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Tying Tuesday: Hooks, Wet Flies, and Mice

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

If you’re looking for effective fall flies to get a fish’s attention, then you’ve come to the right place. Whether you want a wet fly to toss on the cold days when the trout are warily eating off the top, or a big mouse to tempt a trophy into your net, we’ve got a great collection of fly tying tutorials this week. Charlie Craven starts us off this week with…

Simms Fishing Sold Again

Tuesday, October 08, 2024

Vista Outdoors, parent company of Simms Fishing, has announced an agreement to sell Simms to Strategic Value Partners (SVP), according to Outdoor Retailer. SVP is purchasing the Revelyst group of companies, which includes Foresight Sports, Bushnell Golf, Fox, Bell, CameBak, Giro, and Simms Fishing. The purchase will take Simms back to a private company, and the deal for the entire Revelyst group is priced at $1.125 billion. Vista Outdoors bought…

Podcast Roundup: Painting, Western Rivers, and Beginner Questions

Sunday, October 06, 2024

Photo: Matt Keefe/Flickr This week’s Podcast Roundup has one of the more diverse lineups in a while. We start out with a conversation about fly fishing art, move into some highly recommended rivers, and finish with answers to some beginner questions. You’ll probably find something in each of these shows to use in your own fishing, especially as the season winds down. As always, if you have a podcast you’d…

Fishing the 8’6″ 5-weight Winston Air 2

Thursday, September 26, 2024

I’ve long been a fan of Winston rods. My first top-of-the-line rod was a 9′ 5-weight BIIIx, and I’ve since grown my collection to over a dozen green sticks, both vintage and modern. The Air 2 series is, objectively, the company’s most versatile. An old 8’6″ 6-weight pre-IM6 Fisher-rolled Winston might be a bit sweeter to cast, but it doesn’t stand up to the versatility a modern rod offers. I’ve…

Norway Limits Wild Salmon Fishing

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Photo: Derrick Mercer/Flickr CC2.0 Pacific salmon aren’t the only ones facing population threats. Fisheries managers in Norway recently announced new restrictions for wild Atlantic salmon fishing in 2025 as the country’s stocks hit record lows, according to Phys.org. Earlier this year, fisheries managers in Norway also shut down 33 rivers to salmon fishing in response to low returns. Ellen Hambro, head of the Norwegian Environment Agency, said that anglers can…

Tying Tuesday: Fall Dry Flies

Tuesday, September 24, 2024

This week’s Tying Tuesday is decidedly fall-themed, with a nice mayfly spinner pattern, and an October caddis in the lineup. We end with a great tutorial on a Woolly Bugger (which I’ve never been able to tie quite to my satisfactions), and I reckon each of these flies deserves a spot in your box this fall. Up first is a neat little fly from Charlie Craven, called the Profile Spinner….

Restoring Rainforest Rivers

Monday, September 23, 2024

The folks over at Trout Unlimited (TU) have been busy lately on the Olympic Peninsula, and recently made a video to highlight their conservation efforts in that region. The video, which you can view below, focuses on restoring the rainforest rivers that flow through the Olympic Peninsula, which are home to salmon, steelhead, and trout. “Working alongside our partners at federal and state agencies, regional tribes and the Cold Water…

Podcast Roundup: Euro Nymphing Debate, Rigs, and Fall Tactics

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Photo: Matt Keefe/Flickr This week’s Podcast Roundup features a fun debate between some heavy hitters in the industry about whether Euro nymphing is actually fly fishing. You’ll also get treated to a beginner’s guide on fly fishing rigs, and then some advice on fall fishing tactics. There’s tons of content in the podcasts this week, so get comfortable and get listening! As always, if you have a podcast you’d like…

Oregon’s Fall River Comeback

Friday, September 20, 2024

Photo: Bureau of Land Management/Flickr Back in 2002, Oregon’s Fall River was accidentally damaged by a drop of fire retardant. The chemical spill killed all the trout within a four-mile stretch of water, some 22,000 rainbows. Thankfully, that retardant cleared relatively quickly, according to Scott Linden over at Game and Fish Magazine, but that’s when the real work began of restoring the river. The Fall is a tributary of the Deschutes, and…

