Articles

Spring Creek

A cast away in Montana

by Tim Schulz - Friday, Feb 23rd, 2024

Photo: Tim Schulz

I’ve always preferred games that mix luck with skill in a way that gives both nearly the same importance. Because of this, I love to play cribbage, but I barely know the rules of chess. Cribbage—like fishing—is a game of chance, but much like the guy who taught us to pasteurize our milk advised us, chance tends to favor the prepared mind. If we are skilled at cribbage, we’ll beat a lesser player more times than not, but we won’t win if we consistently get cards that smell like the inside of a guide’s waders in October.

Scientific anglers debuts all-new Magnitude clear fly lines

With new technologies, SA is aiming to make clear line tradeoffs a thing of the past

by Hatch Magazine - Wednesday, Feb 21st, 2024

Photo: Scientific Anglers.

Clear fly lines have been a subject of debate for about as long as they’ve been around. Some anglers swear by their stealthiness, claiming they provide a serious advantage when pursuing wary flats species like bonefish, permit, and tarpon. Others claim they are overkill or otherwise unnecessary. One thing that most anglers have long agreed on when it comes to clear fly lines is that they come with some significant tradeoffs.

Lead bullets poison wildlife and people

Lead poisoning destroys brain tissue, diminishing motor and cognitive function

by Ted Williams - Friday, Feb 16th, 2024

Photos of standard copper jacketed lead core bullets and solid monolithic copper bullets before and after firing. All fragments recovered were lead (photo: North American Non-Lead Partnership).

“Until they reach the gizzard where the wildfowl grinds his food, these [lead] pellets do no harm, but, when reduced to powder…they become a violent poison.” That timely warning issued from Forest and Stream editor George Bird Grinnell 129 years ago.

28 million acres of Alaska public lands at risk of losing protections

Some of Alaska's wildest and most remote lands are at risk of being opened to fossil fuel and other extractive development

by Hatch Magazine - Tuesday, Feb 13th, 2024

Photo: Fredrik Norsell.

In Alaska, 28 million acres encompassing some of the state’s wildest and most remote swaths of public lands are at risk of losing protections which have kept them safe from extractive development for over half a century.

New fly fishing 'Essential Skills' class announced

The School of Trout announces a brand new offering

by Hatch Magazine - Friday, Feb 9th, 2024

Photo: Todd Tanner

The School of Trout is known for providing in-depth and immersive fly fishing instruction — including its Basic Trout, Spring Creek, Dry Fly, and comprehensive Tao of Trout class — taught by some of the world’s finest and most accomplished fly fishing instructors. These classes, each offered over the course of a week, offer students a healthy mix of classroom and hands-on learning.