FORT COLLINS, CO—As a massive plume of smoke billowed behind Drake HQ yesterday morning, what was first reported as a 2-acre wildfire has since engulfed more than 14,000 acres and torched 18 structures in the Poudre Canyon area. This is the second wildfire in two weeks to hit one of the few floatable rivers left in…
APALACHICOLA, FL—Partnered with The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, and Dr. Jerry Ault, Director of the Tarpon and Bonefish research center, the Forgotten Coast tarpon tagging tournament is a first of its kind, fly-only event aimed at science and conservation. The placement of state-of-the-art SPOT and PAT satellite tags is the contest’s main objective.
DENVER, CO—The Drake is proud to support the Colorado Water Trust’s 4th Annual RiverBank Auction and Fundraiser. If you’re in the Denver area tonight come check out the live and silent auctions, appetizers, an open bar, and the inaugural presentation of The David Getches Flowing Waters Award.
Take your favorite wild, pristine river. Kick in a few barrels of malted barley, a couple of bushels of hops, yeast for fermentation… and there you have it. Delicious, nutritious beer. A whole river full of it! Sierra Nevada knows what’s good, and that’s why it’s donating a portion of proceeds from every 12-pack of…
SEATTLE, WA—The Environmental Protection Agency just added a public hearing for tomorrow (Thursday, May 31) on its watershed assessment of Bristol Bay. If you’re in the Seattle area, rally the brass-knuckled troops and stand up for one of the planet’s best remaining salmon strongholds. Why? Because the “brains” behind Pebble Mine need to be served…
Livingston-based artist Derek DeYoung has translated many a fish face to canvas, including the mayfly-munching Bighorn brown on the Fall/Winter 2010 cover of The Drake. Simms recently sat down with Derek to discuss the business of progression and the balancing act between creating commercial appeal and maintaining artistic integrity. Good read.
Hat Creek is the home of California’s first Wild Trout designated water. In the early ’80s the river boasted trout counts of 6,800 fish per river mile. That was before a major plug of sediment moved in, choking aquatic vegetation, hindering bug populations, and speeding the flow. The good news, according to CalTrout, is the…
Port Angeles-based fish biologist John McMillan has dunked his head below more than 2,500 miles of Pacific Northwest river in the name of salmon and steelhead research. We had the pleasure of steelheading with him in April. Believe me, dude knows where to find the fish. Leaping Frog Films (leapingfrogfilms.com) is producing a pilot showcasing…
MANITOBA, CANADA—If you ever had a hankering to fish Manitoba—or better yet, the “Fly Fishing Capital of Manitoba”—there’s never been a better time to depart chesterfield and dust off your stick. Next weekend marks the inaugural Bug Chucker Cup Stillwater tournament in the Roblin and Duck Mountain Provincial Park areas. The region was home to…
The Big Bugs have arrived preseason to the West, instigating a riverbank rush to the Henry’s Fork and other prime locales over the past couple of weeks. Always in the thick of it, Drake contributor Bryan Gregson snapped this pic of a cute cuddly gosling being mauled by a big, mean salmonfly. (Hank’s Fork browns eat…
In today’s nonfishing news, 29-year-old Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones says virginity is “hard.” So far her plight is much more intriguing than Tim Tebow’s….
For flyfishers following the marathon back-and-forth court battles over river access rights in the State of Utah, Monday marked a collective sigh of relief. At least temporarily. Judge Derek Pullan of Utah’s 4th District Court has ruled to uphold Utah public access rights, issuing a much-anticipated decision in the Utah Stream Access Coalition’s constitutional challenge…
Guyana is a heart of jungle habitat clutched between Venezuela and Suriname on the north coast of South America. Its tannin-tinted rivers are home to arapaima, which happen to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. Thanks to Costa sunglasses and crew, these tarpon-like behemoths have become the new posterchild for a project aimed…
The roadblocks to salmon and steelhead recovery are myriad—from commercial harvest to hatcheries to regulatory red tape and everything in between. Now NOAA Fisheries is requesting your review and comment on its proposed Endangered Species Act recovery plan for Lower Columbia River salmon and steelhead. The plan addresses recovery of chinook, coho, and steelhead, and Columbia…
Beastie Boy Adam Yauch was many things to many people. Musician. Buddhist. Filmmaker. Activist. Nathanial Hörnblowér. An integral part of the soundtrack to my teenage angst years. To writer Melissa Larsen, he was a snowboarder, friend, and will be sorely missed.
Pure Michigan is the state slogan that includes boasts to the most publicly accessible freshwater coastline in the world. But those shores you fish may be closed under a new bill being considered in the Senate Natural Resources committee.
Filmmakers Rolf Nylinder and the frontsidefly crew are on a dry or die mission this spring. Channeling their inner Justin Biebers, Hallelujah gets remixed for the topwater masses. I heard there was a sinking fly that Peter used and it made me cry. Check it.
Mark your calendars. Saturday night is supermooning time, a drop-your-drawers phenomenon that occurs when the full moon reaches its closest approach to the earth—a distance of 221,802 miles away. The ultra bright orbit should make for some killer covert mousing opps… not to mention big tides, with 42 percent more tidal force through next week.
Trout in Unicoi County, Tenn., are all hopped up on meth thanks to a large lab operation in the area and its accused chief cooker, Gerald Guin.
Earlier today the U.S. Forest Service released its final revision of the Colorado roadless rule, addressing some key concerns raised by the outdoors community. The plan will manage and help safeguard more than 4 million acres of in-state public hunting and fishing lands.
From Mitchell Slough to the Blackfoot, Ruby and beyond, “Greed, insecurity and just plain old ‘I got mine, screw you’ bullshit…” continues to run rampant in Montana. So far the state’s ironclad Stream Access Law has waged a formidable battle against those who would like to see public access stripped for personal gain.
The federal judge who presided over the court battle between Columbia River salmon advocates and hydropower supporters has made his thoughts on the matter clear, stating four controversial lower Snake River dams should be removed. During an interview for a documentary to air later this summer, U.S. District Court Judge James Redden said the government…
The 2012 Ice Out Shoot Out People’s Choice voting is live. Check out this year’s standout lineup of films and vote for your favorite before Sunday, April 29.
The number of dams built in America since 1800 is staggering. This vid by James Syvitski accelerates the country’s 200 years of artery clogging construction into a telling 25-second clip.
The ol’ dirty South Platte is about due for its annual spring clean-up. This Saturday volunteers will storm the Denver area carp mainstay to pick up trash along the riverbanks and its bike paths. Hit the link for more information on how to get involved.
The Environmental Protection Agency will release its draft Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment in just a few weeks. This precedent-setting scientific assessment will likely guide decisions about large-scale mining and other industrial development in the Bristol Bay region well into the future. If the EPA determines that waste from the mine would harm the surrounding clean…
More than $40 million in big oil spoils have been directed toward national forest preservation, with the Land and Water Conservation Fund recently announcing its state-by-state list of land purchases spanning Alaska, California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Idaho, Tennessee, Montana, Utah, and more. The effort stems from Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors agenda, which taps into fees…