by Matthew Reilly - Monday, Dec 26th, 2016
There is a disease rampant among fly fishermen that causes one to relish the difficult and the miserable, to willingly subject oneself to the harshest of conditions, lusting after the elusive. To stack skill and will against low probability, hoping for high reward. This defines the hunt for predatory fish—most purely, the quest for musky.
by Chris Hunt - Wednesday, Dec 21st, 2016
I’ve known about Mystic fly rods for a while now—several years. Designer and entrepreneur Dennis Klein and his wife, Victoria, who owns the business, make some fine fishing gear from the company’s small shop in Michigan. If you haven’t heard of Mystic, you need to.
by John Juracek - Monday, Dec 19th, 2016
Certain beliefs are so widely and deeply entrenched in our sport that they’re essentially considered givens, and rarely, if ever, called into question. One of the most closely held says that fly pattern matters. Matters in terms of success. We’re taught to believe that our choice of fly is responsible for the fish we catch, and that if we merely find the right fly, our success will know no bounds. But does it really work that way? Is our choice of fly that critical? Good question.
by Todd Tanner - Thursday, Dec 15th, 2016
The current pushes and pulls. My feet shift, incrementally, muscles tensing and then relaxing to the rhythms of the river. My fly line slides off into the depths, unseen, unknown, tenuous — searching for a seam I can’t quite make out. But it’s there. I sense it. I intuit it. I know it. A living seam in a living river, the same slice of equilibrium that might hold a steelhead on the Dean or a rainbow on the Henry’s Fork. Yet I’m not on the Dean, or the Henry's Fork, or the Yellowstone, or anyplace else in the known angling universe.
by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Dec 13th, 2016
What makes a new rod a company’s biggest release ever? Or most important? Or even most noteworthy? It’s hard to imagine any objective measure. That said, it may be equally hard to imagine that when Sage introduced the X back in June, the Bainbridge Island rod maker hadn’t reached its biggest milestone to date.
Have you ever wondered about our future as anglers and hunters, or about the legacy we’ll leave behind for our kids and grandkids? If you care about the great outdoors,...
Patagonia, by all accounts, is preeminent trout country. The southern thirds of both Chile and Argentina boast some of the world’s top trophy trout rivers. From the Malleo...
Righting wrongs is a tough proposition in the world of fisheries conservation. Too often, the challenges outweigh expectations. Just as frequently, reality sets in, and...
Hardy seems to cycle through its product lineup quicker than many other manufacturers. I have a wonderful 9’9” 3-weight Ultralite LL rod that’s no longer produced, and...
Typically, fall is the time to cast sinking fly lines and large streamers for aggressive fish. Some fish are preparing to spawn while others, like musky and bass, are...
Righting wrongs is a tough proposition in the world of fisheries conservation. Too often, the challenges outweigh expectations. Just as frequently, reality sets in, and...
