Articles

Yeti Auctioning Off One-of-a-Kind Pink Cooler to Benefit Charity

by Marshall Walker - Friday, Oct 18th, 2013

Yeti Pink Cooler

YETI Coolers is joining the fight against breast cancer by auctioning off a pink version of their Roadie cooler. The premium ice chest is capable of keeping up to 14 cans ice cold thanks to its 2 inches of cold-retaining insulation. The smaller Roadie cooler also features the same tough construction and bear-proof locks as YETI's larger Tundra ice chests, and its "No Sweat Design" stops unwanted messes.

The one of a kind cooler will be auctioned off to raise awareness for the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM), and all proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society.

"This year we made a single pink cooler with the American Cancer Society in mind," says Corey Maynard, YETI marketing director. "We want to raise awareness with our consumers and give back to this important cause."

The Scale of Shale

The impacts of fracking go well beyond water quality

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Oct 16th, 2013

Autumn has come to a stretch of slow water on Pine Creek downstream from its confluence with Slate Run. Several hundred yards away, a water withdrawal pipe is authorized to siphon up to 900,000 gallons of water per day at that site alone (photo: Chad Shmukler).

We turn onto the gas company improved access road and head into one of the many tracts of public, state forest land in Pennsylvania. Our SUV bounces and clatters along through dense stands of mixed deciduous and evergreen forest, gravel from the road kicking up into the truck’s undercarriage. Thanks to the condition of the road, which is without question the most well-maintained state forest access road I’ve ever ventured along, we’re able to carry on at a brisk pace. Nevertheless, we continue on into the forest for 10 or 15 minutes before we reach our destination, an Anadarko natural gas well pad in Pennsylvania’s Pine Creek Valley. From those of us who haven’t previously seen first hand the real-world impacts of gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania, there’s a collective, palpable sense of awe, though for altogether unexpected reasons.

As an angler and a conservationist, environmentalist or any other label I might choose to identify myself as someone who puts a great deal of value on preserving and protecting wild and natural places, especially wild and natural waters, there are a myriad of reasons to be concerned about the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) on these places. The typical reflex is to contemplate the sensational: overturned trucks carrying fracking wastewater, mountain creeks drawn dry by unregulated industry water withdrawal, pristine streams choked by out-of-control sediment resulting from erosion of disturbed forest parcels and so on. And, while all of these threats are real, and have occurred in Pennsylvania to some extent or another, what I encounter when we arrive is in stark contrast to these horror stories.

AFFTA and The Fly Fishing Show Reach Collaborative Agreement

by Marshall Walker - Tuesday, Oct 15th, 2013

AFFTA + Fly Fishing Show Logos

In an effort to increase participation in fly fishing and support the fly fishing industry the American Fly Fishing Trade Association (AFFTA) and the Fly Fishing Show have teamed up to offer AFFTA members more benefits in 2014. The Fly Fishing Show has agreed to give a 10% discount on booth fees to any AFFTA retailer or manufacturer who didn't participate in the trade show in 2013. The AFFTA and Fly Fishing Show are also working on future member benefits for upcoming conventions as part of the cooperative agreement.

"This mutual agreement falls within AFFTA's mission and goals, which include growing demand for fly-fishing products by attracting new participants to the sport and promoting better business practices and professional development opportunities for our members," explained AFFTA president Ben Bulis.

Southern Culture on the Fly Issue #9 Released

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Oct 14th, 2013

Go. See.

The Fall 2013 issue of Southern Culture on the Fly is hot off the digital presses. Most of you are likely already familiar with SCOTF, but those of you who aren't should make yourselves so. Each issue of SCOTF is loaded with the good stuff: killer photography, rich stories and usually some pointers, fly patterns, etc. You get the idea.

This latest issue features topics such as fishing with big, fat hopper patterns, heading north to chase musky and also includes art from Paul Puckett and a photo collection from Captain Joel Dickey that contains some of the most stunning permit and tarpon photography I've ever seen. I keep looking at it over and over again, drooling with jealousy, and have since started boxing up my camera to send it to Canon for calibration. Clearly there's something wrong with it, as I don't think I could bribe it into turning out photos like Dickey showcases in this latest issue of SCOTF.

Scent on Flies: Is it Cheating?

by Chad Shmukler - Friday, Oct 11th, 2013

Are any of these in your gear bag? Will they ever be?

Fly fishing is an ever-evolving sport with an ever-evolving set of rules, conventions and ethics which accompany it. In most areas of the world, what anglers consider everyday fly fishing tactics and techniques have traveled great distances from the dry-fly-cast-upstream-only ethics of England's 19th century chalk streams. Wherever the boundaries of fly fishing lie at one particular time or another, one thing that is certain is that anglers are always looking for ways to push the envelope. Currently, the use of added scents in fly fishing is a controversial topic. Some anglers have chosen to add scented gels and floatants into their arsenal with the simple goal of getting into more fish. Certain scents are known to attract fish and may also be useful in covering up natural and unnatural human odors that may repel fish. Others have been critical of this approach, most often citing the notion that the use of scents takes the "fly" out of "fly fishing", rendering flies little more than new forms of bait. Other opponents flat out call it cheating.

So, what's the reality? Are scents a way of cheating your way into more fish without developing your skills as an angler? Or are they a new and innovative way of expanding the boundaries of our sport that, in time, will be looked upon as a commonly used tactic not unlike other formerly new methods and techniques that were once considered taboo?

We reached out to some of our favorite people in the world of fly fishing (as well as folks that happen to know a thing or two about it) and asked them.