Articles

Taking the plunge

Tips for fishing waterfalls and plunge pools

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Apr 14th, 2014

Photo: Chad Shmukler

The areas below waterfalls, both big and small, can be great places to seek out big trout. This should come as no surprise. Typically referred to as plunge pools, the water that sweeps over falls and into these pools continuously delivers all manner of food to fish waiting below. In areas where the plunging water is pinched or otherwise funneled by the structure of the stream, falls not only deliver food that has swept down from above but also produce a concentrated, high density stream of that food. The turbulent nature of water on the surface of a plunge pool serves to obscure and conceal everything below, providing excellent cover from predators. And despite the turbulent, often violent currents at the surface of these pools, the deep, sometime boulder-filled recesses below offer respite from strong currents.

Don't Pass Them By

Bigger trout push smaller trout out of prime lies. That's the way it goes. So, the fact that these pools offer up a bounty all of a trout's most important needs: cover, food and protection from currents, makes them prime lies. This, in turn, means that they will commonly hold some of the best trout in the stream. Still, I've seen many a fisherman pass them by or ply them only momentarily, put off by the chaotic nature of the water's flow or unwilling to strap on 14 pieces of split shot in order to get their fly down to the fish hiding below.

Review: Sage METHOD Fly Rod

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Apr 10th, 2014

The Sage METHOD at work on the flats. (photo: Chad Shmukler)

There are distinct advantages offered by fast action rods that don't come in slower packages. They allow for easy and authoritative line pickup, have the ability to toss heavy lines and tips, are much more adept at casting in the wind, allow the caster to throw tighter loops, generally help increase aim and accuracy and -- of course -- pack more power than their slower bretheren, allowing for longer and quicker casts. Despite all of these advantages, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not generally a fast-action rod fan.

I've criticized rod makers for taking the fast-action trend too far and many a fly fisherman for buying into the idea that fast action rods are the best rod for virtually any job. Though the advantages of fast-action rods are numerous, those advantages have always been accompanied by tradeoffs, tradeoffs which have come in the form of decreased responsiveness or feel, poor performance in close and increased difficulty of casting. All of these tradeoffs, for the most part, are symptoms of the same characteristic of fast-action rods: their stiffness and tendency towards tip-flex.

Yet Another Blow to Pebble Mine: Rio Tinto Pulls Out

by Ben Kryzinski - Tuesday, Apr 8th, 2014

A Bristol Bay rainbow trout. (photo: Chad Shmukler)

The proposed Pebble Mine project received yet another blow yesterday when majority owner Northern Dynasty's (NAK) remaining partner, mining behemoth Rio Tinto (RIO) announced it would withdraw from the project and donate its 19% stake to regional charities.

After losing major partner Anglo American in September of last year, the Pebble Mine project has seen its prospects continue to dwindle in 2014. The EPA announced in March, after the release of its final assessment of the potential impact of large scale mining in the Bristol Bay region, that it would undertake a detailed review of the "potential adverse environmental effects of discharges of dredged and fill material associated with mining the Pebble deposit. The review delays the issuance of permits necessary for the project to move forward and may result in the EPA leveraging veto powers its is granted under section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to permanently block the project.

Review: Sage's Budget-Friendly 2200 and 3200 Reel Series

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Apr 7th, 2014

From left to right: the Sage 2210 and 3280.

When I head out in the field to test gear, whether it be a rod, reel, pack or something else, my usual goal is to embark with said piece of gear knowing relatively little about it. In other words, I like to avoid reading the marketing. Sure, I want to know what the product is and what it is supposed to do, but I don't want a bunch of advertising speak to predispose me to forming certain opinions about the product. A product's virtues, as well as flaws, stand out more when they're discovered organically.

Staying ignorant about the product you're off to mess around with is fairly difficult when it comes to rods, since little more than "medium fast action that's full of feel" is enough to bias you before you even cast a rod, but is fairly easy when it comes to reels given their complexity, the vast number of reels on the market, and the fact that reels -- unlike rods -- seem to lack a specific character. And so it was, or rather I was, relatively ignorant about many of the reels that I toted along to various warm, salty destinations this winter.

New Book: The Tug is the Drug

by Colin K. Breck - Sunday, Apr 6th, 2014

The world of publishing continues to change at a bewildering rate. For the most part, whether in the world of news, periodicals or books, this is largely a result of a great deal of publishing shifting from print to digital. Websites have wiped out countless newspapers across the globe, print magazines continue to become more specialized as those that are less so are easily replaceable by digital content and eBook sales have continued to gain a share of the book market. If you're one of the stalwarts holding out for print, there's good reason to be, but there's also good reason to recognize the virtues of digital media: it is available on demand in seconds or minutes, reduces waste and is less costly for the publisher.

The last of those reasons -- the bit about it requiring less publisher overhead to produce an electronic publication -- has long been touted as a route to readers having access to more titles at cheaper prices. For some time, in the world of books the cost savings seemed to be doing little more than getting shoved into publisher pockets, but in recent years eBook prices have dropped and are expected to continue doing so, making them a value even when compared to the paperback versions of most books.