Articles

A blue-winged olive trio

How to fish a blue-winged olive (BWO) hatch

by George Daniel - Thursday, Mar 25th, 2021

An epic BWO hatch on a cold, miserable spring day on Utah's Green River (photo: Anderson Thomas).

Spring provides a fresh start. A rebirth, if you will. Warmer days and greening of the landscape tells me hatches are on the way. For my home waters and countless other trout streams across the country, the blue-winged olive hatch is one of the season’s first, but it’s also one that provides excellent fishing from the top of the river to the bottom. Not all hatches provide this full-column of opportunity—where trout actively feed on nymphs, then emergers, and finally adults.

Is your fly fishing gear ready for the season?

A checklist and maintenance tips to make sure your gear is ready to go when you are

by Ben Kryzinski - Wednesday, Mar 24th, 2021

Photo: Chad Shmukler

If you’re like me, and the one fishing outing you took in January was so cold and miserable that you uttered some semblance of, “I’m too old for this shit,” stowed your gear and waited for spring, now’s the time to pull it out of the closet and get it ready. Spring has sprung across many parts of the country, and it won’t be long until we’re itching to get out and enjoy some fishing with the sunshine on our backs and the fly rod guides free of ice. Having your gear ready to go when you hit the water is a nice way to start a new season.

The flats angler's guide to middle-shelf rum

Forget Kalik, drink the good stuff

by Chris Hunt - Saturday, Mar 20th, 2021

Photo: Chad Shmukler

For a lot of landlocked, would-be flats anglers, the last year or so has made travel to the warm, sunny places where bonefish and permit swim impossible, ill-advised, or otherwise difficult. Like most, I have only been able to fantasize about a flats trip. But, with coronavirus vaccination rates accelerating and pandemic-related restrictions easing, those dreams are inching closer to reality.

Woodcraft

Everything you need to experience natural wonder is in your DNA

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Thursday, Mar 18th, 2021

Photo: Johnny Carrol Sain

As my eyes scanned the tangle of honeysuckle, other communications — a faint, familiar scent carried on the breeze and quick footfalls on dew-softened leaves — told me to be patient and keep watching. Something was coming. And based on this thread of information, I knew it wasn’t a deer; it wasn’t a squirrel. It was likely something canine.

5 tips to help your flies last longer

Tested tips to extend the life of the flies you tie or buy

by Spencer Durrant - Tuesday, Mar 16th, 2021

Photo: Cody Kirbyson

I watched “Mysis Mike” Kingsbury throw a cast upstream to a pod of feeding browns. Mysis Mike’s dry fly disappeared in a swirl, and he waited a full count before firmly lifting his rod, driving the hook point home. His rod buckled and bounced, and I waltzed upstream to see the fish. Blue-winged olives hatched in earnest all around me.

“What fly are you using?” I asked Mike, once he pulled the hook free. He knelt and cradled the big brown — a nice 21-inch trout — in the water, admiring the fish’s pale yellows and bright blues.

“A hook,” Mike replied.