Articles

The painful, but delicious, stinging nettle

Dreaded stinging nettle isn't just edible, it's a tasty nutritional powerhouse

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Mar 17th, 2014

Now for more than just saying four letter words on the riverbank (photo: Uwe H. Friese / cc2.0).

Some fishermen I know are not only avid anglers, but accomplished amateur entomologists, ornithologists and botanists. I'm not one of them. Sure, I try to know my bugs because doing so has a direct tie to my success on the water, but I'm not much good when it comes to identifying birds or plants. It's not that I don't appreciate them, I do, I just haven't put in much of a study on them.

One plant that I can readily identify, however -- and one that a great number of other anglers can no doubt also spot even at a distance -- is the stinging nettle. Widespread throughout North America and Europe, the stinging nettle is quite often found growing along the edges of rivers and streams, where unsuspecting fishermen accidentally grasp or touch the plant while clambering up banks or sitting down for steam side break, only to be greeted by the nettle's intense, burning sting. As it turns out, though, nettles aren't all bad. Packed beneath those nasty stinging hairs is a great deal of nutrition, and stinging nettles aren't only edible, but delicious.

Sportsmen Block Pennsylvania Lawmakers' Attack on Wild Trout and Endangered Species Protections, For Now

by Chad Shmukler - Friday, Mar 14th, 2014

Pennsylvania Brook Trout Stream (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Early this year, we published a detailed piece on a bill proposed by Pennsylvania lawmakers which is deceptively titled the Endangered Species Act. The bill, HB 1576, has been widely outed as a poorly veiled attempt to neuter the ability of state agencies to put in place vital wild trout and endangered species protections that ultimately present road blocks to development by the natural gas industry and other corporate interests throughout the state. The bill met success late last year when it passed through the House Game & Fisheries committee in November, qualifying the bill to move to forward in the legislative process. This week, sportsmen's and environmental groups that have worked to put a stop to the bill's progress received some relief when the sponsors of the bill failed to receive the necessary support to bring it to a vote on the House floor.

The bill, which was originally proposed last year by Republican representative Jeff Pyle, has received considerable support from House conservatives who have defended the bill with claims that the bill's provisions would reduce government bureaucracy and inefficiency. Even cursory analysis of the bill's contents have revealed these claims to be unfounded, and groups which have recognized the threat the act would pose to Pennsylvania's rich natural resources have spent countless hours mobilizing support from sportsmen and other individuals that oppose its provisions.

Giveaway: Shadow Seeker Custom Colored Fly Lines

by Marshall Walker - Thursday, Mar 13th, 2014

Shadow Seeker Custom Colored Fly Line

A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about Shadow Fly Fishing's introduction of their industry-first custom colored "Seeker" fly lines. Shadow has also since introduced a double taper version of these lines, which are now available for pre-order. Since their introduction, these lines have reportedly been selling like hot cakes, presumably due to their surprisingly low pricing, customization options or both.

Fly line coloring is sometimes little more than an aesthetic choice while in other cases coloration may be a valuable tool to the fisherman. While there may be little difference between a fluorescent yellow and a fluorescent green fly line, a line with a colored shooting head that helps the angler know where the best load point is on the line or one with a high-visibility colored tip section for detecting strikes may help increase an angler's effectiveness.

Tying the MKCaddis Pupa Fly

by Aileen Lane - Wednesday, Mar 12th, 2014

Caddisflies are one of my favorite insects to imitate. In fact, the first rainbow I landed on a fly I tied myself came on the ubiquitous Elk Hair Caddis. Getting a hit on top is exciting, however if you want to increase your chances for catching fish, consider tying on a caddis pupa instead.

Emerging caddis pupa often spend a great deal of time drifting in the water before they make it to the surface. Dead drift this pattern near the bottom in the riffles or drift it near the surface.

When designing the MKCaddis Pupa, the goal was to create a semi-realistic pattern that was fishable but also simple to tie. The MKCaddis Pupa may be tied with or without weight depending on how you want to fish it.

Victory for Wild Steelhead in Washington

by Ben Kryzinski - Tuesday, Mar 11th, 2014

The East Fork of the Lewis River in Washington (photo: Stephanie Brock).

After several years of effort, wild steelhead advocates are claiming a victory in southwest Washington after the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced that it would cease all steelhead planting in perpetuity on four of the state's rivers. These rivers will be established as wild steelhead gene banks, part of an effort to restore and revitalize native steelhead populations throughout Washington.

Effective immediately, steelhead stocking will cease on the East Fork of the Lewis, the North Fork of the Toutle and the Green rivers. The Wind River, which hasn't been stocked since the late 1990s, will also remain unstocked in perpetuity and serve as part of the wild steelhead gene bank.