Articles

How to execute an effective figure-eight

Tips on how to make the most of this essential musky-chasing tactic

by Matthew Reilly - Thursday, Nov 7th, 2019

Photo: Matt Reilly

If you’ve spent any time around musky anglers, you’ve likely heard days measured in “follows”, “eats”, and, sometimes, actual fish in the boat. The elusive musky’s tendency to follow flies to the boat without striking is part of what makes them so frustratingly elusive and captivating. To combat this habit, Esox anglers regularly employ a boatside technique known as the figure-eight to convert those following fish into hooked and, hopefully, bagged fish.

12 tips for staying warm and safe when fishing in winter

Warm means safe when out on icy winter waters

by Chris Hunt - Wednesday, Nov 6th, 2019

Photo: Wesley White

It was brutally cold last week here in eastern Idaho and on the rivers of Yellowstone Country. One night last week, I huddled next to the fire inside while, outside, the mercury bottomed out at minus-22 degrees. It’s a bit early to be seeing such cold weather, but if you’re going to fish in the fall in the northern Rockies, you better be prepared for it.

And this time of the year is a great time to be out chasing trout. Winter doesn’t have to get in the way of that.

Want to try squirrel hunting? Here's how to get started.

Locavore 101: Putting your own (squirrel) meat on the table

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Monday, Oct 28th, 2019

Photo: Johnny Carrol Sain

Honey-colored light filters through the hardwoods on this, the first cool morning of the season. The hickory leaves, near chartreuse as newborns in April, are a tired olive after the sear of summer. It’s a transitionary shade, the first subtle strokes from autumn’s palette. Soon they’ll turn vibrant orange, fairly glowing amid the rusty browns, reds, and purples of the oaks.

Hidden in the forest canopy, I hear a gray squirrel’s incisors — those robust teeth that are the calling-card and tool of trade for the rodents — cutting through the thick hull of a hickory nut.

Scott, Sage, Simms and Scientific Anglers headline 'Best of Show' winners at IFTD 2019

Check out the full list of IFTD 2019's award winners

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Oct 21st, 2019

Scott Fly Rod's Jim Bartschi and Theresa Van Nooten accepting the overall "Best of Show" award for Scott's new Sector series of fly rods (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Every annual International Fly Tackle Dealers (IFTD) show is a momentous event, but this year's gathering was particularly notable given that it is the first time in many year's that the fly fishing industry has gathered on its own. After 6 years of partnership with the American Sportfishing Association's ICAST show, which brought the fly fishing industry and the conventional fishing industry together under one enormous roof, this year IFTD was back on its own back in its previous home of Denver, Colorado.

The dead drift

It is the ultimate challenge in all of fly fishing

by Mike Sepelak - Thursday, Oct 17th, 2019

Photo: Joe Cummings

A shadow moves slightly as the trico imitation rides the currents towards its holding place. The trout lies suspended in a pillow of water that’s eddying in front of a mid-stream boulder, watching for food in the faster flow on either side, ready to eat. It starts to rise as the fly approaches the soft spot but at the last second the leader tightens and pulls the tiny mayfly a fraction of an inch off-line, perpendicular to the flow. Startled by the unnatural movement, the fish spooks, turns into the faster water and is gone.