uni Knot Above, Tim Flagler demonstrates how to tie the uni knot. It’s a simple process and,…
The photography of Trout Unlimited’s Josh Duplechian is featured the latest edition of This is Fly, an online fly-fishing magazine. Josh is a gifted photographer, and I’ve known him for well over 15 years—he and I worked together at the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello before we both escaped the newspaper industry and came to…
Small flies intimidate me. I’ve essentially relegated the tying of all flies smaller than size 18 in my fly box to the experts. But I might have to take the plunge after watching Tim Flager tie a size 22 Parachute Adams below. Video of Parachute Adams Size 22 The Adams and its many variants might…
Chapter Meetings to Build Community For the last 60 years, TU’s chapters have followed a membership meeting model that has served us well. That’s a part of our culture and community we don’t want to change, but it’s also a great place to start evolving our model to connect with more members and the community…
The venerable Pheasant Tail nymph is a fly box staple, and there’s a reason for that. It works. And it’s not the most onerous fly to tie, either, as demonstrated below by Matt Callies of Loon Outdoors, who cranks one out in just a few minutes. These great little nymphs also lend some versatility to…
Customizable Power Point decks to download General Resources From Citizens’ Climate Lobby
12/13/1999 Dam Removal Success Stories, Executive Summary Dam Removal Success Stories, Executive Summary Restoring Rivers through Selective Removal of Dams that Don’t Make Sense Contact: 12/13/1999 — — Few human actions have more significant impacts on a river system than the presence of a dam. Although dams can provide important societal benefits, dams also cause…
Since the mid-nineteenth century, the central question of the American West has been: How much water is there in the region, and how do we best use it? This question has been a topic of debate for more than the past 150 years, and we’re still trying to answer it now in the twenty-first century.…
By Brian Johnson It’s been a busy and amazingly productive year for Trout Unlimited in California. With the help of our 10,000 California members and our dozens of agency and project partners, we reached major milestones on many of ou r highest priority initiatives. All of these highlight TU’s successful formula for protecting and restoring…
TU and a number of conservation and fly-fishing industry entities helped Conservation Hawks with its newest film, Convergence, on the importance of enlisting anglers in the effort to combat climate change, both on the ground and in the halls of government. We highlighted the trailer earlier this year—the film is featured in the Fly Fishing…
There’s some great video footage out there of fish hitting flies. Violent rises to subtle sips, trout are the champions of the “take,” although I’ve seen some pike attacks that make me wonder if there’s a video yet to be shot featuring these voracious predators. The advent of drone videography, of course, has taken fly-fishing…
When the Trump administration indicated it would review all national monuments for size, scope and appopriateness earlier this year, one group of American hailing from all points on the political spectrum stood up and denounced the idea. That group? Sportsmen and women. We understand that national monuments that set aside land to protect everything from…
Being a western guy with roots in the Rockies, my angling experience in the mountains of New England is pretty limited. I did spend a great afternoon several years ago chasing fat rainbows in Connectictut’s upper Farmington River before being chased away by a rainstorm, and I got to fish some Adirondack streams for native…
Want to cast better? Maybe a little further, maybe a little straighter? Who doesn’t? I know I need work. Practice is the key, of course. And before you shell out the bucks for a spiffy new fast-action fly rod, take 10 minutes to do the one thing that will improve the cast you have, with…
Who doesn’t like catching fish on top? With poppers, no less. Several years back, while fishing with a great group of guys on Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, I was introduced to the fact that pink salmon—yes, pink salmon—will hit poppers just as they’re reporting for spawning duty from the saltwater. We spent one glorious afternoon…
