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Fly tying: Perdigon-style Zebra Midge
The first time I ever used a Zebra Midge, I was bundled up in Neoprene waders and walking my float tube down the S-curves of Idaho's Silver Creek. Full disclosure: I'm not an enthusiastic nympher, and floating a sunken midge nymph under an indicator is probably my least-favorite brand of fly angling. But when I…
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New gear: The Ripplebox
A pair of fly fishing entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom are hoping to modernize the average fly box by making inserting and removing flies easier and cleaner, giving anglers more time with flies in the water. The new Ripplebox is brilliantly simple in its design, and, from what I can tell, a significant improvment over…
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Short casts: Atlantic salmon escape in Puget Sound; pinks in Ireland, brewers join clean water fight
Photo Seattle Times Anglers and commercial salmon fishers off the coast of Washington and Vancouver have known for years that the occasional escapee Altantic salmon from off-shore aquaculture nets is swimming wild in Pacific waters. Atlantic salmon have turned up in nets, and juvenile Atlantic salmon were reported off of Vancouver Island as early as…
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Video spotlight: Patagonia’s first TV ad
Outdoor manufacturer and retailer Patagonia took a bold step recently and produced the company's first-ever TV ad. Was the commercial about the new Patagonia waders that pack down into a bag the size of a loaf of bread? Or the company's new offerings in raingear or light-weight climbing attire? No. To all of the above.…
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Will the 5-weight always rule trout fishing?
So why is the 5-weight the undisputed title holder? My friend Jerry Siem, who designs rods for Sage, hit the nail on the head when he explained that the size of a rod an angler uses is less about the size of the fish he or she chases, and more about the size of the…
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Trout Tips: Small stream structure, part II
Trout in austere, backcountry creeks are oppotunists. The very thing that makes these streams so appealing to anglers—cold, cystal clear waters, amazing viewscapes, a wild, largely untouched setting—is what makes life so tough on small-stream trout. Food is scarce, and just about anything that looks like food will get a look from backcountry trout. In…
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Video spotlight: Clackamas Complete
Bull trout are the only native char to the interior Northwest. Close relatives to brook trout, Arctic char and Dolly Varden, they require the coldest and cleanest waters to survive and thrive. It's no suprise that their populations have been greatly impacted by development over the years. Dams have segregated their habitat, generations of logging…