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Mike Clark: Bamboo Master
Mike Clark has been building bamboo fly rods for 40 years. By Randy Scholfield When he started making split-cane bamboo rods 40 years ago, Mike Clark had no idea he could make a living from his hobby. “I built them to satisfy my fishing interests,” he says. Then, one day, a man wandered into his…
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Gear test: Solve the mystery bird call with Song Sleuth
Identifying that mystery bird call is only a recording away with a new app. Courtesy photo. By Brett Prettyman There are few things that can distract me while fishing. I tend to tune everything out except the sounds of the water and wildlife. Watching certain species of birds flying erratically over the river has tipped…
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Fly tying: A Kinder, Gentler Mop fly
A crane fly larvae. Confession: I've never fished a "mop" fly, but I've seen Tim Flagler's gawdy versions before and honestly couldn't figure out a practical use for such horrific creations. Until now. As Tim demonstrates in this week's video, the Kinder, Gentler Mop is a ringer for a crane fly larvae, a common bug…
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Voices from the River: The case for (sometimes) using spinning gear
By Mark Taylor The reaction was subtle but obvious. A sideways look. A head shake. A grimace. Then came the single word. “Really?” my buddy said looking at the fishing rod in my hand? We were loading up for a short float-fishing trip on a mi d-sized Virginia trout stream. My friend had a couple…
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Video spotlight: Pushing the limits
I first learned about Mongolian taimen some 20 years ago, and have always been intrigued with the idea of casting to them, mostly because the flies they hit resemble large prairie dogs. I might be exaggerating a bit, but not much, honestly. I stumbled across the film below, and I'm all jazzed again to find…
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Short casts: Chum fry in Puget Sound, angler science, Upslope IPA
It's a hot time to be fly fishing the river mouths and estuaries of Puget Sound. The annual run of chum salmon fry from rivers and streams down to the salt water is under way, and waiting for them at river mouths and in estuaries will be a host of predators, including sea-run cutthroat trout.…
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Partnership the key in quest for wild trout in PA
By Dave Kinney In the summer of 2016, Trout Unlimited, in partnership with Audubon Pennsylvania and the Kittattiny Ridge Coalition, electroshocked 41 streams in Northampton, Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties. Survey teams led by TU scientists were hiking into small, forgotten waters searching for unknown populations of wild trout—and in one out of every three…