Articles

Polyleaders vs. sink-tips

The lowdown on getting down (and other uses of polyleaders and sink tips)

by Tom Larimer - Monday, Aug 24th, 2015

Photo: Rueben Browning

These days, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the huge selection of equipment on the market and the nuanced worlds of the two-handed fly fisher and streamer angler are no exception. Here we'll place polyleaders and sink-tips under the microscope to help you better understand the choices available and the right time to use each.

Not your father's Salmon River

Can a high-end lodge help change the landscape on the Salmon?

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Aug 12th, 2015

Photo: c/o Tailwater Lodge

The Salmon River is one of the most prolific fisheries in the entire country, with dizzying counts of salmon and steelhead making their way through its waters to spawn each year. Both the Great Lakes record Chinook salmon (47 lbs 13 oz) and the world record Coho salmon (33 lbs 4 oz) were pulled from its waters. For reasons such as these, the Salmon River draws anglers not only from all over the northeastern US, but from all over the globe — which line its autumn-foliage draped and often picturesque banks as it winds its way to Lake Ontario.

Wild steelhead's last best chance

Is Washington finally waking up?

by Jonathan Stumpf - Tuesday, Aug 11th, 2015

Photo: Dave McCoy

If you’ve ever picked up a two-handed fly rod to swing for fish, you’ve undoubtedly heard of a Skagit fly line. Skagit lines are the workhorses of the two-hand world. Burly and strong, these lines do the grunt work and excel at throwing heavy flies and weighty tips. This performance is a fitting homage to the line’s namesake river in Washington state’s North Puget Sound.

High desert monsters

Chasing mammoth brown trout on Patagonia's Rio Limay

by Chris Hunt - Monday, Aug 10th, 2015

No river anywhere in the world may hold more big brown trout than Patagonia's Rio Limay (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Sometimes when we fish with friends, we foster an unspoken, cordial competition. You know, the “first fish, most fish, biggest fish” thing. Being successful at fly fishing means you’re likely doing something right—it’s a technical craft, for the most part, and doing it well is usually important to success. It feels good when you’re doing everything right, when you’ve put together a diverse set of elements into a single successful act, and it’s nice to measure your good fortune against others, particularly if they’re solid anglers.

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