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When terminal doesn’t have to mean the end
Sometimes you get what you ask for. Sometimes you get much more, but my experience pursuing Lahontans served me a reminder that things worth having are always worth earning.
Conservation success and concern for Lahontan cutthroat trout Daniel Ritz is fishing across the Western United States this summer in an attempt to reach the Master Caster class of the Western Native Trout Challenge, attempting to land each of the 20 native trout species in their historical ranges of the 12 states in the West. You can follow Ritz as he…
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Take photos of the scenery, not the fish while on the boat
What I’m about to say might bother some people and as a professional photographer for over 20 years I can’t believe I’m even thinking about saying it. It’s time to stop taking photos of our fish while in the boat. We’ve all seen and read the news of temporary restrictions on rivers like the Upper…
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Playing the numbers game isn’t a sustainable strategy
If we don’t at least talk about how anglers pressure fisheries, is habitat work just window dressing? Numbers. That’s the word that pops to mind when I see this image. I asked you all what you thought yesterday. Many said “bobber.” (OK. I think most of can agree that “strike indicator” is a bit over-cooked).…
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The 11th Annual Colorado Wooden Boat Float set for September
When I sheepishly asked the Colorado Wooden Boat float organizer, Mark Hilbert, what was an appropriate vessel to bring to the 11th Annual Colorado Wooden Boat float in September, dory or drift boat, he gave me a simple answer. "I don't care if you bring rubber. It's all welcome!" Which I was relived to hear.…
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Toughen up your small dry flies with UV resin
I took to finishing these small flies with the smallest dollop of thin UV-reactive resin I could squeeze out of the bottle
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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Go higher to beat the heat and catch wild trout
Brook trout are wild in many western high-country streams. When water temperatures start to rise in the summer, most of us know to stop fishing. And if you didn't know before, you do now. Rivers across Colorado have voluntary closures and hoot owl restrictions have been in place in Montana for most of the summer.…
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TU Tested: Five items every boater should consider this summer
AIRE Rocktabomb $199.00 AIRE has made some of the best rafts on the water for years. I've owned three of them and can attest to their quality. Lately though they have offered products that go beyond their fishing and whitewater boats, like extreme tubes. I say extreme because you probably won't ever buy another one.…
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