Brackets: Sexy Bitch Russell Brand?
Yep, it’s March, and it’s bracket madness. In addition to basketball, here are two more (both somewhat fishy) to get you fired up for the season.
Tom Bie is the founder, editor, and publisher of The Drake. He started the magazine in 1998 as an annual newsprint publication based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He then moved it to Steamboat, Colorado (1999), Boulder, Colorado (2001), and San Clemente, California (2004), as he took jobs as managing editor at Paddler, Senior Editor at Skiing, and Editor-in-Chief at Powder, respectively. Tom and The Drake are now both based in Denver, Colorado, where The Drake is finally all grows up(Swingers, 1996) to a quarterly magazine.
NOAA: Progress for US Fisheries
Here in the U.S., we’ve endured a long history of domestic overfishing abuses. According to a recent report from NOAA, management is making “good progress” toward reversing this laundry list of dwindling stocks and fishing opportunity.
Workin at the Carwash, Yea…
A hydrophobic Deeter takes rain coat “field testing” to the next level—the carwash—and tells us it hurts. After that it was straight to the hot tub to test the latest innovations in women’s waders. We feel your pain, bro.
Regs: Status Quo for Skeena
SMITHERS—Good news for Skeena swingers: According to the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations, B.C. has opted to maintain the current regulations in the Skeena River Steelhead Fishery for 2011-13, pending the outcome of a tourism and economic impacts study.
Kill Bill: Vol. HB 309
BUTTE—When it comes to stripping stream access rights, flyfishers—generally a peaceful group—come ready to collectively throwdown. Earlier this week more than 350 Montanans swarmed the Senate Agriculture Livestock and Irrigation Committee hearing in opposition to HB 309. The bill, carried by Rep. Jeff Welborn, R-Dillon, would allow landowners to block public access to waterways diverted for…
HB 309: Last Chance to Vote NO
MONTANA—Tomorrow, Montana’s State Senate Committee meets to decide on controversial HB 309 legislation, which could threaten recreational stream access based on what constitutes irrigation ditches vs. natural waterways. Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM) is encouraging all interested parties—in state and out—to voice their collective concerns.
Rhetoric: The Living, Breathing “Resource”
Words shape how we as enthusiasts perceive our outdoor environs. Here, Drake contributing editor, Bruce Smithhammer, pits the lexicons of wildlife bureaucracy against visceral experience in a personal quest for true meaning.
Hackles—So Hot Right Now
Since everyone’s already weighing in on hair hackle madness (see: here), thought we’d share an excerpt from the current issue.
Access: The Future
Field & Stream editor-at-large, Kirk Deeter, argues today that the future of flyfishing depends on access. It’s simple: By pulling the public resource plug, we drain the opportunity pool. Montana’s “ditch” redefining House Bill 309 is cited as an example of poisonous back-pedaling into barbed-wire territory.
Rawesome: John Jackson
Savage shred/flyfisher John Jackson, featured “Emerger” in the spring/summer 2010 issue, continues to blow it up on the Big Mountain freestyle scene. Last month he collected Rider of the Year and Video Part of the Year from both TransWorld and Snowboarder magazines. See his full “F—K It” video part and ESPN interview after the…
Obama’s Enviro Report Card
THE WEST—Opinion on Obama’s Western environmental track record has been hamstrung by hyperbolic expectation vs. the realities of glacial-paced, often under-the-radar policymaking. According to Judith Lewis’s in-depth reporting on the subject, so far, the verdict remains awash in indecision.
Meyers on ‘Melo
When a 19-year-old Carmelo Anthony arrived in Nuggets territory back in 2003, one of his first assignments before stepping onto the court involved shuffling his 6-foot-8, 230-pound frame into a pair of waders on Colorado’s White River.
Fed Hatcheries Axed
Fish hatcheries—love ’em or leave ’em—are in a state of funding paralysis across the U.S., especially in the Southeast. Tennessee’s National Fish Hatchery, in Erwin, is one of nine federally-operated hatcheries slated for elimination in 2012.
