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Tourist season
A rider in the Tobacco Root Mountains We love having visitors in Montana. For one, it's a huge driver for our economy—we've got an obscenity of riches when it comes to outdoor recreation opportunities and were I to live anywhere else, Montana is where I'd long to be. But by the end of July, after…
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Columbia Basin Partnership offers new vision for salmon and steelhead
The Columbia Basin Partnership has been flying mostly under the radar, but it could be the forum with the greatest potential to make a great leap forward in recovering wild salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin. Why, you may ask? Because it is the one place where all of the major stakeholders in the…
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Isonychia Nymph
Classic flies tied by eastern fly fishers years ago are enjoying a renaissance of sorts. Tiers like Tim Flagler are helping make that happen. Below, Tim ties the classic Isonychia Nymph, a simple pattern that Tim says he's fishing a lot with lately, and with great success. https://youtu.be/GEw6LsZbEGg The pattern is an excellent dead-drifter in…
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An accidental trophy
Every now and then, I like to explore and find new water, even in parts of the world I'm very familiar with. Earlier this week, I spent some time in the fringe country of Yellowstone National Park, along the Idaho-Montana border. It's ranch and cabin country here—there's a lot of private land that borders public…
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Sunny Days
I always look forward to the transition to wet-wading season. Here in the mid-Atlantic that usually hits in mid-May, unless you’re fishing a tailwater just downstream from a dam, in which case waders are still a must. Even with neoprene wading socks, the first steps into a chilly (but not frigid) trout stream can be…
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Spend time with the future
Hunter and Alliegh getting it done Every year Trout Unlimited brings together 20-30 teenagers from all over the country for a teen summit. They are mostly veterans of TU youth camps. This year’s group met at Georgetown Lake in Montana. It is not a one-and-done experience for them. After the summit, they commit to serving…
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How to Read a River
Reading the water is an acquired skill. It's an ability that's honed over time, and one that takes into account not only a river's physical characteristics, but how certain stretches might fish at certain times of the year ... or even certain times of the day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcBIq5gWfjE Above, RIO's Simon Gawesworth helps shorten the learning…