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Colin Arisman and Oliver Sutro, with help from Orvis and Trout Unlimited, have released a new film titled School of Fish. This film paints a portrait inside one family’s seasonal salmon rituals and their connection to the Bristol Bay Guide Academy, where local youth are empowered through fly fishing to serve as guides and conservationists. Indigenous people and salmon have been intertwined for thousands of years in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The…

Photo: Anthony Greco/Flickr Last week, we ran a story that talked about the veracity of Wyoming’s state record golden trout. The current fish on the books tips the scales at 11 pounds, 4 ounces – which is more than double the size that most goldens in Wyoming achieve these days. After that story – which originally appeared in Cowboy State Daily – ran, the daughter of a fishing guide in…

In this week’s Tying Tuesday, we’re treated to a wonderful streamer pattern that I’ve personally used, to great success. The Hi-Lo streamer has the right kind of flash and contrast to really grab a fish’s attention – especially the big ones. The post Tying Tuesday: Hi-Lo Streamer appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Photo: John Huynh/Flickr Pacific Gas & Electric (PGE) has announced an agreement to remove their dams on the Eel River. This will open up “almost 300 miles of cold-water habitat” according to Fly Fisherman Magazine.  You can read more about this dam removal project here. The post Eel River Dam Removal appeared first on MidCurrent. Source: Fish2

Photo: USFWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation/Flickr Matthew L. Miller penned a wonderful story about the recent discovery of a “new” subspecies of redband rainbow trout in Idaho over in Fly Fisherman Magazine. While I highly encourage you to read Miller’s account, the highlights are as follows. Most folks who fish in Idaho’s Big Wood River assume that the rainbow trout they’re catching are descendants of hatchery fish. The Big Wood River flows…

In this most recent episode of the Orvis podcast, Tom Rosenbauer sits down with lifelong angler, guide, and conservationist Todd Tanner to talk about 12 tips for improving your dry fly fishing. Todd used to guide on the Henry’s Fork, so he knows a thing or two about fishing dry flies. You can listen to the show here. The post Orvis Podcast: Tips for Dry Fly Fishing appeared first on…

Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr Arctic grayling are one of my favorite fish. I’ve made trips to Alaska just to focus on catching them. They’re so eager to eat dries, and they have a happy, carefree attitude that trout don’t always posses. They’re native to Alaska and Canada, but grayling’s native range once reached as far south as Montana and Michigan. They’re still hanging on in Montana, notably in the Big Hole…

This week’s edition of Tying Tuesday features the Armored Chironomid from the folks over at AvidMax. I’m a big fan of chironomid patterns because they’re so simple, and so effective. This pattern has a really unique bit on the thorax that separates it from other chironomid patterns out on the market. Give it a look, and tie some up for the last of the open water fishing before everything ices…

Photo: Bernd Thaller/Flickr Federal officials recently gave their approval for a plan that will conserve water in the Colorado River in the near-term. This plan, as reported by Carter Williams at KSL, involves voluntary reductions in water that California, Nevada, and Arizona. Those reductions will total 3 million acre-feet by 2026, according to the reported agreement. California, Nevada, and Arizona comprise the “Lower Basin” states in the Colorado River Basin….

Photo: Courtesy Dom Swentosky Nymphing is a critical skill that every fly angler needs to develop if they want to be successful. That’s largely why you’ll see so many different nymphing resources available. If you can’t nymph, you won’t catch very many trout. That’s also why Dom Swentosky, over at Troutbitten, has dedicated such an enormous part of his writing and discussion to going through the efficacy of various nymph rigs. And…

Tom Rosenbauer sat down with George Daniel on the latest edition of the Orvis podcast to talk shop about a new nymphing technique. This is an entirely new nymphing technique George has been experimenting with, so anglers looking for a way to spice up their fly fishing game should give it a listen. They also discuss how criminally underrated 10-foot rods are, especially on smaller streams. While a 10-foot rod…

Earlier this year MidCurrent reported on the launch of new compostable line spools from RIO Fly Lines. Those spools have officially launched. Instead of shipping their fly lines on plastic spools, RIO will now package all their lines on a 100% compostable, recyclable spool. The spools themselves are built from 100% recycled newsprint that have been used at least once. By using these compostable spools, RIO estimates they’ll keep 20,000…

Photo: Ben+Sam/Flickr Forest fires are nothing new to the landscape, but their impacts are being felt more and more acutely with each passing year. Fly anglers have a vested interest in forest fire science, because trout streams are one of the first victims of forest fires. Mudslides and flash flooding will dramatically impact a stream’s behavior and ecology, sometimes for years after the initial burn (as we’ve seen on the…

The folks over at Fly Fish Food have another great pattern for us to tie this week – the Zola Bug! This fly is dead simple, and has a lot of the attributes that makes the perdigon such an effective fly. I’m a big fan of simple ties (why complicate something you don’t have to?) and the Zola Bug looks like one that’ll work effectively in a variety of waters….

Billfish are some of the most understudied fish on the planet, but they’re certainly one of the most sought-after game fish. After all, who wouldn’t want to catch a big marlin or sailfish, just like Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea? The lack of true scientific data surrounding billfish is part of what led Costa (the sunglasses company) to launch what they’ve dubbed their Marlin Fly Project. The Marlin…

On the most recent episode of the Orvis podcast, Tom Rosenbauer sat down with Hal Herring to talk about the importance of maintaining good instream flows in rivers. Herring is a reporter on conservation issues across the American West, and has a ton of experience dealing with the complexities of ensuring that there’s enough water flowing through a river to keep the fish alive and well. You can listen to…

Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie/Flickr The folks over at Keep Fish Wet have announced the start of their annual fundraiser. The fundraiser will consist of a series of raffles, and an auction, that run until November 12. All the money raised goes towards efforts from Keep Fish Wet to educate anglers and create more outreach programs based around their science-based catch-and-release fishing practices. In addition to bidding in the auction and buying…

Instead of Tying Tuesday this week, we had the pleasure to run a wonderful piece from Beau Beasley about a new Lefty Kreh memorial and statue unveiled over the weekend. So, not to let a week go by without some more fly tying fun, I decided to do a Whip Finish Wednesday. The pattern we’ll see today is from the one and only Tim Flagler over at Tight Line Video….

Photo: Beau Beasley This is a special story for the MidCurrent News section from Beau Beasley, author and director of the Virginia and Texas Fly Fishing Festivals.  On Saturday, October 14, 2023, more than a hundred people stood shoulder to shoulder in a cold, steady rain to honor a fly-fishing legend. The throng had gathered in Baker Park in Frederick, Maryland, to remember Lefty Kreh (1925-2018), one of Maryland’s favorite…

Photo: Bonnie Moreland/Flickr The story of the Elwha River rising back from the brink is one that gives hope to all conservationists. The 45-mile long river that flows mostly through Olympic National Park into Puget Sound was once the scene of healthy, self-sustaining runs of salmon and steelhead. Then, like most rivers, it was dammed. From 1911 to 2011, three dams blocked 90% of the river’s flow. Dam removal started…