You only need a minute and forty-six seconds to take a lungful of air and refresh your late Monday attitude. This short is from Travis Lowe, our Canadian brother who owns Cinema Digital Production. I’ve fished the Skagit, where these images were taken, in the Washington state portion of the river. And I’ve taken some really nice dollies/bull trout. This film is shot in the Canadian portion of the Skagit, upstream from Ross Dam, an easy one-day in and out for Vancouver area anglers. Hey, there are steelhead about and that’s probably what you want to focus on this time of year, but these bull trout are pretty sick, too, native fish that eat well. And you won’t find as many people pursuing them so you can pretty much have the water to yourself. Thanks to Lowe for his permission to run this clip. He keeps sending ’em and we’ll keep posting them. Let him know what you think.
Bull Trout on the Skagit
Memories from Haida Gwaii
Thought I’d throw a little Monday morning photographic love your way and share some images from paradise. See, it’s February now, and in the Pacific Northwest that means the best steelhead of the year are about to arrive—native winter slabs that range between eight and 30 pounds. I had a chance to visit the Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, a few years ago and this is what I came up Continue reading 
Tonic, Redington & Sage Geocache: Find it first
Want a new XL Redington shirt, plus a cool gray Redington hat, along with a couple Sage stickers and an Angler’s Tonic sticker? Here’s what you do. You get yourself a GPS if you don’t already own one, or you use your smart phone’s GPS device, and you put the chips and guac down and you head to the outskirts of Missoula Continue reading 
Hatch Joins Team Tonic
Wanted all of you to know that Hatch Outdoors just came onboard to support Angler’s Tonic for another full year. If you’re not familiar with Hatch products you better click on the new ad (——>) and take a perusal. I’ll be getting a pair of their Tempest pliers to use and review. Also put in an order for the 3 Plus Finatic so that my daughter, Tate, and I can put it to the test this spring and summer. Having fished Hatch reels for, what, six or seven years now, I Continue reading 
Drink of The Week: Dirty Martini
The exact origin of the Dirty Martini is unknown, but like all martinis it quickly grew in popularity after Ian Flemming published the James Bond book, Casino Royal, in 1953.
I was first introduced to the drink in Sun Valley, Idaho, back in 1996, I believe, when a girlfriend, Tyra Karlson, ordered up a couple of those in the Casino, an SV institution where locals hung out and searched for trouble.
The thing tasted so good I had another, but Continue reading
ShutterBugs: Travis DuBois
Often during July in Alaska, where I grew up, my family would slide our jetboat into the clear waters of my home river somewhere between eight and 10 p.m. Even at that time the summer sun lit up the sky so my dad would teach me to pilot the boat on our way to a favorite grayling spot. We Continue reading 
The Aces of Spey
In the early-2000s I was engaged to an Oregon girl who’s father was a rabid Northwest flyfisher. Appealingly, he owned a cabin on British Columbia’s Kispiox River and showed me photos of several 30-pound steelhead he’d caught there.
When I told friends about the engagement they said, “Sweet, Thomas…the Kispiox!” That’s an indication Continue reading
Bluefin Tuna Sells for $736,700
I’m not sure whether the recent sale of a bluefin tuna for a record $736,700 is good or bad news for the specie. Bluefins are one of the coolest fishes finning on the planet and they’re also one of the most coveted because they grow to a thousand pounds or more and, for seafood lovers, they taste awesome. Japan has Continue reading
Take Giants and Point Spread in Super Bowl XLVI
Alright, the New England Patriots are favored by 2.5 points in Super Bowl XLVI, but I’m telling you to bet the Giants. That’s what I’m going to do and here’s why:
If you would have asked me if the Giants were going to be in the Super Bowl last fall I would have said no way because my Seattle Seahawks beat the Giants in week five. I remember thinking how bad the Giants must have been to get smacked by the ‘hawks during yet another down year for my home team. And then Continue reading
Deeter’s 10 Rudest Rivers
Tonic friend and fellow editor Kirk Deeter just penned his pick for America’s rudest rivers, meaning those waters with a habit of treating anglers badly. I have my opinions that include every steelhead stream flowing into Puget Sound in Washington state, but I could add to that list from the northern Rockies, where I live.
How about the lower Bitterroot the other day, in Continue reading
								