Articles

Warm on the water: Layering for longer winter fishing days

Staying warm, safe and comfortable means longer winter days on the water

by Hatch Magazine - Thursday, Jan 30th, 2020

Patagonia's River Salt Jacket, R1 Full-Zip Hoody and Swiftcurrent waders (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Staying warm when fishing during harsh winter conditions means staying safe, but it also means staying on the water longer. And while self preservation might not be ingrained in all anglers, the desire to log more hours on the water typically is. But staying both safely warm and comfortable while outdoors and active during wintertime can sometimes be complicated.

Mississippi highs and lows

Plans conjured from afar are best printed on cork

by Shane Townsend - Tuesday, Jan 28th, 2020

Sun bursts through storm clouds off the coast of Gulfport, Mississippi (photo: Johnny Marquez).

Catch a tripletail on a fly rod: That’s the plan. But as anyone who's spent a year south of I-10 knows: plans conjured from afar are best printed on cork so at least they'd float.

At oh-my-God-it's-early, we bark tires out of south Austin headed east by southeast in a hurry. If we do well and get lucky, we’ll get to the boat slip in time for a couple hours chasing tripletail before night falls. And, I’ll see the sun set on my home of Mississippi as a tourist for the first time.

Iconic mayfly populations have declined by as much as 84 percent

Scientists studying mayflies using weather radar have discovered dramatic population declines

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Jan 23rd, 2020

Hexagenia limbata (photo: James. St. John / cc2.0).

The emergence of Hexagenia limbata mayflies, throughout the Great Lakes and parts of the mid-Atlantic region, is nearly a religious event in angling circles. Each year in early June, these enormous mayflies blanket the landscape, emerging by the billions each night, smothering waterways, riverbanks, roadways and more with thousands of tons of trout-candy biomass.

Searching for the right on climate

Balancing the practical and the ethical in combatting climate change

by Chris Madson - Wednesday, Jan 22nd, 2020

Climate change means more than drought; in many places it means unprecedented flooding. These cars are mired in the high water of the 2019 Missouri River floods (photo: Notley Hawkins).

“It was a great trip,” Christine said. “You can’t really appreciate Alaska until you’ve been there, and the scenery along the Alcan has to be seen to be believed. We had a great time. Still, it was an 8,500-mile round trip.” There was a pause on her end of the call. “It’s hard not to feel guilty. . . . How do you deal with that kind of thing?”

The Perdigon nymph: Don't call it a pellet fly

Let others snub their nose at this buggy, creative nymph while you're busy catching tons of fish with it

by Chris Hunt - Tuesday, Jan 21st, 2020

A victim of the Perdigon nymph (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Let’s get this out of the way first. The Perdigon nymph that has taken over competition fly fishing, thanks to both Spanish and French Euro-nymphers, has officially found its way to the four corners of the trout-fishing universe.