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Photo: Dom Swentosky In his most recent post over at Troutbitten, Dom Swentosky makes an interesting point about using the correct hand to retrieve line on your fly reel. Some anglers will cast with their dominant arm, hook a trout, then switch the rod to their non-casting arm so they can reel with their dominant hand. To Dom, that process isn’t as efficient as it could be, and he makes…

Photo: Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Flickr Alaska’s Brooks Range is under threat from a number of factors, but a proposed private mining road is the most pressing. Public comments on the proposed road will be accepted until Friday, December 22. It’s imperative that we all share our opposition to the private mining road, which would bisect thousands of streams and serve foreign-owned mining interests. We’ve covered this proposed…

Photo: Ricardo Rossi/Flickr When we talk about problems facing salmon, we often focus on their struggles in Alaska and throughout the Columbia River Basin. However, salmon in other parts of the world need our attention too, especially those off the California coast. In this recent story, studies are analyzed and recent evidenced synthesized to further the point that California’s practice of trucking salmon down river in the Sacramento – San…

Photo: Alaska Region U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Flickr In a wonderfully in-depth, informative story, Alec Luhn takes us through the next great environmental threat facing Alaska -its rivers are turning orange. Rivers throughout the Brooks Range (which has been in the news recently as hunters and anglers flock to protect it from foreign mining interests) are turning orange as permafrost thaws and iron is leaked into the water. Other factors…

Photo: Courtesy George Hill George Hill is an artist we’ve featured here at MidCurrent for years, and for good reason. His portraits of trout are among my favorite, and even if you don’t recognize George’s name, I’m sure you’ll recognize his work. George has recently announced the release of a new brown trout print – “Bitterroot Brown.” It’s an 18×24 print on 240 GSM archival paper, and it’s currently available…

The folks over at Mainely Flies just dropped a new fly tying tutorial, which is our focus for today’s Tying Tuesday. And despite what the video thumbnail might show, this isn’t just a standard wooly bugger. No, the folks at Mainely dressed this up with a secret ingredient. The post Tying Tuesday: Secret Wooly Bugger appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Photo: Bonnie Moreland/Flickr Last week it was announced that the Biden administration has entered into an agreement with tribes and local governments to work on the Columbia River Basin. That agreement is meant to span the next decade, and includes initiatives around energy, recreation, agriculture, and transportation. This formal agreement, combined with other projects, will deliver $1 billion to the Columbia River Basin in the next decade, according to The…

Photo: Courtesy of Domenick Swentosky In this great story over on Troutbitten, Dom Swentosky talks about the concept of keeping things simple while fishing. I wholeheartedly agree that it’s nice to just keep things as simple as possible, but sometimes, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds a bit. Dom’s piece is a great reminder of how to stay grounded and focus on the basic things while you’re on the water….

The White House announced yesterday a plan to work with tribes and states in the Pacific Northwest to restore wild salmon throughout the Columbia River Basin. In addition to the work on salmon, the federal government will helps tribes and states with energy development and stability. You can read more about the plan here. The post White House Announces Plan to Restore Wild Salmon appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

One of the trickiest things to master in fly angling, in my opinion, is properly fighting trout that get downstream from you. The added weight of the current can make for a different, challenging fight. I lost plenty of fish in my early fishing days because I didn’t know how to fight them if they got beneath me. Thankfully, we have this great video from Tom Rosenbauer over at Orvis…

Skwala Fishing is a newer brand, but they’ve already established themselves as a reputable player in the technical apparel industry. Now, Skwala is in a position to give back to the sport, and is doing so by donating 20 percent of all sales from SkwalaFishing.com on December 14, 2023, to Save Wild Trout. “We have enjoyed an incredible history so far and we all feel blessed,” said Kevin Sloan, Skwala’s…

Photo: Chris M Morris/Flickr In this sweeping feature for Fly Fisherman Magazine, Dennis Pastucha takes readers on a journey through the Yampa River in Colorado. The Yampa is Colorado’s last free-flowing river with a natural hydrograph, despite the dam at Stagecoach Reservoir on its headwaters. It flows, unimpeded, for 250 miles before it meets the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument. But there’s so much more to the story of the Yampa,…

Last week Tenkara USA launched the newest rod in their lineup. The Ukiyo is a 9’10” tenkara rod that’s only 14.5″ long when fully closed. Of particular note, however, is the new grip you’ll find on the Ukiyo. Instead of the traditional cork, Tenkara USA went with a swelled graphite handle that’s coated in a unique sprayed-on texture. This carbon fiber grip allows for greater sensitivity, increasing the feedback an…

In this week’s edition of Tying Tuesday, I want to showcase a new series from the folks over at Fly Fish Food. They’ve just launched their Fly Tying Skill Builder series of videos, and the first one takes us through how to tie a half-hitch, how to work with deer hair, and how to work with zonker strips. These are critical skills that every tier should master, and of course,…

Photo: Geoff Parsons/Flickr The four lower dams on the Snake River have become one of the galvanizing issues in all of fly fishing. It’s widely accepted that these dams are one of the biggest impediments to salmon and steelhead recovery throughout the Columbia River Basin. Well, last week, news broke that federal officials are open to the potential of breaching these dams. That news came via leaked documents which state…

Tim Flagler produced a great video for Orvis on the different ways you can finish a fly’s head. He focuses on the difference between glossy and penetrating finishes, including why you’d want to use one over the other. You can view the video here. The post Advice on Fly Finishes appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Photo: Fishing Booker/Flickr Marble trout are one of the world’s most unique trout, and certainly one of the rarer ones. Native to a slice of Europe, these fish are as pretty as they are exotic to many anglers. But recent flooding in their native range has prompted many to wonder how the marble trout have fared. Ben Pierce wrote a great story on this for Fly Fisherman Magazine, which you…

The folks over at Costa have released their second update of their Protect Report, a publication that showcases the company’s commitment to sustainability and conservation. Through the lens of community and conservation, Costa’s Second Edition: Protect Report captures its efforts throughout 2021 and 2022 – alongside its community of anglers, adventure-seekers, partners, retailers and pros – to protect our waterways and to conserve the life within. The report takes a…

Photo: USFWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation/Flickr As we’ve reported on extensively here at MidCurrent, quagga mussels were detected in a stretch of the Snake River in Idaho. These mussels are not only damaging to the habitat (by eating organisms that fish need) but to water infrastructure, as well. To eliminate the mussels before they could establish a foothold in the Snake River near Twin Falls, Idaho Fish & Game (IDFG)…

Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr In a recent story for High Country News, Kylie Mohr posits an interesting question – does voluntary conservation work? Mohr specifically looks at the situation currently facing the Montana population of grayling. These grayling have the potential to be listed under the Endangered Species Act, but landowners along the Big Hole River are hopeful that their voluntary conservation efforts will help the species. Landowners along the Big Hole are…