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Voices from the River: Carp in the desert
By Chris Hunt The desert of southern Idaho is immense. Sliced ear to ear by the Snake River, this place is defined by fire. Some of the lava flows in Craters of the Moon National Monument are only 2,000 years old. Others are leftover from the last big blast from t he Yellowstone “hot spot”…
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Gear test: Costa Montauk Polarized Sunglasses
You have sunglasses and you have sunglasses. Perhaps the most underutilized angling accessory, shades provide protection from the sun as well as a rogue cast that could cause a potential injury. Much like your most beloved hat, fleece or any other piece of fishing gear, sunglasses are particular to the angler. You might have one…
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Fly tying: The Parachute Hendrickson
The venerable Hendrickson, the fly tied to imitate the famous hatch that's well under way on rivers in the East, is more than just a match-the-hatch pattern. Here in the West, we use the Hendrickson as an attractor mayfly pattern starting in spring and early summer, because it does a serviceable job imitating one of…
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Voices from the River: Season kickoff
By Eric Booton A handful of my fellow Southcentral Alaska trout bums manage to fish year-round on one of the larger river systems that remains mostly open. Frigid waters flow between ice shelves, their invitingly shallow depths a recipe for cold toes and frozen boots. The sun creeps above the ridgetops providing a brief amount…
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Fly tying: Mixing hackle fibers for tails
Tying small-ish mayfly patterns might be one of the most common fly-tying applications, but it doesn't mean it's super easy. Like any tying activity, it takes practice, particularly for the more detailed aspects of your average mayfly pattern, including the hackle fibers use for the tail. Video of How to Make Mixed Hackle Fiber TailAbove,…
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Video spotlight: Avoiding Spawners
Give the folks at Redington some credit (again!). Not only is the company preaching the Gospel when it comes to protecting spawning fish on redds, it's taking another chance by crafting a new series of "news" videos featuring fly fishing's version of Ron Burgundy in Bob Frankfurter. Regardless of the delivery (and I'm hearing all…
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Gear test: Simms Solar-Flex Armor
When I fish, I do not trust sunscreen alone. My days of wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and slapping on a bit of SPF-15 (if I remember) are over. Doesn’t matter if I’m walk-wading for trout, or on a flats skiff, I’m now always in some sort of sun shirt designed specifically to protect me…
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