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Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr Todd Tanner has a new story in Hatch Magazine about false casting that’s worth your time to read. His opinion is that the general trend in fly fishing surrounding false casting is, well – false. He thinks we go too hard with the “false cast as little as possible” mantra, and should enjoy the art of casting more. Regardless of where you stand, you should read Todd’s piece, which…

The folks over at Fly Fish Food are back with an intriguing new pattern – a Griffiths gnat that’s “indestructible” according to Cheech. If I’m going to take anyone’s word for it, I’d take Cheech’s. At any rate, I’m going to plan on tying a few of these up. The post Tying Tuesday: Indestructible Griffiths Gnat appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

While reading a recent story from Joshua Bergan about wader care, over in Fly Fisherman Magazine, I came across this quote: “Because the durable water repellent (DWR) treatments currently in use by all manufacturers contain PFAS, off-the-shelf breathable waterproof outerwear performance will likely regress in the near future.” I’ve written about PFAS recently for MidCurrent, and I’m personally and professionally intrigued to see how the upcoming PFAS bans play out.  According to…

Photo: Domenick Swentosky No, that’s not a typo in the headline. Domenick Swentosky has been using Grip Studs in his wading boots for 1,000 days, and just wrote a review about how they’ve held up. You can find the full review here. The post 1000 Day Gear Review: Grip Studs appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Spotting trout is an acquired skill, and one that I’m still regularly working on. I can’t imagine the difficulty of spotting fish on the flats, especially since I’ve never fished them. But if you’re interested in upping your game, or learning about flats fishing in general, then you need to listen to the latest episode of the Orvis podcast. Tom Rosenbauer interviews Jason Franklin to give you all the tips…

Photo: David Bezaire/Flickr On January 11, the Wild Fish Conservancy has filed a petition to have the Alaskan chinook salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act. Per their release, “We’re taking this emergency action in response to the severe decline and poor condition of wild Chinook populations throughout the state of Alaska.” You can read more about this decision here. The post Alaskan Chinook Petitioned for ESA appeared first on…

George Daniel is one of the most respected voices in fly fishing, and for good reason – he knows his stuff. That’s why you should read his most recent story over in Fly Fisherman Magazine where he dishes out seven tips to help you rigs your nymphs like the pros. I know I certainly need to use some of these as nymph season really settles in here. You can find the entire…

Skwala has officially launched — after teasing it for a while now — their newest wader, dubbed the Backeddy. I have a pair myself (and an in-depth review will be forthcoming here at MidCurrent) and I’ve been impressed in my limited time with them so far. The Backeddy waders are designed as the do-it-all wader for Skwala, filling a niche that neither their current Carbon nor RS waders do. Of…

In this week’s edition of Tying Tuesday, we’re treated to a pattern from Brig over at Fly Fish Food that’s “proven to land more fish.” With an endorsement like that, how could you go wrong? Kidding aside, this streamer looks plenty fishy, and I think I’ll have to add a few to my box. The post Tying Tuesday: Brig’s Rippin’ Rooster appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Announcing Bonefish In Our Hands, the third in their species-specific series covered by Keep Fish Wet’s grassroots effort to empower recreational anglers to better protect the fish we love.  Keep Fish Wet, with support from Yellow Dog Community and Conservation Foundation, has created an open-source infographic and social media campaign to highlight how people can safely play, handle, and release a bonefish to improve chances of survival after it swims…

In this recent episode of the Orvis podcast, Tom Rosenbauer sits down with Sue Doroff, co-founder and outgoing president of Western Rivers Conservancy, to talk about the work that goes into ensuring access to rivers throughout the West. You can listen to the entire show here. The post Orvis Podcast: Saving Rivers appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Photo: Dom Swentosky In this recent story over at Troubitten, Dom Swentosky dives into why he loves fly fishing in the winter so much. Along the way, he describes what he calls “forgiving flies.” These are flies that seem to work year-round, that are forgiving of a less-than-perfect presentation. Your go-to flies when you need to put a fish in the net. It’s a wonderfully articulated story, and you can read it…

Sage recently announced the release of their newest flagship spey rod – the Spey R8. Built on their new and innovative Revolution 8 (R8) technology, the Spey R8 line has rods from weights 5 through 10, giving spey anglers across the spectrum a rod for their favorite style of two-handed angling. Per a Sage press release, all Spey R8 rods will “heighten the smooth transfer of energy throughout the three…

Photo: Spencer Durrant I have a few fly rods. And by a few, I mean almost four dozen. Part of that comes with the territory – I’ve reviewed fly rods for the better part of a decade now. But when I read Tim Schulz’s piece in Hatch Magazine, I felt more like the hoarder than the well-prepared angler. Schulz’s story is all about cutting back on your gear, and the fine line…

Photo: Alaska Region US Fish and Wildlife Service/Flickr On Monday, the United States Supreme Court rejected a bid from the state of Alaska to revive the permitting process for the Pebble Mine. Per the U.S. News and World Report, “The justices did not comment in turning away the state’s attempt to sue the Biden administration directly in the high court over its desire to revive the proposed Pebble Mine in…

Tim Flagler, over at Tightline Productions, has a great new nymph pattern to show us for Tying Tuesday. The SR2 utilizes stretch round rib, from Wapsi — hence the name. Oh, and he’s using some fantastic new jaws from Regal, as well. I’d love to get my hands on both the fly and those jaws! Take a look at the video below. The post Tying Tuesday: SR2 Nymph appeared first…

Photo: Joseph Gage/Flickr Late in 2023 MidCurrent ran a story about an upcoming PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) ban set to take place in the coming years. PFAS are used to waterproof everything from rain gear to waders, which makes them an integral part of an angler’s outfit. PFAS shed off our fly fishing gear and enter the environment, contaminating everything from fish, rivers, and “even our own bloodstreams,” according to Chris…

Photo: Domenick Swentosky In a recent story over at Troutbitten, Dom Swentosky goes over his “tracer streamer” concept. It’s Dom’s process of fishing two streamers at once, which he’s honed over the years as both an angler and a guide. I’ve known guides who swear by a two-streamer rig, and one of the best anglers I know fishes two streamers religiously during ice-off on local reservoirs. I think it’s a…

Photo: Fisherga/Flickr Joe Cermele and Kirk Deeter teamed up to write an in-depth guide for anglers looking to catch trout on the fly this winter. While the first half of their story focuses on conventional angling techniques, there are some nuggets fly anglers can glean from it. The second half, however, is full of four tips to help you put more trout in net this winter, provided you’re willing to…

Photo: Bonnie Moreland/Flickr The folks over at Engadget – yes, Engadget – put together a wonderfully enlightening story on the impacts of the Elwha River Dam removal in Washington State. As we’ve documented extensively here are MidCurrent, the removal of the Elwha River dams has been one of the best success stories for conservation in recent memory. It’s the largest dam removal project ever undertaken, although it will be eclipsed…