Articles

High desert monsters

Chasing mammoth brown trout on Patagonia's Rio Limay

by Chris Hunt - Monday, Aug 10th, 2015

No river anywhere in the world may hold more big brown trout than Patagonia's Rio Limay (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Sometimes when we fish with friends, we foster an unspoken, cordial competition. You know, the “first fish, most fish, biggest fish” thing. Being successful at fly fishing means you’re likely doing something right—it’s a technical craft, for the most part, and doing it well is usually important to success. It feels good when you’re doing everything right, when you’ve put together a diverse set of elements into a single successful act, and it’s nice to measure your good fortune against others, particularly if they’re solid anglers.

Winston intros New Boron III Plus fly rods

A new rod series from Winston aimed at big, powerful fish

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Aug 6th, 2015

Winston introduced its latest rod series at this year's IFTD show in Orlando, Florida. The new Boron III Plus series is a mostly-but-not-entirely saltwater geared rod aimed squarely at anglers chasing big fish. According to Winston, "The 'Plus' stands for incredible line speed, extra power and design qualities needed to handle monster flies, the wind, sinking and oversized head lines and of course, big, big, fish."

A never ending horror story

Exploring the blue green waters off the Palm Beach coast

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Aug 5th, 2015

Captain Scott Hamilton lurches to wrangle a mahi mahi that was lurking in unexpected waters (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Paul steadies the wheel from the starboard side of the boat while Captain Scott Hamilton hand ties leaders for our 12 weight rigs as we idle through the no wake zone of Palm Beach’s busy harbor. We’re flanked by countless other fishing boats, day cruisers, dive boats and yachts. As we emerge past the jetty’s point and step up to speed, we can see the earliest of beachgoers staking their spots for the day, the busy Florida town’s high rises looming behind them.

Review: Patagonia Stealth Hip Pack

Patagonia's minimalist hip pack has a lot going for it, including room

by Paul Snyder - Tuesday, Aug 4th, 2015

As I wrote in last year’s review of Simms’ latest generation headwaters full day pack, I’m always in search of better, more comfortable ways to haul my gear. Nothing ever seems to work as well as advertised or as written according to the “company line.”

Understanding the leech

And why doing so can help you catch more fish

by Ben Kryzinski - Monday, Aug 3rd, 2015

Releasing a trout from the Elk River in British Columbia that took a leech pattern dead drifted near the banks (photo: Chad Shmukler).

There is a reason why the woolly bugger is chosen by a vast number of anglers in "one fly" competitions around the world: they work. And they don't just work, they work almost everywhere. Perhaps chief amongst the reasons why woolly buggers are so effective is the leech, which woolly buggers imitate so well. Leeches are found in virtually all manner of freshwater, whether it be a stagnant farm pond, a big, windswept lake, a slow moving spring creek or a tumbling freestone stream.