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Skating flies for summer steelhead
If “the tug is the drug” for anglers swinging a fly for wild steelhead, then bringing a surface-snarfing summer steelhead to a skated fly is crack cocaine. There is no bigger adrenaline dump than seeing the glass-smooth surface of a tailout explode as a 10-pound native summer steelhead pounces on your hapless little skater. “Skaters”…
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June
June is not a large horse. Really, she may be only a few inches over a large pony. In honesty I don’t claim to understand horse dimensions, but it’s fair to say that a very tall man could probably touch the ground with tip toes. A body traveling from her back to the ground would…
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They’re back …
You know spring is taking its time in Yellowstone when ice floes are cruising down the river between Lake Village and Canyon on Memorial Day. It's just been one of those years—lots of late snow, and, as of Monday, more than a solid week of high-country thunderstorms slowed spring to a crawl. Rain gave way…
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Politics and the fishing media
A Snake River fine-spotted cutthroat trout. Cutthroat trout today occupy less than 10 percent of their native habitat, and the waters where they do persist are largely headwater streams that could impacted by the EPA's decision to gut the Clean Water Rule. If the fly fishing media didn't cover the issue, many anglers wouldn't know…
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Lessons from Trout in the Classroom
The volunteers, partners and staff of Trout Unlimited believe in a future where native fish swim in cold, clean headwaters. This vision benefits fish, of course, but it also provides a vital resource for every living thing that depends on water. Which, last time I checked, is every living thing. While the benefits of what…
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Entrenched in the salmon cycle
“We are products of our environment.” There is much truth to this adage, and I know I am a product of my Alaskan fly-fishing environment and exposure. Six years ago when I arrived in Alaska, I was still a mere "padawan" with the fly rod. With time, I found more seasoned anglers to fish with, picked up some tips at the…
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Water dog
Molly as a pup, first day on the boat. By Dean Finnerty My canine sidekick Molly has two kinds of days: good and great. I have said this to many fellow steelhead anglers over the years, with a mix of apology and embarrassment, as Molly greets them on the trail by shoving her back half…
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