Currently browsing… Fly fishing
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Grayling giggles on the Gulkana
Her infectious grayling giggles mirrored the steady stream of top-water action so well that none of us had to look to know the story
It took time, but I finally learned that you cannot wholly recreate a successful trip. My best advice? Don’t even try. Any attempt to do so immediately sets you up for disappointment and, in all honesty, undercuts the thrill of the trip. Every adventure is bound to be a little different, and wiser heads will nod as I add that this dash of uniqueness is part of the curiosity, and appeal, that…
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TU’s legacy includes protecting ‘The North’ for generations to come
Fishing for steelhead on the North Umpqua River is often described as a PhD-level challenge that will test the mettle of even the most dedicated anglers. Unlike other legendary steelhead waters, with their gentle gradient and long even runs, fishing on The North involves deep wades over treacherous bedrock to reach casting “stations,” which are often one specific rock that provides the angler…
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A letter from the Wyoming Range
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Tom Reed’s journal of his ride down the length of the Wyoming Range to promote the Wyoming Range Legacy Act, August-September 2007. For more on TU's public lands protection legacy, check out our new report, Legacy of Protection. At the top of the world, where the timber…
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How to practice a straight cast
One of the biggest challenges for new anglers is casting accuracy. With all the perceived nuances to casting among new fly fishers, it can sometimes seem daunting to place a fly generally where they want it. Truth be told — and those who have fly fished for a time can attest — those nuances aren't…
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Tying the Douglas Salmon Camp Swinger
Articulated streamers are quickly becoming some of my favorite patterns to tie at the vise. They are deadly for big trout, bass, pike and even salmon and steelhead, and, contrary to my original impression, they're actually pretty easy to craft. Below, Tim Flagler ties an articulated streamer designed for the lake-run salmon, steelhead and brown…
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A day on Yellowstone’s storied Firehole River
The Firehole River above Firehole Falls was once a fishless ribbon of water sourced largely from hot springs, geysers and primordial seeps that pushed to the surface from the bowels of the planet.
Words by Chris Hunt, photos by Sam Davidson and Chris Hunt Two centuries ago, before European-Americans pushed west and started displacing indigenous people and indigenous wildlife, the rivers and streams of the Rockies teamed with trout, char, whitefish and grayling. Sam Davidson drifts a nymph through a fishy run on the upper Firehole River. But…
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Say it with me … ‘Chena’
In time, rivers begin to emote their names ... or maybe it's the other way around There's something in a name. And some rivers ... well, after a fashion, their names are pushed from their currents, roared from their rapids or whispered from quiet slicks where fishy noses poke through flat water in search of…