Articles

Smith's new ChromaPop Glass Polarchromic Lenses are worth paying attention to

New lens tech in the world of sunglasses doesn't come around often

by Hatch Magazine - Friday, Jun 14th, 2024

The new ChromaPop Glass Polarchromic Lenses from Smith (photo: Smith Optics).

Truly meaningful product news in the world of sunglasses comes few and far between. Often, years go by in between impactful product releases. Sunglass makers do their best to fill the gaps in between, mostly by releasing new styles and frame designs. While frame construction definitely matters — frames play a big role in fit, comfort, coverage, durability and more — lenses are the real engine of every pair of quality sunglasses on the market.

Go deep for early season pike

Early pike fishing can be some of the best of the year, if you know where to find them

by Chris Hunt - Wednesday, Jun 12th, 2024

Photo: Chris Hunt

My friend Hardy Ruf is a big proponent of early-season pike fishing. As the owner and operator of Dalton Trail Lodge in the Yukon, he’s always suggested that I visit in early June, just to see how good the pike fishing can be.

“The earlier the better,” he says. “For pike, you can’t go too early.”

Alaskan rivers are turning orange

Melting permafrost is changing the makeup of some Alaskan rivers, in some cases disappearing fish species in the process

by Liz Kimbrough - Monday, Jun 10th, 2024

A tributary of the Kugororuk River runs orange in 2023 (photo: Josh Koch / USGS).

Dozens of once-pristine rivers and streams in Alaska’s Brooks Range are turning an alarming shade of orange. The discoloration, according to a new study published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, is likely caused by the thawing of permafrost, which is exposing previously frozen minerals that are now leaching into the waterways.

Do what the river tells you to do

Talking fly fishing, conservation, and more with Craig Mathews

by Hatch Magazine - Wednesday, Jun 5th, 2024

Craig Mathews at The School of Trout (photo: Jeremy Roberts / Conservation Media).

Craig Mathews got his start in the fly-fishing business when he and his wife Jackie opened Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone in 1980, and over the next three to four decades, they established their company as one of the nation’s most highly regarded fly shops. Along the way, Craig authored and co-authored many books on fly fishing, including The Yellowstone Fly-Fishing Guide, Simple Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing the Madison, Fly Patterns of Yellowstone, Fishing Yellowstone Hatches, and Western Fly-Fishing Strategies.

Where there's water

Even in the most unlikely of places, we fish

by Chris Hunt - Tuesday, Jun 4th, 2024

Photo: Chris Hunt

It’s a short distance from the trailhead to the lake, but it’s a bitch of a hike. A straight-up thigh-buster. But at least you’re out of the damn truck and relieved to discover no permanent damage to your “jiggly parts.” The hike, believe it or not, is the easiest part of getting here. No matter how you try to sugarcoat it, you’re two hours off the pavement and well into the sticks by the time you make that final uphill push into the “pine” portion of the Pine Forest Range of northern Nevada.