Articles

USFWS seeks to expand Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Under a new proposal, new refuge lands would be acquired from willing sellers

by Chris Hunt - Saturday, Oct 19th, 2024

An alligator in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (photo: Tim Parkinson / cc2.0).

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a proposal to add approximately 22,000 acres to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southern Georgia, opening the door for land buyout negotiations with willing sellers.

First salmon in 112 years return to upper Klamath River

In the wake of dam removals, salmon make their way upriver

by Chris Hunt - Friday, Oct 18th, 2024

Chinook salmon spotted in an upper Klamath River tributary (photo: ODFW).

The first salmon seen in southern Oregon’s Klamath River basin since 1912 was spotted this fall in a Klamath River tributary some 230 miles from the Pacific. The fish, a wild Chinook, is the first documented fish to venture into the upper river since four dams on the mainstem Klamath were removed over the course of the last several years.

Abel Reels introduces new collab with ... Nike NOCTA and Drake?

A new, mold-breaking collaboration

by Hatch Magazine - Wednesday, Oct 16th, 2024

The new Abel x Nike NOCTA reels on display at Nike's recent Manhattan event (photo: Abel Reels).

Collaborations between gear brands, colloquially referred to as “collabs,” are ubiquitous these days. Most aren’t particularly noteworthy and as a general rule, we don’t often report on product updates or variations that are merely aesthetic — new colorways, styles, or collabs. Every once in a while, however, such an update comes along that prompts us to make an exception to that rule, one that’s impossible to ignore.

Review: Hardy Averon fly reel

A new favorite from Hardy

by Spencer Durrant - Saturday, Oct 12th, 2024

Photo: Alex Stulce.

Hardy seems to cycle through its product lineup quicker than many other manufacturers. I have a wonderful 9’9” 3-weight Ultralite LL rod that’s no longer produced, and their excellent FWDD reel was a flash in the pan for just a few years. That FWDD reel is light, smooth, and has just the right amount of pre-set drag stops for most trout fishing. I fish it on my 2 and 3-weight rods, and I’ve always wished I’d have bought one in a 5-weight size.

The most important man in Patagonia

The making of one of the world's premier trout fisheries

by Chris Hunt and Chad Shmukler - Friday, Oct 11th, 2024

Gaucho Jorge Martel Martinez (photo: Earl Harper).

The Rio Blanco rises from a series Andean glacial lakes high in the Aysen region of Patagonia. It’s a river born of ice and rock, and it slices through imposing, tall country before it throws itself into a tight basalt canyon deep in the heart of Chile’s Valdivian rainforest, creating a frothy morasse of nearly impassable rapids and waterfalls that have confounded river runners for decades. Most simply deem the canyon run of the Rio Blanco “unrunnable” and look for friendlier water.