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Fishing the pegged bead
It's the pegged bead — the target of much derision from the purist crowd, but an oft-used technique to catch big trout and char when salmon eggs are in the water
A nice Dolly Varden that fell for a pegged bead. Chris Hunt photo. The ethics and the logic examined Fly fishing is a craft that appeals to the purist in all of us — the notion that fooling a fish by casting something that resembles that animal's natural food source without resorting to bait is…
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Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership hosts tour of Little Susitna River
A headwater stream of the Little Susitna River. Photo by Ted Eischeid. On a rainy day in late August a group of diverse individuals gathered together on the banks of the Little Susitna River. Attendees included staff from state and federal wildlife agencies, tribal representatives, members of local government, political staffers from the governor and…
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Five tips to land trout in a timely manner
Fact: the faster you land a fish, the better the odds of survival. Here are five tips to help you turn a 15-round heavyweight boxing natch into a shorter, tougher MMA fight... and win more often than not. — Use 5X or stronger tippet. I know, there are times when you really feel fine 7X tippet…
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From the TU forum to a real-life fishing trip
Ken Deaver shows his new fishing buddy, Jim Aylsworth, where to cast on a small headwater stream in Montana. Jim Aylsworth photo. The older I get the more I appreciate a good friend. A recent study by Dr. Marisa Franco published in Psychology Today concluded men have fewer close friends in comparison to women. For several years, I have participated in an online…
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When the monsoons finally come
My son was invited on a boating trip to celebrate a pal’s birthday. The original plan featured a lake about an hour away, but since that one had dried up, they drove three hours farther to a reservoir near the Texas border. It’s flat out there on the plains, but back here in Santa Fe,…
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Four days in heaven
Explore your surroundings ... and don't forget to pack your fly rod In my little microcosm of the Mountain West, we've been blessed with an impressive monsoon season this year. With all the doom and gloom of the drought, wildfires and effects of climate change, it is nice to be reminded that sometimes weather does…
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The Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge is a high-desert oasis vital to wildlife and wild trout
by Liz Rose The Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge is more than just a buffer zone around a river in an expanse of Wyoming sagebrush steppe. Like many national wildlife refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, it is unique, wild and intended to stay that way. I’ve always had a soft spot for animals and a guilty conscience for reasons yet…