Articles

Here comes the sun

Do we want it or not?

by Mike Sepelak - Sunday, Nov 5th, 2023

Photo: Mike Sepelak

There’s a thin, icy glaze on the Ankona’s front casting platform and there’s no way I’m stepping up there, especially after the long skate I took down the boat ramp when we launched the damn thing. Landing on one’s ass at the bottom of a frozen dock is one thing. Landing on one’s ass at the bottom of a sixty-foot deep, forty-degree lake in the dark is quite another.

I’m perfectly comfortable casting from here in the pit, thank you very much, although “comfortable” is a relative term considering the fact that I can’t feel my toes.

Review: Trekkage LT Adventure 80L Checked Roller Bag

Orvis' newest line of luggage can swallow gear and withstand serious abuse

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Nov 2nd, 2023

Photo: Orvis Fly Fishing.

I travel a lot, and I almost always travel with a significant amount of fly-fishing gear. From rods and reels and boxes of flies to waders, boots and rain gear, I can max out my 50-pound weight limit for a checked bag after just five minutes of packing.

But that’s never my goal when I prepare for a trip — particularly a long trip where fishing is virtually the sole purpose of the adventure. Rather, I aim to pack as efficiently as possible. And, to be honest, I’ve gotten pretty good at it.

Still crazy after all these years

The psychotic angler

by Richard Wilson - Tuesday, Oct 31st, 2023

One That Got Away on the Kangia River in Greenland (photo: Earl Harper).

It takes two short questions to expose just how viscerally brain-bending fishing can be.

The first is ‘Why do we go fishing?’ This isn’t subtle and needs just 3 words for an answer. Maybe there’s someone out there who’ll say they don’t go fishing to catch fish, but I’ve never met them. There’s no shortage of secondary reasons such as good company and beautiful locations, but they’re all predicated on the idea that we go fishing to catch fish. The clue is in the name. This answer, as I will demonstrate, is wrong.

Falling into the late season

More tips for success during autumn low water conditions

by George Daniel - Friday, Oct 27th, 2023

Photo: George Daniel.

Autumn is one of the most beautiful times to be on the water, especially when fall foliage is at its peak. However, this time of year also creates some of the most challenging fishing conditions of the year, including low water. While there is no shortage of recommendations on how to tackle autumn conditions, here are a few of my favorite tips for dealing with low flows and other challenges common during the fall days on the water.

eDNA study offers compelling evidence that culvert replacement benefits salmon, steelhead and trout

The new research also suggests eDNA may be a powerful new tool for researchers

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Oct 26th, 2023

A pickup truck drives over a newly constructed bride which replaced a faulty culvert on a salmon stream in Washington state (photo: USDA).

A recently completed study using relatively new eDNA technology shows that replacing culverts that might act as fish migration barriers is key to restoring salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest. And, presumably, wherever faulty culverts interrupt salmonid migration. More broadly, however, the study is a herald for the use of eDNA science in restoration work conducted across environments and around the globe.