Articles

5 favorite Euro nymphs for late fall and winter

Simple, effective patterns that will thin out your fly box and catch fish

by George Daniel - Thursday, Oct 20th, 2022

Photo: George Daniel.

As fall foliage begins to peak here in central PA, I find this time of year has the opposite effect on insect life on many of my favorite trout streams. Peak insect hatches are all but over except a constant supply of midge activity, which can keep the hardcore winter angler busy throughout the colder months. Although I do miss the vast amounts of insects to imitate while nymphing, I do enjoy the minimalistic transformation my fly box takes as fall turns into winter. This is when I carry only one nymph box and even that box may only have several dozen patterns in total.

River deltas are running out of land

Estimates of many deltas’ stabilities in the face of sea level rise were overly optimistic

by J. Besl - Wednesday, Oct 19th, 2022

Many river deltas, such as the Mississippi delta, are not getting enough sediment to sustain the current amount of dry land. (photo: Claudia Weinmann/Alamy Stock Photo).

Millions of people live on river deltas, occupying land that exists in the delicate balance between a river’s push and the ocean’s pull. Deltas are inherently transient, but according to a new study, many may be even more precarious than once thought, with unexpectedly high levels of land loss threatening to submerge these low-lying landscapes.

Saving trout from climate change by giving them a new home

The National Park Service is seeking comments on a project to relocate threatened fish species

by Chris Hunt - Friday, Oct 14th, 2022

Releasing a wild, native westslope cutthroat trout (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Could introducing sensitive trout and char into a previously fishless lake in the Glacier National Park high country be key to preserving the fish as climate change continues to close its grip on cold-water fisheries in the northern Rockies?

The National Park Service thinks so, and it’s asking for public comment to do just that in Gunsight Lake, a small, high-mountain lake in the headwaters of the St. Mary River on the east side of the Continental Divide. The St. Mary is the only river in the United States east of the divide that is home to native bull trout.

The rebirth of Icelandic sea trout fishing

A conservation-minded approach to river management is putting European sea-run brown trout fishing back on the map

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Oct 11th, 2022

Casting to sea trout on the Fossalar River in Iceland (photo: Earl Harper).

“So, where are you guys fishing?” the voice rang out from a few stools down.

Anglers have a way of outing themselves, even when in less-than-revelatory settings, like The Lebowski Bar — a touristy watering hole in downtown Reykjavik that pays homage to the iconic movie and character of the same name. A hat or some other piece of garb had given us away, and our pop-in for a Caucasian blossomed into fishing chatter.

Air guns for grownups

Not the BB guns of your youth, modern air guns are hunting weapons

by Chris Hunt - Monday, Oct 10th, 2022

Photo: Chris Hunt

As a kid, I lived for fall and winter pheasant hunting outings with my grandfather and my uncles.

I was too young at the time to man a shotgun, so I, my brothers and my cousins became de facto retrievers. My grandfather grew up along the Nebraska border with Colorado, and he knew every grain and cornfield, and he knew the farmers who owned them. On warmer days during hunting season, we’d ride in the back of Granddad’s old Chevy pickup and slowly cruise the back roads gazing hopefully into borrow pits in hopes of spotting a ringneck.