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Isonychia Nymph
Classic flies tied by eastern fly fishers years ago are enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Tiers like Tim Flagler are helping make that happen. Below, Tim ties the classic Isonychia Nymph, a simple pattern that Tim says he's fishing a lot with lately, and with great success. https://youtu.be/GEw6LsZbEGg The pattern is an excellent dead-drifter in…
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An accidental trophy
Every now and then, I like to explore and find new water, even in parts of the world I'm very familiar with. Earlier this week, I spent some time in the fringe country of Yellowstone National Park, along the Idaho-Montana border. It's ranch and cabin country here—there's a lot of private land that borders public…
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Sunny Days
I always look forward to the transition to wet-wading season. Here in the mid-Atlantic that usually hits in mid-May, unless you’re fishing a tailwater just downstream from a dam, in which case waders are still a must. Even with neoprene wading socks, the first steps into a chilly (but not frigid) trout stream can be…
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How to Read a River
Reading the water is an acquired skill. It's an ability that's honed over time, and one that takes into account not only a river's physical characteristics, but how certain stretches might fish at certain times of the year ... or even certain times of the day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcBIq5gWfjE Above, RIO's Simon Gawesworth helps shorten the learning…
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The Pecos is fishing great … for now
The lifeblood of the Village of Pecos, the Pecos River flows through public and private lands in a narrow canyon flanked by in aspen, Gambel oak, and mixed conifer. The Pecos boasts a fun salmon fly hatch in early summer, and I love how spooky the fish are in autumn, when elk bugles echo, the banks blaze with yellow cottonwoods, and the water resembles the air above, cold, clear and…
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Trout in the Texas Hill Country
GRTU president Mark Dillow in his element on the Guadalupe River. Trout Unlimited has 4,000 members in Texas, all part of one Texas-sized chapter: Guadalupe River TU (GRTU). Amazing for a state that has no native trout, and relatively few trout streams. When I lived in Colorado, it was commonly believed that all anglers residing…
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Fathers
Photo: The Steelhead Whisperer and his daughter on California's Big Sur River. I spent Father’s Day this year not fishing. That was fine with me, though. My son was with me and we were at 7,500 feet in the Sierra Nevada range, where winter had not yet gathered up all of her train. And we…
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