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Enjoy fall’s reds but avoid its redds
The colors of fall excite my retinas. Green leaves slowly fade as dormancy becomes them — it's their yearly retreat so they can prepare for renewal come spring. Yellows are most common out west, but we also have vibrant oranges and even some reds. Oranges and reds of the changing scrub oaks and wild strawberries…
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Embrace the learning curve
I often say that there’s a difference between casters and anglers, and you don’t necessarily need a picture-perfect cast to enjoy yourself on the water. The reason I say that is because I don’t want people to feel intimidated. Scientific Anglers did a survey years ago and learned that the two factors that keep people…
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River reading: The Packraft Handbook
There are a couple of books that live on the nightstand by my bed. Most are the type of books that I can pick up just about anywhere and mindlessly skim whenever I feel like it. My most recent go-to book recently is The Packraft Handbook by Luc Mehl and Sarah K. Glaser. The title…
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Using hand signals to communicate on the river
If you boat and fish long enough, at some point you'll run into an emergency situation on the river. Most of the time you can't hear very well due to thousands of cubic feet of water rushing by and many times you'll be separated by large distances or dangerous obstacles. That's why knowing at least…
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Early snow isn’t a deal-breaker
I dread mornings like this every year. Sometimes it holds off for a few more weeks, or even a month or longer. But this year, winter showed up early. As I type this, it's snowing. And not just a little snow. We have a good 10 inches of heavy, wet snow in the yard —…
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First voices, first advocates
Fish racks hold sockeye salmon that will be put away from winter at a traditional fish camp on the banks of the Koktuli River. By Mountain Mind Media . Today, as part of Indigenous People’s Day, we are taking a moment to highlight the people in the Bristol Bay community who were in this place first, who…
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Slamming at 67
“She had crawled half-way over a log that much larger than she was when she spotted a Bonnie in a small pool on the other side of the log,” he recalled. “Not wanting to scare it away, she laid down on the log and pushed her rod slowly in front of her. Before she could get the fly where she really wanted it, another trout rose and took it.”
Beth Lynn Dishman fishes for a Colorado River cutthroat trout to complete one of her seven Utah Cutthroat Slams. Paul Dishman photo. Fishing challenge for native cutthroat trout keeps Utah couple busy and close Beth Lynn Dishman thought her fishing days were over. It had been years, even decades, since she last held a fly…