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Books: The Orvis Guide to the Essential American Flies
Originally printed in 2011, and including a foreword by the late Lefty Kreh, this book drills down on 20 patterns
I was delighted to receive an advance paperback copy of The Orvis Guide to the Essential American Flies by Tom Rosenbauer, because it just snowed for the first time this fall and as such, I’m about to enter what I call “tying season.” And when I tie, I like to focus on the basics, spinning…
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What’s the greatest fly-fishing technological advance in the last 75 years?
While fly fishing is still a very traditional sport involving simple tools—primarily a stick and a string—there have been a number of technological advances that transformed the sport. What would you rank as the most significant, say from your grandparents’ era to present? No doubt, graphite materials and space-age resins have changed fly rods dramatically,…
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The best month of the year
So… if I could pick one month to fish anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, it would start now…. This is what I consider the “golden month.” Granted, it isn’t a “calendar” month, per se, but it is the best month to be a die-hard angler, in many places in America. Mid-September to mid-October. This is…
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A few deep thoughts on fly fishing
What’s it going to take to convince the millions of anglers who found rivers these past few years that “how” is more important than “how many” and is that even possible?
Is it fair to assume that fly fishing is to positive mental health what running or biking is to cardio health? I think so. And if any of you docs or researchers out there want to add to the conversation, I’m all ears, and want to do a deep-dive story. I’m not of native-American ancestry. But my ancestors…
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Five tips to land trout in a timely manner
Fact: the faster you land a fish, the better the odds of survival. Here are five tips to help you turn a 15-round heavyweight boxing natch into a shorter, tougher MMA fight... and win more often than not. — Use 5X or stronger tippet. I know, there are times when you really feel fine 7X tippet…
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Remembering John Merwin and lessons learned
I remember the first time we met in person. We were at a fishing trade show, and Merwin ordered me to lunch. I was pretty nervous because everyone at the magazine had told me what a tough customer he was. And sure enough, he was no more than a sip into his martini when he criticized the most recent story I had written
I was cleaning up my office the other day, and chanced upon a book that made me smile. It’s a copy of John Merwin’s The New American Trout Fishing, given to me by my wife as a birthday present, not long after the book came out in 1994. The book made a tremendous impression and influenced…
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So, you want to write about fly fishing?
Writer Kirk Deeter taking notes on a layover in Prince Albert, Sask., Canada, en route to Lake Athabasca. Chris Hunt photo. “How in the heck did I ever end up here?” It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times over. Sipping icy Coca-Cola at a Bolivian army base with El Comandante, as my four Argentine and…
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