Articles

Momentum grows for new thinking about river restoration

An unconventional gathering helped spur ideas to speed the pace and scale of river restoration projects across the West

by Juliet Grable - Friday, Jun 2nd, 2023

Logjam on the Salmon River in Oregon (photo: Sam Beebe / cc2.0).

Brian and Pat Robertson first noticed something wrong nearly 30 years ago. A stream called Little Bear Creek ran through their property in northern Idaho, but the waterway had long ago been altered during a logging operation and essentially functioned as a ditch, carrying water swiftly away from the valley. Trees were dying; the water table was dropping; neighbors were digging dry wells. After consulting with Natural Resources Conservation Service and touring several Forest Service restoration projects in Oregon, the Robertsons decided to take the creek back to Stage Zero.

Florida guides, anglers block made-for-TV tarpon tournament

How a joint effort by Florida guides, anglers, and conservation organizations stopped a proposed tarpon tournament series

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Jun 1st, 2023

Photo: Dr. Aaron Adams.

The fishing and guiding community in South Florida banded together earlier this year to help put a stop to three proposed tarpon-fishing tournaments that would have operated under the auspices of the Sport Fishing Championship (SFC) series. According to guides and captains, the proposed tarpon series just isn’t the right fit for South Florida — and it may never be welcomed to the area.

3 tandem rigs for fly fishing creeks

Multi-fly rigs to up your chances for success on small water

by Spencer Durrant - Tuesday, May 30th, 2023

Photo: Spencer Durrant

I enjoy fishing creeks because they’re easy on anglers. When creek fishing, there’s typically less of a need for analytical thinking and technically-perfect drifts. The tradeoff, of course, is that the trout in most creeks aren’t all that big.

Gear we love right now: May 2023

What's working on and off the water, right now

by Hatch Magazine - Saturday, May 27th, 2023

Photo: Farbank Enterprises.

Fly anglers are overloaded with gear choices—rods, reels, boots, waders, lines, packs, bags, boxes, vests, apparel and more. It seems harder and harder to know what's worth coveting and what's worth ignoring. Gear reviews are a great way to explore in-depth 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. With that in mind, we periodically showcase what's working for us right now, to hopefully offer more helpful feedback on gear that's worth a second look.

Simple nymphing: Part 2

Getting the drift

by Todd Tanner - Wednesday, May 24th, 2023

Photo: Todd Tanner

In Simple Nymphing: Part 1, I focused on several basic nymph fishing truths and then delved into the easiest and most effective way to set up a nymphing rig. To summarize those truths:

First, you need to present appropriate flies to a trout, or to likely looking water, at the right depth, and without drag or unnatural movement.

Then you need to detect the strike and set the hook before the fish expels your nymph.

That’s nymphing in a nutshell. We can make it far more complicated, of course, but there’s really no reason to add additional levels of complexity unless we’re looking for a challenge or we’re drawn to complexity for its own sake.