Articles

Yellowstone to reopen north loop July 2, increasing access for anglers

Access to popular fisheries like the Gardiner River and Lamar River Valley streams will remain restricted or limited

by Hatch Magazine - Friday, Jul 1st, 2022

The Yellowstone River seen from the Hellroaring Creek Trailhead, accessed via the park's northern loop, which is slated to reopen July 2 (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Yellowstone National Park, which just over two weeks suffered extensive damage due to record flooding in northern sections, has announced it is opening its northern loop which had been closed to travelers since the flood event. The park also announced that, as a result, it will be doing away with the alternating license plate access system designed to mitigate visitor traffic through the park's western, southern, and eastern entrances.

Fishing the crash

Sand River smallmouth on the lower Wisconsin

by Tom Davis - Wednesday, Jun 29th, 2022

Photo: Kyle Zempel

“This isn’t something you normally say when you’re fly-fishing,” mused Kyle Zempel, “but thank goodness for the wind.”

What Zempel, the proprietor of the Black Earth Angling Company and our guide on this lower Wisconsin River smallmouth trip, meant was that without the wind’s moderating influence, we would have been standing in pools of our own sweat. The midday temperature had climbed into the 90s, and while it’s tempting to call such smothering heat “unseasonable” for Wisconsin in June, the definition of “seasonable,” in this day and age, has become increasingly slippery.

Review: Korkers River Ops BOA wading boots

Improving on Korkers best wading boots yet

by Spencer Durrant - Monday, Jun 27th, 2022

The Korkers River Ops BOA wading boots (photo: Spencer Durrant).

Almost a year ago, I reviewed the original Korkers River Ops boots. If you didn’t read that review at the time it was published, it’s worth referring back to for the nitty gritty on the River Ops design. At the time of the original review, my only notable criticism of the River Ops was that they weren’t available with the BOA lacing system. Now, Korkers has introduced a BOA version of the River Ops, which only improved upon what I think is the best boot Korkers has built to date.

Permanently end old growth logging in America's Salmon Forest, study says

The Tongass National Forest in Alaska stores almost 20 percent of carbon in the entire U.S. National Forest system

by John Cannon - Sunday, Jun 26th, 2022

Photo: Earl Harper

The Tongass National Forest in the U.S. state of Alaska is a special place for conservation biologist Dominick DellaSala, even after decades of traveling the world to study temperate rainforests.

“The trees are enormous,” DellaSala, chief scientist at the Earth Island Institute’s World Heritage project, told Mongabay. “It’s like being in a cathedral. It’s an amazing place.”

How to salvage your Yellowstone National Park fishing trip

A bevy of trophy trout alternatives to Yellowstone fisheries off-limits for 2022

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Jun 23rd, 2022

Photo: Chris Hunt

The historic flooding that has shuttered the northern half of Yellowstone National Park, likely for the season, might have also put a damper on some serious fly fishing plans for anglers who come from far and wide to chase wild trout within the park.

UPDATE (JULY 1, 2002): The National Park Service has announced important updates to closures within Yellowstone National Park.