Tying Tuesday: Two Nymphs and a Dry

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

This week’s Tying Tuesday is fully fall-flavored, with a fantastic mayfly dun that is screaming to be fished during the late-season blue-wing hatches. Then we have two nymphs, one of which is stillwater-focused, and another that’s a variant of a tried-and-true nymph. Up first is this spectacular little mayfly pattern from Davie McPhail, which he calls the autumn dun. I’m certainly tying some of these up (in smaller sizes, of…

Snow Peak Acquires Majority Stake in Swift Fly Fishing

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Snow Peak, a Japanese camping brand, has acquired a majority stake in the Swift Fly Fishing Company, known for their line of Epic fly rods. “We are thrilled to bring Swift Fly Fishing and the Epic Fly Rod brand into the Snow Peak family,” said Tohru Yamai, Snow Peak CEO and Chairman of the Board. “This union beautifully blends our passion for camping with Swift’s artistry in fly fishing, further…

Book Review: Chasing the Dark

Monday, September 16, 2024

I first read one of Joseph Jackson’s stories in Fly Fisherman Magazine a few years ago. It was one of the most impressive travel stories I’d read in recent years, and I didn’t recognize his name, so I looked him up. It turns out he’s a native Wyomingite who now lives in Alaska, and he loves fly fishing and bird hunting. I’m a native Utahn who now lives in Wyoming and I…

Podcast Roundup: Panfish, Saltwater, and Rise Forms

Sunday, September 15, 2024

Photo: Matt Keefe/Flickr This week’s Podcast Roundup has everything from panfish to saltwater fly fishing. It starts off with the Orvis podcast talking to Bart Lombardo about late-season panfish tactics, then we get to hear from Dom Swentosky at Troutbitten about rise forms and hook sets for trout. Finally, we wrap things up with an in-depth look at fly fishing in Belize for tarpon, permit, and bonefish. If you have…

New Climate Change PSA

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Conservation Hawks has released a new public service announcement on climate change, urging anglers to get involved in the upcoming election to put climate-friendly politicians into office. Tom Rosenbauer, Hilary Hutcheson, Craig Mathews, Kirk Deeter, and Todd Tanner appear in the video, describing the current climate crisis, and discussing a few of the initiatives that politicians could push to help conserve fisheries. The video is titled “50 Million Anglers” and…

Fly Fishing Strengthens Relationship With Wildlife

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Although it’s more common now than just a few years ago, it’s not every day that fly fishing makes headlines in major publications. That is, however, the case with this recent story in YahooUK, by Robin Canniford, Avi Shankar, and Annetta Grant. The authors are also fly anglers and professors at universities in the United Kingdom, and they recently published the results of a new paper which takes a specific…

Tying Tuesday – Streamers, Mops, and Ugly Bugs

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

I can’t believe August is almost over. This summer has absolutely flown by, and I hope you’ve been able to get out on the water. As we shift into fall, our tying habits probably change a bit, as you can see from this week’s Tying Tuesday. We start out with a tutorial on The Shady Accountant, a streamer developed by the Down South Fly Fishing channel, move on to an…

Spot Burning

Monday, August 19, 2024

Photo: Spencer Durrant If you spend any time in the fly fishing community on social media, you’ve probably noticed there are two groups of people. The first closely guard their fishing spots, going so far as to blur the background of any pictures they post, lest someone find a landmark and identify the fishery. The second group is free with place names, telling people to fish such-and-such creek between the…

Tips For Fighting Big Fish

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Photo: Louis Cahill Fighting and landing big fish on a fly rod is a skill many anglers hone over time, but they often learn it the hard way. There are a few things you can do to make landing big fish more effective, which is especially important now that we know so much more about how fish recover from catch-and-release. That’s why it’s important to read this story from Kent…

Deschutes River Open to Summer Steelhead

Friday, August 16, 2024

Photo: Bonnie Moreland/Flickr The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced at the beginning of August that the Deschutes River will remain open to summer steelhead fishing. This is thanks to the return of more than 21,000 unmarked fish past Bonneville Dam since July 1. While that number is lower than the 20-year average, it’s the highest to-date run in a decade. Steelhead have faced consistent threats over the…

Lid Rig 3.0 – People’s Premium Nipper

Thursday, August 15, 2024

The folks over at Lid Rig have just announced the release of their newest product, the Lid Rig 3.0, also known as the “People’s Premium Nipper.” This set of line nippers “redefines cutting tools for the avid angler,” per a company press release, and should cut anything from 8x tippet for braid. “The Lid Rig 3.0 is the culmination of 5 years and thousands of customers’ input which is why…