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Tying the Wiggler version of the San Juan Worm
The good, old San Juan Worm is one of the best fly patterns out there, even if you might feel a bit sheepish tying it on for fear one of your buddies will see you casting it and accuse you of high-brow cheating. Of course, you’re not cheating—you’re imitating an aquatic food source that’s common…
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Use UV resin to keep small flies from unraveling
Eventually, I got to where I could place just the right amount ahead of the hackle and behind the hook eye before I whip-finished the fly
I’ve always been something of a ham-handed fly tier, and, generally speaking, the bigger the fly, the easier it is for me to tie. I’m a big guy at six-foot-five, and my hands correspond to my height. They just aren’t meant for detail work. But I live in eastern Idaho, and during fall and winter,…
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TU’s California Program excels in spite of 2020
It would be a serious understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year. Yet in the midst of a global pandemic and its harsh toll on our economy, communities and personal lives, Trout Unlimited and our supporters and partners helped deliver some outstanding conservation outcomes. Our California Program helped achieve major milestones on…
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Tying the Flow Stone for high-water nymphing
Sleek, slender and heavy Euro-style nymphs are gaining popularity in the U.S., largely thanks to international fly-fishing tournaments where European anglers tend to take top honors more often than not. Make no mistake about it, these Perdigon-style nymphs catch fish. Below, Loon Outdoors' Matt Callies ties a larger variant of this Euro-style nymph — his…
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Dean of the Umpqua
The thing about swinging flies for steelhead is that it’s remarkably unproductive. One wiles away entire days, even weeks, cultivating tennis elbow with nary a grab to show for it. Yet the allure of fishing this way for the iconic sportfish of the Pacific Northwest is somehow inversely proportional to its ratio of success. At…
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Faces of Restoration: M. Jolma, Inc. reconnects habitat in Wisconsin
Intro to Faces of Restoration series: TU works with some extremely talented characters while developing and completing projects in the field that help make fishing better. We are excited to bring you a series highlighting these Contractors. We hire equipment operators, truck drivers, laborers, material suppliers, engineers, technicians, and water testing labs. They are unique, talented, humble and some are downright…
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Tension is the key to every cast
Fly casting is an art grounded in physics. Line tension is, indeed, the key to every successful cast
As a longtime fly angler, the basics of casting are now almost completely intuitive. But I remember those early days of fly casting, and can recall how fraught with worry I was when I started fishing with anglers who possessed more experience. Back then, I was less concerned with the opportunity to learn from better…
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