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Trout Tips: For streamers, sometimes bigger isn’t better
Smaller streamers have their place when chasing aggressive fall trout. There was a definitive nip in the air as we drove up into the central Idaho backcountry last week in search of migrating bull trout. Irrigated hay fields sported fresh "snow" from the sprinklers, and the cottonwoods along the river were definitely shifting from deep…
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Trout Tips: How the fly looks to fish
Remember, it's about how flies look to the fish. Photo by Chris Hunt. Some flies are meant to catch fish, and some flies are meant to catch anglers. I am always surprised by how some of the patterns I think are sure-fire winners because they look so snazzy turn out to be duds. And sometimes,…
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Trout Tips: The value of midges
The venerable Griffith's Gnat. Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's book, "Trout Tips," available online for overnight delivery. More than 50 percent of a trout's food, in most places in North America, is comprised of midges—those tiny bugs that are seemingly everywhere. Some of us don't like fishing patterns that small, but remember…
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Trout Tips: Think small, even on big water
Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's book, "Trout Tips," which is available online for overnight delivery. Fishing big rivers can be intimdating. Large rivers contain complex patterns of habitat, some or all of which contain fish. The best way to approach a bigger water body is to almost partition it in your mind…
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Trout Tips: Walk, spot, stalk… and then cast
Editor's note: The following is exerpted from TU's book, "Trout Tips," available online for overnight delivery. Too many anglers waste precious time blind-casting, hoping to hook fish. Fishing for the trophy fish is muc like hunting big game. The dedicated big-game hunter walks, spots, stalks, and then shoots; of course you don't shoot (perhaps line),…
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Trout Tips: Let conditions choose your rod
An angler fishes a small mountain stream with a shorter, lighter fiberglass rod. For years, I've gravitated to lightweight and shorter fly rods, simply because I usually spend my summers chasing trout in tight quarters along snaking backcountry streams. The shorter rod length lends itself to fishing among overhanging willows, allows for tighter casts, shorter…
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Trout Tips: Dust your fly
This time of year, when dry-fly fishing is about all I do here on the creeks and streams of the Yellowstone region, I have become a fan of the silica-based fly "dusts" that help soak up water from spent dry flies and give them a second life. Most of us, when fishing dries, apply that…
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