Articles

Gear we love right now: November 2019

What's working on the water

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Nov 26th, 2019

Yakima's Double Haul rooftop rod carrier (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Fly anglers are inundated with gear choices—rods, reels, boots, waders, lines, packs, bags, boxes, vests, apparel and more. Each year, it seems harder and harder to know what's worth coveting and what's worth ignoring. Sure, gear reviews are a great way to get a feel for what might be right for you, but not every piece of gear is suited to a full-length review and, even if it were, there's simply too much of it to get to.

Yellowstone lake trout are on the retreat

Millions of dollars and years of eradication efforts are starting to pay off

by Chris Hunt - Monday, Nov 25th, 2019

Photo: Rennett Stowe / cc2.0

Years ago, while doing a series of stories on Yellowstone National Park for my job as an editor/reporter for the Idaho State Journal, I saw my first Yellowstone lake trout. It came from the depths of a deep freeze housed by the National Park Service near Lake Village, and when the park biologist pulled it from the big, white industrial-sized behemoth, I was shocked.

The fish took two hands to hold, and likely stretched the tape well beyond the 30-inch mark.

Trump admin effort to strip forest protections aims to boost corporate profits, not jobs

Groups are urging individuals to speak up for the Tongass National Forest

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Nov 19th, 2019

Angler Kirk Deeter walks through a Tongass National Forest stand not far from Juneau, Alaska (Photo: Earl Harper).

Whether along the southeastern Alaskan mainland or on any of the thousands of islands that fall inside the boundaries of the Tongass National Forest, and within steps of waters where seals, orcas, whales and salmon swim, you're likely to find something you won't find almost anywhere else within the United States: old-growth trees. The Tongass, the largest coastal temperate rainforest on the entire globe, is home to massive, rare old-growth forest stands—where some of the trees are over 800 years old.

Congress must end U.S. trade in shark fins

Federal bill aims to protect fisheries and shrink shark fin markets

by Tom Kiernan - Saturday, Nov 16th, 2019

A juvenile blacktip reef shark (photo: Kris-Mikael Krister / cc2.0)

While the U.S. has passed laws that require sharks to be landed whole, many shark populations continue to plummet, partially because U.S. fishermen and seafood brokers are still trading in fins in an attempt to cash in on demand that threatens sharks worldwide.

The secret to tying articulated streamers

Tie big, bulky articulated streamers more quickly, easily—and better

by Chris Hunt - Wednesday, Nov 13th, 2019

Photo: Chris Hunt

I’m a self-styled fly-tier who’s likely better at imitating fly patterns that, to my repeated surprise, often catch fish, than I am at crafting my own creations.

No, they’re often not pretty. But, generally speaking, they’re pretty enough.