Articles

The seven deadly sins of fly fishing

Plus a few extra for good measure

by Todd Tanner - Thursday, Apr 22nd, 2021

Avoid the seven deadly sins of fly fishing, and you'll have more chances to put fish like this one in the net (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Let’s say you hope to become a better fly fisher. You want to improve your skills, and catch more trout, and have more fun.

And let’s say you have a chance to ask some of the world’s most acclaimed fly fishers one question. Just one. What would it be? Would you ask them where you should fish, or what fly to use, or which rod to buy? Would you ask about knots, or fly lines, or techniques, or how to improve your casting? Or would Winston Churchill’s admonition that “only wise men learn from their mistakes” echo through your subconscious as you tried to frame your question?

Teaching kids to fly fish

Often, the key to teaching kids to fly fish can be getting out of the way

by Spencer Durrant - Wednesday, Apr 21st, 2021

Photo: Spencer Durrant

I met Laurie, a single mom, and her daughter Ava on a blustery Sunday morning at the mouth of Provo Canyon. They’d booked a half-day of guided fly fishing, and neither of them wanted to reschedule even with the snow forecast for mid-morning.

I don’t mind fishing – or guiding – in inclement weather, but I like giving my clients a choice. They’re paying a fair amount of money for an experience, and it’s my job to make it a good one. Once we’d all said our hellos, we loaded into vehicles and set off for the river.

Haaland begins work of reversing Trump's pro-fossil fuel, anti-climate agenda

New orders reverse a dozen oil and gas-friendly policies, establish Climate Task Force

by Hatch Magazine - Saturday, Apr 17th, 2021

Caribou range on the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (photo: Bob Wick/BLM).

Conservation and environmental groups are lauding an order issued by the newly appointed Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, which reverses a slew of pro-fossil fuel actions enacted by Interior secretaries Ryan Zinke and David Bernhardt during the Trump administration. According to Haaland, the actions of her predecessors were “inconsistent with the department’s commitment to protect public health; conserve land, water, and wildlife; and elevate science.”

Easy-to-tie bonefish flies

Simple, quick-to-tie bonefish flies for your next flats outing

by Chris Hunt - Friday, Apr 16th, 2021

A Bahamas bonefish that fell prey to a gotcha (photo: Chad Shmukler).

It’s amazing what a little vaccine will do for your outlook. I’m due for my second dose of Moderna in the days ahead, and it took me all of a week after my first shot to get online and plan my first flats trip since well before the coronavirus outbreak.

Bahamas, here I come.

Born with this

The last days of the Klamath River dams

by Steve Duda - Wednesday, Apr 14th, 2021

Before heading downstream in search of a wild steelhead, CalTrout’s Mikey Wier takes an unsentimental view of PacifiCorp’s Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath River (photo: Jeremiah Watt).

The Hornbrook Chevron looks like any other place to buy gas, snacks and a fishing license along the I-5 corridor in Northern California. It’s also one of the few businesses still standing in Hornbrook, California (population around 200). For a few hours though, it comes to life because the Chevron parking lot is the unofficial rendezvous point for fly-fishing trips on the upper Klamath River. It’s here that guides meet anglers, coffee chases donuts and steelhead strategies hatch.