by Todd Tanner - Wednesday, Jun 25th, 2014
I don’t remember when I first heard the phrase, but for a while now experienced fly fishers have been regaling new anglers with tales of “The Five Stages of Fly Fishing.” These are the levels we all go through at one point or another in our fly fishing careers; at least if we stick around long enough to move up the ladder.
by Drew Price - Tuesday, Jun 24th, 2014
More and more anglers now see carp as a noble, worthy and challenging target. In Don't Try to Trout Fish for Carp, we highlighted the important differences between fly fishing for trout and fly fishing for carp, which serve as a useful tool for making the leap from chasing trout to chasing carp. But, there's a lot more to know. Whether or not you're new to fly fishing for carp, the additional tips that follow will help up your chances for success when targeting carp with the fly.
by Drew Price - Monday, Jun 23rd, 2014
Over the last decade or so, the fly fishing community's perception of carp has changed dramatically. Carp, which was not long ago widely seen as a species of "trash fish" only chased by fishermen wielding spinning rods with mish-mashed balls of corn meal and table scraps tied to the end of their line has reached fairly wide acceptance as one of the finest game fish available to anglers. Add in the fact that carp are more widely distributed across the US and the globe than perhaps any other species of game fish, offering a gross abundance of angling opportunities, and it is easy to understand why so many anglers are looking to get started chasing carp.
But where to start? Especially for the trout fisherman, pursuing carp is considerably different than heading out in search of the normal quarry. Fishing for carp is much more akin to fishing for bonefish and other flats species (which has fairly earned carp the nickname "freshwater bonefish"), so if you are accustomed to that kind of fishing you are going to be more prepared for chasing carp. Carp, in fact, can be radically different from trout in and it is important to understand the differences if you intend to target them, as applying tactics that you have learned while trout fishing typically won’t work well and will often lead to poor results.
by Ben Kryzinski - Friday, Jun 20th, 2014
It's that time of year when manufacturers start announcing the new products they'll be debuting at this year's IFTD/ICAST show, which runs from July 16-18 in Orlando, Florida. Last week, Sage announced new rod and reel offerings and this week Smith Optics announced four new frames, each of which will feature their ChromaPop lenses.
Noting their "long-standing commitment and dedication to the fishing community," Smith is highlighting their new Dockside frame, which Smith "created [as a] new fishing-specific frame with the avid waterman in mind," and which it describes as a "large fitting frame that provides superior coverage from sun reflection on and off the water."
by Todd Tanner - Thursday, Jun 19th, 2014
“Luckily, though, there are still a few guys around who will look you straight in the eye and say, eloquently and to the point, ‘It’s been too goddamned hot for too long and the river has gone off.’” — John Gierach, Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing
I cut my fly fishing teeth on John Gierach, and when he first published those words back in 1990, it all seemed innocent enough. Sure, ’88 was a hot son-of-a-gun, and the legendary waters around Yellowstone were beaten up by the heat in ways that nobody back then ever anticipated. Still, it seemed like an anomaly. Weather does crazy stuff. Some years are wet, others are dry; some are hot, some are cold, and some, on those occasions when the fishing gods happen to smile down from on high, are classic ‘Goldilocks' just right. That’s how it always worked, and nobody I knew back in the early ‘90s ever considered that things might end up differently.
Fast forward to 2014, though, and any mention of extreme weather starts to sound ominous.
“Fluctuations in the weather used to be just that, but now, with everyone looking over their shoulders at global climate change, there’s the fear that any extreme could become the new normal. And when you guide fishermen for a living, the thought of your rivers drying up is the stuff of nightmares.”That’s Gierach again, from his book All Fishermen Are Liars, and he frames our current reality in language that’s awfully hard to ignore. So what is the truth about climate change? What is the “new normal” - and how will it impact us as anglers?
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,...
The Rio Blanco rises from a series Andean glacial lakes high in the Aysen region of Patagonia. It’s a river born of ice and rock, and it slices through imposing, tall...
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...
