Trout Unlimited worked with the Ramsay family to restore an important creek for both native cutthroat trout and farmlands in southwestern Wyoming. Jackson Ramsay photo. By Jackson Ramsay In August of 2000, a wildfire ripped through the rugged country of southwest Wyoming. At the time it was the largest fire burning in the United States.
Shorten the strip to improve chances at connecting with fish. Photo by Chris Hunt. I had the extreme good fortune of spending the last two weeks in Chile’s northern Patagonia region, fishing rivers like the Yelcho and the Palena. But we also fished Lago Yelcho, a big, beautiful blue lake that soaks up dozens of
Editor’s note: The following is exerpted from The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing by Kirk Deeter and Charlie Meyers. The number-one mistake most novice fly casters make is going back too far on the backcast. The only tipoffs are the noises of line slapping the water or the rod tip scraping the ground behind
By Walt Gasson OK, show of hands: Who knows Nate Stevane? If you don’t, you should. Everyone knows that you can’t swing a dead cat in Montana, and not hit a fishing outfitter. But not everyone knows Nate Stevane from Trout on the Fly in Butte, Mont. I do, and if you fly fish you
Please buy this book, called Trout Tips. It only costs, $16.99, it will make TU stronger, and hopefully help you fish better too! Trout Tips is a new book that involves over 250 simple fishing tips from TU members and supporters… for trout anglers of all skill levels… and all the money goes straight to
Dressing in muted colors, or even plaid or stripes, can help you blend into the background, making you harder for the fish to see. Editor’s note: The following is exerpted from TU’s latest book, “Trout Tips,” a compilation of fishing tips from members and TU staffers from all over America. You can order your copy
Trout in small, backcountry streams are opportunists, but that doesn’t mean theyr’e stupid. The old rule still applies: If you can see the fish, chances are, they can see you, too. When I fish small water, I like to put structure between me and the fish whenever possible, and I like to make my profile
Editor’s note: The following is exerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available now for overnight delivery. If a trout misses your dry fly, or refuses it, move a short distance away. Give the fish a break; then go back with a different fly. That may be the one he’s looking for. — Dan Beistel, Oviedo,
Editor’s note: The following is exerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available for overnight delivery. On native trout water in some parts of the West, sometimes large chunks of water seem unoccupied, making you think that maybe the stream is completely barren. Not so. Cutthroat love to occupy certain stretches of habitat and leave other
Remote sensing is being used to measure improvement in Lahontan cutthroat trout habitat in Nevada. By Dan Dauwalter, Kurt Fesenmyer and Helen Neville Have you ever assisted your local DNR biologist with a painstaking habitat survey on your favorite trout stream where you tediously measured the stream channel, substrates, wood, undercut banks, and so on?
Editor’s note: The following is exerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available for online purchase and overnight delivery. I recently took a long drive through Kootenay, Banff and Jasper national parks along the border with British Columbia and Alberta. Throughout the entire drive, delicious, glacial-tinged trout water paralleled my path. Trouble was, save for the
Sometimes, you can learn an awful lot more about a river, and specifically where fish will be holding in a river, by looking at it from above, rather than standing in it. Granted, that’s not always that easy when you are fishing in flat terrain. But I know plenty of anglers who have been driven
In New Zealand, where the waters are typically very clear, and the trout are always very smart, the exact spot where a fly lands near a trout can matter down to the inch. The Kiwis will tell you that as you are casting upstream at a fish’s position, it’s always best to miss to the
Photo by Chris Hunt By Chris Hunt < p dir="ltr">There’s something primal about dark water shrouded by cypress. The color of strong coffee, these stained swamps of the South nurture mystery and offer refuge to critters that hang on in acid-tinged water filtered through layers of eons-old peat and sand. The gators come to mind
The following is exerpted from TU’s book, “Trout Tips,” available online for overnight delivery. To enjoy fly fishing, the following tips have proven to be extremely helpful and true: take the time to learn how to cast, and practice, practice and practice. Practice is not for the day you go fly fishing! Similarly, take the
How volunteers and staff are improving trout streams and helping reduce atmospheric CO2.
As noted in the video below, “cruising trout are feeding trout.” When we see pods of trout working certain stretches of the river, it’s tough to keep our cool sometimes. The prospect of an afternoon spent wandering a small stretch of river while catching several trout is pretty appealing, right? Video of How to Catch
When I was a kid fishing with my grandfather on bigger water, the first thing he always did was flip over rocks as we walked along the river. He’d give each rock a good look, and he’d point out squiggly little bugs to me and my brothers and cousins. “See that?” he’d ask, pointing to
Foam fly boxes float. If you want to see your flies again, make sure fly box floats, too. Several years ago, I was steelhead fishing on Idaho’s Salmon River. I’d spent the week leading up to the trip tying flies and gearing up. Steelhead on the Salmon were—and still are—a fish that came calling on
Here’s one from the archives, and I picked it because a lot of fly fishers around the country are dusting off the gear and getting ready to hit the water for the first time this spring. It’s simple, really. Don’t forget to practice. Practice Casting Intro from Trout Unlimited on Vimeo. Ask Kirk Deeter shows
