Articles

Tenkara line keeping methods

Ways to manage your tenkara line when on, and along, the water

by Ben Kryzinski - Thursday, Mar 3rd, 2016

Wading into deeper water with line stowed using the traditional tenkara line holder (photo: Tenkara USA).

I don't fish tenkara as much as I probably should. A fair amount of my time spent with a rod in my hand is spent on small, often brush-choked, streams. These are fishing conditions in which tenkara excels in a number of ways not limited to using tenkara rods' long length to keep your line off the water and make a fly first and fly only presentation, allowing you to actively control your fly and not requiring a backcast. But what about when you're not fishing?

Fair-weather or foul-weather?

Most diehard fly fisherman aren't all that diehard

by Domenick Swentosky - Wednesday, Mar 2nd, 2016

Photo: Pat Burke

It's dark, about an hour before the sun wakes up the rest of the world, and I’m methodically laying out fishing gear in the garage waiting for my ride to the river. Luke is one of those casual, successful people who runs a minimum of fifteen minutes late for seemingly everything in life, so I’ve learned to plan around his quirk. I take the extra moments to string up the fly rod under sixty watts of incandescents and retie a few knots in my leader. Really though, everything is ready.

3 go-to fly lines for bonefish

Rock solid performers for everything the flats throw at you

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Feb 29th, 2016

Photo: Chad Shmukler

Bonefishing places demands on anglers that are distinct from those of the freshwater world and even from those of other saltwater environments. But while these demands are unique, they are not uniform across the bonefishing world. Weather, locale, particulars about the fish you’re chasing and more all play in to change the equation.

Bluegill of the bay

On the flats, it's all about expectations

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Feb 25th, 2016

Photo: Chad Shmukler

The slate-gray skies presiding over the chop of a gusty Ascension Bay told us all we’d need to know as the panga bounced and banged its way around Punta Allen and into the backcountry. We were bundled up in our jackets to fight off the morning chill that, unfortunately, hung on long into the February day in the Yucatan tropics.

Getting real for rainbows

Take your angling prowess to the next level

by Larry L. Sebastine - Wednesday, Feb 24th, 2016

Fresh trout (photo: USFWS).

I’ve been reading more and more fly fishing articles with titles like “Topwater Tricks for Large, Sophisticated Trout” and “Top Ten Tips for Over-Sized Browns.” While stories like that may have their place with the latte-sipping, “big fish” crowd, let’s be honest. Those guys are pukes who never catch anything. Screw that. Here’s what you really need to know.