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Douglas Outdoors has announced the release of their new DXF Gen 2 fly rods. These rods are the “next step” in the DXF lineup, according to the company, and feature a completely redesigned rod. The blank has been tweaked from the ground up with new materials, component have been updated, and Douglas claims this leads to a fly rod with “unparalleled feel, superb rod action, and optimal accuracy.” The original…

Chris Hunt, over at Hatch Magazine, penned a review of the Simms G4Z waders. I recently reviewed these waders here at MidCurrent, but I was interested to see what Chris had to say about them. In short, I think the two of us agree, although he offers a few different perspectives that I didn’t dive into in my review. If you’re thinking of buying a pair, I’d highly suggest reading a few…

In this week’s edition of Tying Tuesday, we treated to a bit of an impromptu masterclass from Brian Flechsig and Tim Flagler. The two discuss how they found some Hendrickson nymphs on the Mad River, and how that led them to tie up their own imitations of that venerable bug. It’s fun – and enlightening – to see the thought process of two accomplished tiers. The post Tying Tuesday: Bugs…

I had the fortune to fish almost every day last week, crisscrossing my way through Montana and Wyoming. Everything went fine until Wednesday, when I was gearing up. I slipped my wading boots on and started turning the knob to tighten my BOA laces, only to notice a few strands of the steel wire starting to peel free. I’ve been fishing BOA laces for the better part of a decade…

In this episode of the Orvis podcast, Tom Rosenbauer chats with Jason Randall about an interesting topic – how trout see. Randall is a scientist and fly fisher, so he’s the perfect person to distill the complexities inherent in this topic into something all anglers can easily understand. Listen to the podcast here. The post Orvis Podcast: How Trout See appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

The Price River near Helper, Utah, received some much-needed attention from multiple conservation groups. The combined efforts of Trout Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation, and Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative resulted in six dams being removed from the Price River as it flows through Helper. Removing the dams allows for the native fish species – Colorado River cutthroat trout and bluehead sucker – to access…

In this story over at Fly Fisherman Magazine, Joshua Bergan walks us through why fly anglers might want to add walkie-talkies to their gear arsenal. The use cases he highlights are all situations where I wish I’d had a way to communicate with someone while on the water, like finding a pod of rising fish, for example. You can read the rest of the story here. The post The Next Great Gear…

Photo: John Hilliard/Flickr Fly fishing can take you to some pretty incredible destinations, and The Bahamas certainly ranks near the top of that list. It’s an incredible place to try your hand at catching a variety of fish, including bonefish and permit. But if you decide to make a DIY trip to the Bahamas, is it even worth it? That’s the question Ken Baldwin tries to answer in his latest…

Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie In this great story by Chris Hunt, you’ll learn about a currently extinct subspecies of cutthroat trout – the yellowfin. This fish was thought to grow to 30 inches long, and weigh nearly 10 pounds, according to Hunt. And one biologist in Colorado is tasked with, among other jobs, discovering if any relict populations of the yellowfin cutthroat still exist. You can read the story here. The…

Photo: freyfisher/Flickr In this recent story from The River Reporter, Tony Bonvasit talks about a hatch that he thinks most anglers have forgotten. Back East, the Hendrickson hatches get a lot of attention, but in Bonavist’s opinion, many anglers overlook the Quill Gordons (which refers to the actual fly pattern, not the fly itself). It’s a fun story, and a reminder that we need to pay attention to all the hatches going…

Photo: Free Public Domain Illustrations/Flickr If the thought of chasing striped bass sounds appealing, but dealing with the vagaries of the ocean doesn’t, you’re in luck. Blane Chocklett recently put together a wonderful guide on targeting freshwater striped bass, which you can read in full here. The post Chocklett’s Tips for Freshwater Striped Bass appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

It’s about the time of year to start thinking about tying (and fishing) March Browns, which is the fly we’re featuring this week on Tying Tuesday. The folks at Savage Flies do a wonderful job explaining this pattern, and getting me excited to fish something other than midges soon! The post Tying Tuesday: Parachute March Brown appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Photo: Bitterroot/Flickr After the announcement last week that a copper mine can proceed on one of the Smith River’s most important trout tributaries, the collective fly fishing community at once was outraged and depressed. The industry as a whole opposes the mine, but that lockstep opposition got me thinking—do the newcomers to the sport (many of whom joined our ranks in the past few years) truly understand why most fly…

Photo: Yellowstone National Park/Flickr The Thorofare region of Yellowstone needs no introduction in angling circles. It’s a legendary place many of us hope to visit one day. If you haven’t been there, but are dreaming of doing so, this recent story in Fly Fisherman Magazine may help you clear your calendar and make a trip happen. Paul Weamer wrote about the incredible science going on to track cutthroat trout migration in the…

Marvin Cash, host of the Articulate Fly podcast, sat down with Curtis Graves and Jim Kershaw, the designers behind all of Grundens’ gear. With their new waders hitting the market, now’s a great time to hear from the product designers themselves to get a better understanding of what separates Grundens from other brands. You can listen to the full show here. The post Podcast: Articulate Fly and Grundens appeared first…

The folks over at Savage Flies have put together a great tutorial for tying an easy beginner caddis dry fly – the CDL Peacock Caddis. As someone who’s not a beginner tier but still struggles with tying an elk hair caddis (I can get elk hair to behave on a variety of patterns just fine; on a caddis, though, I can never get it to look right), this is a great tie….

Photo: Bitterroot/Flickr The Montana Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of Black Butte Copper Mine late on Monday, February 26. This ruling allows Black Butte to build an underground mine along Sheep Creek, which is a tributary of Montana’s famous Smith River, per KTVH Helena. The Smith River is highly regarded in angling circles, and floating is allowed only via permit, which anglers have to draw well in advance….

When we talk about salmon and steelhead recovery, we largely focus on the waters of the Pacific Northwest – the Columbia River Basin, the various rivers draining into Puget Sound, and the rivers in coastal British Columbia. Little, if any, time is dedicated to concern about the salmon (and steelhead) fisheries located along California’s coast. California has persistent populations of salmon and steelhead, but they don’t get the same attention…

Photo: Courtesy Thomas & Thomas Fly Rods Tom Dorsey, one of the founders of Thomas & Thomas Fly Rods, passed away on February 14, 2023, at his home in New Haven, Connecticut. Ross Purnell, of Fly Fisherman Magazine, wrote a wonderful tribute to Dorsey, which you can read here. The post Tom Dorsey Passes Away appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

In this recent episode of the Orvis podcast, Tom Rosenbauer chats with Anna Le about aquatic entomology in trout streams. Le is an educator and aquatic entomologist, and she dishes out some great tips to help you learn to gauge the health of a river just by looking at its bug life. You can find the podcast here. The post Orvis Podcast: Trout Stream Bugs appeared first on MidCurrent. Source:…