In late September I got back from one of the most epic adventures of my life, a moose hunt in northern Manitoba. I’ve wanted to hunt moose for most of my life and just couldn’t draw a tag in Montana and I can’t really afford the $13,000 price tag that a trip to Alaska or the Yukon would require. So when the offer came in to hunt out of Ken Gangler’s North Seal River Lodge I threw all-in. Continue reading
Getting My Manitoba Moose
Alberta, Canada Bans Commercial Fishing
I think this piece is particularly interesting since we have commercial fishing going on at Flathead Lake in Montana, and it serves the same market as Alberta did. This is probably good news for the folks at Mountain Lake Fisheries in Whitefish as the demand for their product likely goes up. It’s kind of sad to see some of the commercial fisheries going away, mostly because it indicates poor management of fish species and the loss of traditional methods of existence. I’m not much of a caviar guy so this doesn’t influence Continue reading
This Sucks! Tongass Old Growth Being Slashed
I was perusing Trout Unlimited’s Web site today and saw this mention from Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska, which is one of my favorite places, if not my favorite place, on earth. Unfortunately, logging operations have as much love for the place as I do. But their interest lies in tearing the living crap out of the place. That’s why it’s so disheartening to learn that the U.S. Forest Service is selling off a large tract of old-growth forest along a healthy salmon stream. Here’s a teaser from the TU story.
This week’s news that the U.S. Forest Service has issued a contract for a large old-growth timber sale on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is disappointing to a wide range of Americans, including sport and commercial fishermen, hunters, tourism operators and visitors to this remote, salmon-rich region. It’s a giant step backwards from the direction the federal agency should be heading in managing the nation’s largest and wildest national forest. READ MORE
Idaho’s B-Run Steelhead to Arrive in Good Numbers
If you haven’t already been slinging for Idaho steelhead, you may want to do so soon. October is prime time on the Snake and Clearwater rivers and it can be pretty good on the Salmon, too. According to managers, the B-run of steelhead headed for and arriving in the Clearwater River is above average and should provide good options this year. Unfortunately, those fish will have to swim around tribal nets in Washington and Oregon to get there. Here are the details, straight from the Columbia Basin Bulletin. Regardless of the netting, again, October Continue reading
The Egg and Tail
I’ve written about fall and spring fishing and my favorite setup during those times, but it’s worth reiterating especially after the communication I’ve had with a friend over the past few days. The setup I’m talking about is the GIE (Greg’s Incredible Egg) trailed by a size-18 standard Pheasant Tail nymph). Fish this on any trout stream in the country during fall and you are likely to meet with success. To catch trout, fish it under an indicator and pinch the proper amount of split shot to the leader to quickly get that offering to the bottom. The conversation with my friend, Nate Schweber, a writer for the New York Times and author of the book Fly Fishing Yellowstone National Park (pictured above with his Madison fish) went like this:
Friend: Greetings from your old home of Ennis, where flows the Madison, the river that has given me more days of zero fish than Continue reading
Deschutes Steelhead Turns On
Got some reports of late from Oregon’s legendary Deschutes, and although fishing can be hit or miss any day of the season, right now there are plenty of hits being had.
One friend said he fished the mouth recently and in one evening he and a buddy had 19 fish come to the fly. My friend had 11 to his; they either swirled on it or missed or eat. He hooked up on eight of those and landed three. After the experience he said, “I will probably not catch a steelhead again.”
So, this is all to say that if you’ve been thinking about steelhead and the in particular the Deschutes, it might be time to scurry that way. Why wouldn’t you?
Posted in Oregon, Spey, Steelhead, Uncategorized
Tagged Deschutes River Steelhead, Fly fishing Oregon steelhead
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Buy the YETI Hopper, now available
So, I feel like some of the gear posts that people make online and in print are made public hwaaay too fast and the product doesn’t really have time to prove itself to the reviewer. I’ve been pretty tame on this site and on reviews, especially, for a while now, mostly because I have a lot of great product in my hands and I want do it and you justice. So I’ve been biding my time, making sure that I learn as much as I can about the product before I Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Gear
Tagged Best Soft-sided coolers; best coolers, Buy Yeti Hopper, Yeti Coolers
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Fall Issue of Fly Rod & Reel
Just wrapped up the fall issue and it’s hitting newsstands now. I think we put together another great read with the most varied mix of content in the fly-fishing genre. This issue features our Angler of The Year choice, which is Scott Hed who runs point on the Pebble Mine project and may have saved Bristol Bay from consumptive interests. We also feature our Robert Traver Award winner, which is Jerry Hamza. He penned a piece on a solo adventure in Ontario, the kind of winging-it trip that all dedicated fly fishers dream of. Speaking of Ontario, I wrote an Angler’s Journal column on Ontario and a trip I took there in June. I tried to catch a world record walleye and you’ll have to read the piece to see if I succeeded. What else? Ted Leeson on cold weather gear. Our annual Kudo awards for the best gear of the year. Dave Hughes on a fly called the Muddler Daddy. Classic Gierach. And first-time contributor Crai Bower on billfish. This issue is loaded. I hope you enjoy the read. Let me know what you think of the mag. Thanks. GT
Anglers Banned From British Columbia’s Skeena River
The news isn’t good out of British Columbia as a recent court ruling gave the Gitxsan Treaty Society the ability to do whatever they want with pieces of land along the Skeena River, which is one of the best places in the world to fly fish for steelhead. The impacts to lodge owners, anglers, and the fisheries could be significant. Here’s a detailed report from the Globe and Mail on the decision Continue reading
Posted in British Columbia, CANADA, Conservation, Industry
Tagged Skeena River fishing ban, Skeena River steelhead
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EPA’S Preliminary Decision on Bristol Bay—Commendable
Here’s a quick update on the state of Bristol Bay and our ongoing fight against a massive mine that threatens the future of our most important salmon rivers.
Hunting and Angling Community Commends EPA on Use of Clean Water Act to Protect Bristol Bay, Alaska
Anchorage, AK – Today’s Environmental Protection Agency announcement of its proposed determination to protect Bristol Bay using Section 404c of the Clean Water Act elicited praise from a vast coalition of more than 1,100 sporting groups and businesses opposed to proposed mining operations that threaten Continue reading
Posted in Alaska, Conservation, Northwest
Tagged Alaska Fly Fishing, Bristol Bay salmon fishing, Save Bristol Bay
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