Articles

Redfish in the surf

Bruiser reds can be found from the beach, if you know where to look

by Mike Hodge - Thursday, Jun 1st, 2017

James Ferguson of Blackfly Outfitters tangles with a redfish in the Florida surf (photo: Andrew Mizell).

I admit it. I love redfish. Pictures of them adorn my living room wall and kitchen. It doesn’t matter where or when, I will try to find them.

I’ve caught them on the flats and in the river; on high tide and low tide; in spartina grass and turtle grass. Last summer, the surf became my focus.

I heard rumors of reds in the Northeast Florida surf for years, but most of my buddies scoffed at the notion of fishing for reds on the beach. But as it turns out, redfish do indeed make their way to the surf and yes you can catch them on fly.

Largemouth bass on the fly: Tips from the pros

Bass’ accessibility makes it an easy, fun target, particularly for novice fly fishers

by Mike Hodge - Tuesday, May 30th, 2017

Debbie Hanson shows off a bass caught on the fly from her kayak (photo: Pamela Mess).

So far this year, I’ve caught a few largemouth bass, but none of them were worth bragging about. The biggest bass I ever caught was more than 40 years ago on a small mountain pond in North Carolina. The fish probably weighed 5 pounds or so.

Trump's assault on sportsmen continues

New budget takes aim at programs that protect and enrich hunting and fishing

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, May 24th, 2017

Photo: Gage Skidmore

During his first 100 days in office, Donald Trump presided over an administration that has effectively killed the Clean Water Rule—which, to anglers, is quite possibly the single most important piece of legislation in existence—gleefully signed off on the rollback of the Stream Protection Rule, instructed the BLM to prioritize energy extraction over all other activities, initiated a review of 27 of our national monuments with the goal of opening up parts of those public lands to oil and gas development and announced plans to defund the EPA.

G. Loomis intros new guide-driven IMX-PRO fly rods

New rods series designed to meet the needs of modern trout fishing

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017

G. Loomis pro ambassador Ben Hardy totes along a couple of IMX-PRO rods (photo: Red Kulper/G. Loomis).

G. Loomis catapulted itself back into the spotlight last summer with the announcement of the Asquith, its $1,000-plus flagship series which has been showered with accolades. As a follow up, G. Loomis is debuting its new IMX-PRO series of fly rods, which the company says is the result of dozens upon dozens of meetings with guides during which Loomis asked one basic question: what kind of rods do you need for today's trout fishing?

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