Articles

The poster boys of Bears Ears

Public lands perspective at ground zero

by Kris Millgate - Thursday, Jun 8th, 2017

Fly fisher and trail runner Luke Nelson paddles the San Juan River while exploring Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah (photo: Myke Hermsmeyer).

I'm paddling a raft. Luke Nelson is paddling a board. We're both fly fishers from Idaho. We like boulder hopping small tributaries with Tenkara rods, but neither of us have a rod on this trip. We're in Bears Ears National Monument to run dirt and float water. Water that is so sandy, I know a hook set is not in the cards. I'm told native tribes find catfish here. Protected humpback chubs swim the San Juan River too, but with flows at 6,000 cubic feet per second instead of the average 2,000 cfs, the swift current isn't holding patience for casters so we paddle.

Korkers and STLHD intro limited edition wading boots

Only 350 of the steelhead-focused special edition boot will be made

by Ben Kryzinski - Tuesday, Jun 6th, 2017

Photo: Korkers

Fellow Pacific Northwest brands Korkers and STLHD have teamed up to create co-branded version of Korker's best-selling and very popular Devil's Canyon wading boot. The special edition boots will wear the STLHD logo on both the side and back of the boot and will come with a custom sole package intended to meet the needs of Pacific Northwest steelheaders.

A few thoughts on beer

The only reason I’d ever leave home for a day of fishing without it is because I intended to buy it enroute

by Tom Davis - Monday, Jun 5th, 2017

Photo: W.A. Blair

For a number of years Andy Cook and I had a running debate about which tastes better: an ice-cold Kalik after a day of bonefishing in the Bahamas or an ice-cold Labatt’s Blue after an evening of bugging for smallmouth in Ontario. Actually, “debate” probably isn’t the right word; it wasn’t so much that we held opposing views on the subject as that we simply sought to clarify it.

Blowing out the candles

Can we keep the flame burning after Paris?

by Todd Tanner - Saturday, Jun 3rd, 2017

Photo: Gage Skidmore

I’m not sure how many Americans actually paid attention, but Thursday was a rough one for those of us who enjoy the outdoors, who love our kids, and who understand that climate change is a huge threat to our country, our economy and our future.

In case you haven’t heard, Donald Trump stood up in the Rose Garden on Thursday afternoon and announced that the U.S. was pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Watershed people

A farming community unites to restore a small mountain creek

by Matthew Reilly - Friday, Jun 2nd, 2017

Photo: Matthew Reilly

Tossing a concerned gaze downstream, and with a gesturing hand loosely gripping the thick agricultural air of the Shenandoah Valley, Jerry Black, a native and lifelong resident of the Valley, spoke hope for the future of Beaver Creek and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

“This water—all of it—ends up in the Bay, and what we do right here impacts it.”

Such responsible watershed thinking, in an area plagued by environmental transgressions, left me stunned.