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Voices from the River: Keeping secrets
By Toner Mitchell I once wrote an article for a fly fishing mag about a stream that at least one person thought should be kept a secret. This man (in my experience, women generally wait until they know someone better before labeling them a term that rhymes with “mooshrag”) claimed that my article would attract…
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Trout Tips: Up or down? Dry or wet?
It's OK to have a plan to fish a stretch of water. Just be ready to change it if the river tells you something different. Photo by Chris Hunt How you approach a stretch of trout water depends largely on how you intend to fish it. Generally speaking, if you're planning to swing streamers, fishing…
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Voices from the River: Whitefish
The underappreciated mountain whitefish. Photo by Chris Hunt. By Eric Booton With a trip to Montana on the books for a wedding, I immediately began penciling out how I could optimize my time with the groom, my family and seek out new finned friends in some remarkable rivers with my wife. The famed waters of…
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Gear Test: The Redington ZERO reel
Small-stream trout reels really don't need to be fancy. They just need to be dependable, hold line and pick up slack as needed. Drag? Virtually unnecessary. Earlier this summer, I paired Redington's new-ish ZERO fly reel with its new Butterstick glass rod—it was a great set-up for small-water trout that I really enjoyed fishing. I…
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Skills: The Palomar knot
A lot of folks use the Palomar knot for heavy lines and big hooks, and that makes sense, because it's a strong, dependable knot. Fly fishers don't often use the Palomar because it can be a bit bulky—it's essentially two separate cords of line pressed together, so the finished knot can be a larger than…
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Voices from the River: Call me an angler
By Jenny Weis “My boyfriend didn’t teach me that!” was the way I indecorously retorted when a guide complimented my cast, saying, “Dang, your boyfriend must have been giving you some tips.” He meant no harm. But I’d known how to cast long before I met my boyfriend. My friend Nanci taught me years prior,…
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Fly tying: Brace yourself
When finishing tied flies to get rid of any stray materials or to simply make the fly look better, it's important that you don't just "free hand" it. Not all of us are Cool Hand Luke—we need a little help to be precise when we go after small fibers with a pair of tying scissors…
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