Penned this for my editorial in Fly Rod & Reel recently and thought I would share it here. My mentality on fly fishing and particular species has changed over the years. I’m more willing to throw for barracuda, carp, bass and sharks than I used to be, having learned that all of those are pretty fun species to try for. I’m not as impressed by walleye or perch, but I’ve Continue reading
Less-Loved Fishes
Posted in Culture
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In Three Years: Walleye Numbers Double in Clark Fork Delta/Lake Pend Orielle
I did a little fly fishing for walleye this summer, including a week-long trip to Ontario for just that purpose; I can’t say they are my new go-to specie. In fact, I failed rather miserably in catching any good size walleye, my best being nothing greater than a 15 or 16-incher. I saw some eight to ten-pounders caught and released, but that was by the gear guys throwing minnows and Continue reading
Posted in Conservation, Idaho
Tagged fly fishing for walleye, invasive walleyes, Lake Pend Orielle walleye
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Major Trout Decline in Idaho’s South Fork Snake River
Idaho’s South Fork Snake is one of my favorite rivers, a place where you can hammer up to 50 native cutthroats a day when the fishing is good, and it’s also a place where you have a legitimate shot at catching a brown trout that stretches well past 24 inches, a fish that might weigh eight pounds or Continue reading
Posted in Conservation, Idaho
Tagged Fly fish in the South Fork Snake, Fly Fishing Idaho, Idaho Falls fishing
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You Write the Caption—2
Shot this photo while sitting in a drift boat on Montana’s Beaverhead River a few years ago. The two culprits in this image are Dan Summerfield, arms spread wide, and Jed Fitzpatrick who runs Sula Fly Fishing and typically guides on Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Montana
Tagged Beaverhead River, Fly fishing photography, Fly Fishing the Beaverhead
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Chris Santella’s 50 Places to Fly Fish—Dream Well My Friends
Winter is a time for dreaming. Short days, long nights. The season makes me pick up books more frequently than I would at other times of the year. During spring, summer and fall, I’m packing the outdoors into every moment, from dawn to dusk when I can. During winter, I relax. Relaxing this winter means going through Chris Santella’s book, Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, again. This is a beautiful little hardbound piece on fly fishing destinations located all over the world. And when I turn through the pages of Fifty Places, I can’t help but feel the travel bug coming on . . . hard. From the Atlantic salmon streams of the Gaspe Peninsula, to the tarpon grounds in the Jardines, from Continue reading
Posted in Books, Culture, Travel
Tagged Chris Santella, Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, Fly Fishing Travel
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Pure Strain California Goldens
This short video on a goal-oriented fishing trip is the kind of thing I like. Worth it? You be the judge, but I always like to go somewhere for a reason, and golden trout definitely give reason to the adventurous angler. Hey, watching this might be a signal to join the health club or modify the diet, or both, so you, too, can access the western high country when the snow melts in July. Just don’t do it today. East until you think you’ll die. You owe it to that turkey. Pass the gravy, please.
Driftboat Trailering Safety 101
My good friend Robert Eddins owns Ro Drift Boats and knows a thing or two about getting there and back with a boat intact. Not long ago I asked him for some hints on pulling a boat safely and responded with the Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Gear
Tagged How to tow a drift boat, pulling trailers safely, RO Drift Boats, Robert Eddins
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You Write the Caption 1
Starting a fun little game here and the idea came to me while perusing my image bank the other day. Just started seeing all these old images that made me laugh, many of them bringing back classic memories. I could easily write the accurate captions but I thought it would be fun for the AT army to have a crack at it. In advance, I appreciate Continue reading
A Conversation with Kelly Galloup of Slide Inn, Montana
Interviewed and then penned this piece a while back for Fly Rod & Reel, and I figured it’s worth repeating here as there is good information, plus a couple laughs to get out of this. As you know, I used to live in Ennis, Montana and spent some time (meaning a lot of time) around the Slide and Raynolds Bridge, throwing down on those fast-water browns and rainbows. When the light faded Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Flies
Tagged Kelly Galloup Madison River, Kelly Galloup streamers, Slide Inn Montana
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Tongass transition out of old-growth logging stalled
As all of you probably know by now, southeast Alaska and the Tongass National Forest are part of my soul. I love the area and hope that all of its best attributes can be protected. Unfortunately, here’s some new words on how our United States Forest Service is hacking the Tongass to death. Read on in a report from Continue reading