Articles

Gearing up

The current state of the art

by Todd Tanner - Sunday, Jun 5th, 2016

Wrangling a bonefish on the Orvis Hydros SL3 reel (photo: Chad Shmukler).

As a fly fishing writer, I always seem to end up with a boat load of new fly fishing gear to look at, and write about. Instead of following the traditional Hatch Magazine route and offering a detailed look at one particular rod or pair of waders, I wanted to share my impressions on the most notable products I’ve run across since last fall.

Sunfish

Teacher, savior, dinner

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Thursday, Jun 2nd, 2016

Photo: Johnny Carrol Sain

Sunfish are my practice fish.

While a blast on the fly rod, they don’t trigger the dump of adrenaline that a bass does. This is more an indictment of my calloused system than the fish, but it is what it is. The sunfish plucking tiny poppers from the scummed surface of a local farm pond elicit a deliberate reaction from me.

It wasn’t always like this.

Blood sacrifice

Heaven and hell in search of pre-runoff brook trout on the edge of Yellowstone

by Chris Hunt - Wednesday, Jun 1st, 2016

Photo: Rueben Browning

It was to be a stealth operation, quickly arranged and executed.

On a brilliant mid-May afternoon, I just couldn’t help myself. Punctuated by the knowledge that the sun is setting later, I knew it was feasible, after a day spent toiling over the the computer, to drive a bit farther and see if that little-known brook trout stream on the shoulders of the Pitchstone Plateau had cleared up enough to make a few casts possible.

Stoned

Big bugs, big fish and the big buzz that goes with them

by Kris Millgate - Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

A Lower Deschutes River salmonfly (photo: Arian Stevens).

Both of my boys fished the stonefly hatch before they could walk. That’s my oldest with bulging eyes and bug on hand in the picture below. I can only imagine what’s going on in that brain of his that can’t verbally form cuss words yet.

The rest of us can cuss and always do when we miss a fish, but the beauty of the stonefly hatch is you won’t miss much. Fat fish are eyes up in feast frenzy fashion when you hit the hatch just right.

Wilderness carp

Confessions of a carp bum

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, May 26th, 2016

Photo: Chris Hunt

I rested my river-chilled feet on the warm rocks of the small campfire, an iced gin-and-tonic spritzer in hand, helping me push the season as quickly as I could. The desert, lush and alive this time of year, cascaded my little camp with a chorus of wild tunes ranging from the shrill aria of the mud swallows to the cacophony of hoots, grunts and whistles from the waterfowl padding through the shallow waters just a few dozen feet away.