Rule #114: Save the Ice for Cocktails
Ice clogging our rod-guide arteries can kill a good day of fishing, but most of the time we will live. Xavier de la Rue takes icy punishment to the level of mega burl, straightlining a 50-degree pitch into a 60-meter ice-fall ending.
Miami Mullet Toss Championship
MIAMI—If this weekend finds you in south Florida without a mullet, better procure one quick. The 20th Annual Mullet Tossing Competition in Matlacha, just north of Cape Coral, kicks off on Saturday. Any midget or cat chucking experience should bode well for competitors going for the distance.
Opinion: Rethinking Penobscot Restoration
MAINE—Last summer, Trout Unlimited and its Penobscot River Restoration Trust partners raised $25 million to purchase three dams on the Penobscot River in order to restore more than 1,000 miles of anadromous Atlantic salmon habitat. In his in-depth piece, Bangor Daily News guest columnist and flyfisher, Joe Bertolaccini, argues the value of the expenditure vs.…
Givin ‘Em the “Green Weenie”
Former Sen. Alan Simpson (R, Wyo.) sparked a minor media kerfuffle when he whipped out the words “Green Weenie” during a recent CNN interview. If you’ve ever fished PA’s Little J, you’re likely familiar with the GW—and its aphrodisiac-like charms on resident browns. For those who live in Green Bay however, the green weenie warmer…
Listen: Big River
No doubt, Johnny Cash is/was the man. But when Jack White’s face-melting guitar riffs meet The Secret Sisters’ southern-fried vocals, this bastardized “Big River” goes massive.
Sightings: Brazilian In Banff
Brazilian, Bruna Schmitz, kills it on a surfboard. In a stroke of genius, her recent Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot involves a fly rod, bikinis, and wading into Banff’s icy Lake Louise. Video of Bruna’s casting session after the jump.
Live from Portlandia
Portland and hipsters go together like flip-flops and foot fungus. Emotionally detached. Ironically awesome. Wrapped snug in circa 1990s flannel. Pack your scarf collection, skinny jeans, single-speed bike bedecked with Spey rod and you’ll fit in fine. (Prime example: Portland-based Drake contributor, Chris Santella.)
Last “Ditch” Attempt
MONTANA—In the pantheon of fishy states, Montana remains Boss because of its well-defined, populist-minded stream access laws. But a recent bill carried by a Dillon lawmaker is raising angler red flags with its redefinition of what constitutes a “ditch,” potentially sidelining the public from any waterways that receive natural stream-water diversions.
OR Felt Ban: Sink or Swim?
OREGON—Full disclosure: We have not worn felt on the soles of our fishing boots for the past several seasons. Do we miss it? Meh, not so much mostly thanks to studs. Across the country, Alaska and Vermont have outlawed felt soles in the name of curbing the spread of invasive species such as Didymo…
Conservationists Target Timber Sale
HELENA—The Alliance for the Wild Rockies and the Native Ecosystems Council are suing the U.S. Forest Service in order to halt a timber sale in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest near Butte.
Recognize this Deadbeat?
Angling Trade Magazine is reporting that a group of fucks pillaged thousands of dollars in loot from several Colorado specialty flyshops. “A well-orchestrated group of thieves is targeting Colorado fly shops. So far they have made off with several thousand dollars in merchandise. The group is stealing high end product. Among the shops hit thus far: Laughing Grizzly,…
Bristol Bay to be EPA Assessed
ANCHORAGE, AK—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it will conduct a scientific assessment of the Bristol Bay watershed to better understand how future large-scale development projects may affect water quality and area fisheries.
Conserving Yellowstone Cutts
Yellowstone Lake’s native Yellowstone cutthroat population has been decimated by nonnative lake trout. Park planners recently released a Native Trout Conservation Plan and Environmental Assessment that proposes a long-term strategy to protect and restore cutthroat trout and other native fish. Jan. 31 marks the public commentary deadline. For more details hit Smithhammer’s latest blog…
Super 8; Super Dirty
According to today’s Denver Post, Colorado’s Estes Park—home to the headwaters of the Big Thompson River—houses one of America’s Top 10 Dirtiest Hotels. Its Super 8 ranked No. 8. (Uncanny!) No word on whether this is directly correlated to area flyfisher traffic. But we have a hunch….