-
New gear: Simms G4 Pro Shift Pack
I was pretty sure that nothing could convince me to step away from my newfound "less is more" approach to trout fishing. Years ago, I was a vest guy—load up the pockets of the fishing vest with everything you need and off you go. Then I tried the lanyard approach, which I also loved, but…
-
New gear: Cheeky’s new pliers and backing
As Cheeky's Ted Upton says, "We like to have a little fun with our designs." That would explain the rainbow of color options for the manufacturer's quality fly reels—the color options give customers the ability to add a little personality to their angling. And now, Cheeky is expanding it's "fun" product line to include new…
-
Fly tying: The hobby knife
Back in my early newspaper days, when we actually used flats to lay pages out on lightboards, I never went anywhere without my trusty X-Acto knife. I used it to trim border tape, surgically slice columns to fit the allotted space and do all sorts of trimming once the actual journalism was done and producing…
-
Trout Tips: Now is the time for lake trout
A lake trout from Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Chris Hunt. I live within a two-hour drive of Yellowstone Lake, the site of one of the greatest environmental tragedies involving native trout in recent memory. In 1994, a non-native lake trout was caught and documented in Yellowstone Lake. Just over a decade later,…
-
Fly tying: The Palomino Midge
Normally, when I hear Tim Flagler say that he's tying a fly in a size 20, "but feel free to go smaller," I just throw up my hands and resign myself to the fact that the pattern he's demonstrated is for fingers smaller and more dextrous than mine. Video of Palomino MidgeBut, as you'll see…
-
Fly tying: Working thread length
One of the most basic skill fly tiers must learn when getting into the craft is how to manage the thread as it comes off the bobbin. It seems simple, but I can't count the times I've watched brand-new tiers trying to figure out just how much thread they need to work with as they…
-
Trout Tips: Arrow tube? Or rod tube?
Years ago, I was fishing the Cardiac Canyon stretch of the Henry's Fork over Father's Day weekend, thanks to the able boatmanship of well-known guide Rod Patch. I'd never fished this stretch before, but rod put me and my fishing partner on fat and happy Henry's Fork rainbows all day. It was epic. Rod set…
Category