A Chilliwack fisherman thought the steelhead he hooked last week on the Vedder River would make a fine supper before he cut it open to find its body stuffed with garbage.
Jordan Butt, 32, said he felt “disgusted” by what he found Feb. 13: Shards of blue, orange, black and white plastic, some the size of a loonie, perforating the Continue reading
I’m not a guy who likes to focus on doom and gloom, except when I haven’t had a hit from a steelhead in a week and I’m standing in a river in the rain for what seems like no reason, but I had to share this with you. This little trailer, sponsored by Trout Unlimted and Patagonia, and sent to me from Mark Hieronymus, who’s the sportfish Continue reading
Recently I’ve started tying flies again, not on a big scale level, but a few here and there, mostly nymphs, eggs and worms, the staple of any Rocky Mountain fly fisher’s spring arsenal. I also dug out the vice and materials so that my daughters could be creative, too. If you haven’t introduced your kids to tying you’re definitely missing out.
Anyway, all of this got me to thinking about how I got started in tying and the books that Continue reading
Most Montana anglers would agree that the Bitterroot River is one of the state’s most dangerous floats, mostly because the riverbed changes each year and scads of woody debris clogs some portions of the river. To put it bluntly, you have to be pretty good on the sticks, especially during spring and early summer, to navigate the river safely.
On top of that, the Bitterroot contains a side channel with a diversion dam that has, over the years, wreaked havoc on Continue reading
Nothing like puppies, unless you are the one who has to take care of 11 of them by yourself. This picture shows just the yellow part of the equation from a litter my black lab, Shadow, had back in the 1990s. Some of you probably remember seeing images of my other dog, Moose, in magazines and books, and many of you probably met him on the river. He’s in this picture, too. These dogs Continue reading
When you’re in the fly-fishing business winter isn’t called winter, it’s called “Show Season.”
Between December and April most lodges and guide services hit at least one or two shows and some of them hit many more, ranging from New Jersey all the way to Lynwood, Washington, and all points between. If you are like me, you hit one or more of these shows, as a consumer, each year. I’ve been Continue reading
Montana’s Big Hole River is probably my favorite, for too many reasons to list here. However, I will offer a couple: first, it offers the opportunity to catch a mega brown or rainbow trout on any given cast, it seems like the epicenter of a great drink, the Moscow Mule, and, especially on its upper end, anglers can catch native grayling.
But the grayling’s hold in the Big Hole is tenuous, has been for a long time. The river Continue reading
It may have felt like spring around Montana yesterday, and it looks like we’ll see temperatures in the 50s by the coming weekend, but it’s still winter and the fish know it. I’ve heard good reports of late from the Madison, Rock Creek, the Bitterroot, and the Bighorn, and there’s no reason to think that that trend won’t continue on those streams and many others into the foreseeable future. That means, if you aren’t Continue reading
I think one of the best things about fly-fishing is getting out in the country to see all there is to see. And part of that, for me, is wildlife. I love watching animals and have, some would say, wasted a good portion of my life wandering around watching animals do what they do. I’ve seen wolves take down an antelope, hawks take out band-tailed pigeons, watched whales nearly beach themselves while rubbing barnacles off their bellies, and I watched a friend use a porcupine as a target one day. This was the outcome of that great idea. The only reason we got his hat back is because I ran out into the sagebrush with Continue reading
You won’t know how badly you needed one of these Yeti Ramblers until you get one in your hands and fill it with whatever strikes you as the perfect beverage at that moment. One-hundred degree day and you’re cruising up some dusty dirt road in the middle of nowhere in that old Chevy without AC? Or is it the middle of winter steelhead season and cold enough to freeze your eyelids together, not to mention your family jewels off? No matter. This Rambler (30 oz.) or its brother, the Tumbler (20 oz.), keeps liquid hot or cold (especially with ice cubes added into the cold equation) for hours. In fact, in some cases you can leave this thing in your rig, fish all day, and come back Continue reading