Drake Magazine Daily Fly Fishing News and Blog
Washington’s Grand Coulee Dam on the upper Columbia River, located about two hours north of Spokane, was completed in 1942. Today, the energy-producing colossus remains one of the mightiest of its kind in the country.
What do brown trout and most cats have in common? They both love to chomp on mice, obviously. And now thanks to the world’s first flyfishing pet toy built to fish for felines, you can twist on a Mr. Hankey and hook a trophy kitty. Sam Walton’s new Cat-Fish Kickstarter campaign is well on its…
The 2015 Sugarloaf Showdown tourney runs from Nov. 12 to 14 at the Sugarloaf Marina and Sugarloaf Lodge Tiki Bar. This year’s catch and release inshore event targets permit, bonefish, and barracuda and is riding on the success of last year’s great turnout.
Bright waters, bright fish, and one of the best wild steelhead edits we’ve seen in a minute. Jeroen Wohe, owner of Skeena River Lodge, shares his thoughts on flyfishing in B.C.—and hooks a few nice ones along the way.
After more than 100 years of abuse, California’s wild salmon and steelhead are on the ropes. And like many populations up and down the West Coast, these fish are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Globetrotting angler Christiaan Pretorius was fortunate enough to call Rynda—on Russia’s Kola Peninsula—his home for four weeks this past season. “It’s very rare nowadays to find fisheries that are still so untouched and in their raw form,” Pretorius says. “The people at Rynda are so special in the sense that they care so much about these…
Help hurricane-ravaged communities and businesses in the southern Bahamas Reports in the wake of Hurricane Joaquin have been dire, with much of the southern Bahamas seeing catastrophic destruction from the storm. Many of the southern out islands—such as Long Island, Crooked, and Cat—have immediate needs for food, water, and sewage, according to the Caribbean Disaster…
This week, Trout Unlimited released the results from its poll of more than 630 active steelhead anglers in California, Oregon, and Washington, which shows positive signs of support for wild steelhead conservation and for managing fisheries to sustain wild steelhead populations.
Congress stood by and watched as the highly successful, fifty-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) expired on October 1st. Possibly the most important conservation program in the country, the LWCF funded national, state and local parks, civil war memorials, national forests, fishing and hunting access, and myriad more needs on public lands.
Broad coalition to rally on the lower Snake River in support of removing four deadbeat dams WAWAWAI LANDING, WA—On Saturday, Oct. 3, salmon advocates, tribal members, anglers, kayakers, outfitters, orca lovers, and business owners will join forces to rally on the Snake River and unfurl a 100-foot banner with a singular message: Free the Snake.
Micro Management is packed with pint-size tarpon mastering the art of flight—all part of Dan Decibel’s submission to the 2015 POONFECTA (Baby Tarpon on fly Tournament) Film Festival. Which he won, by the way.
Following the international bitchstorm that’s been brewing around the future of Bahamas flats fisheries—inclemencies mostly attributed to the Bahamas Fly Fishing Industry Association’s nationalistic grandstanding—some sensible communications have recently come to light. Last week, Tribune 242, a Nassau-based publication, reported that The Department of Marine Resources has “pretty much determined” that persons will need to pony…
California anglers may soon find themselves inventing new methods to get down. We’re not talking breakdancing here, but a potential lead ban similar to the ban for hunters beginning in 2019.
Terrace is a big-fish nerve center in northern B.C., where guide and Steelhead House owner Darren Wright mines the mighty Skeena and its tribs for annual returns of chrome. In this short film from Simms, hook up with Wright and his partner Missy MacDonald for a tour of their stellar homewaters.
SOUTHWEST ALASKA—A floatplane carrying 10 passengers—including guests and guides of Rainbow King Lodge—crashed on takeoff from a small lake near the town of Iliamna on Tuesday morning, killing three passengers and leaving several others critically injured.
With recreational logging’s spike in popularity across the Pacific Northwest, it was of little surprise that purveyors of handcrafted firewood would follow suit and ignite excitement. Meet Jesse Horn, owner of Smoke & Flame, a Vancouver, B.C.-based artisanal firewood company that sells bundles of premium kindling for $1,000. Duraflame starter logs be damned. Via the…
This October, Oregon Board of Forestry (BOF) will decide whether it will help nurture in-state steelhead, salmon, and trout populations by increasing the size of riparian buffers that shield streams and rivers from chainsaws and excavators.
Savage rainbows, ridiculous mousing, and home to the unsanctioned Smirnoff Olympics—Kamchatka, da! In Zhupanova, Matt Jones and Oliver White explore one of the most beautiful and scenic rivers in the region. “Its close proximity to Petropavlovsk (one hour by helicopter) and its huge rainbows make it perhaps the most popular river on the peninsula.”
Among the lesser reported events of President Obama’s recent visit to the 49th state was a coho spawning all over his shoes. The local woman helping him handle the fish said the salmon was happy to see him.
Living Rivers—Surf is the first of two short films highlighting one of the many unique water cultures in the American West. “In the rush of water spilling from the high mountain peaks of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, surfers are finding standing waves that move with life and never end.” Next up, Nymphing Maverick’s.
Ah, yes, the coveted fishing hall pass. Score one and enjoy temporary freedom from fulfilling girlfriend/wife or boyfriend/husband duties. Once expired—after a day or two… 10 days, max.—return home, mow the lawn, engage in date nights with your intolerable neighbors Steve and Barbara, and rebuild the points needed for the next exit. Here, Dustin Miller…
The Japanese word gyotaku—say it with me kids, gee-oh-tah-koo—translated literally means “fish rubbing,” which is basically what it is.
PORTLAND, OR—Native Fish Society (NFS) and its founder Bill Bakke were awarded the Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award by the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in recognition of Bakke and the organization’s pioneering work in the recovery and conservation of wild, native fish across the Pacific Northwest.
The “minnow run” on Patagonia’s Collon Cura River is legendary—mostly because it keeps the local rainbows fat and happy. Beattie Outdoor Productions and Off the Grid Studios recently saddled up with Patagonia River Guides to fish and film the phenomenon.
[On Aug. 5, a crew tasked by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate a leak at a defunct mine near Silverton, Colorado, sent millions of gallons of toxic tailings into the Animas. The accident that turned the river into a mustard-colored media spectacle went on to cause three states and the Navajo Nation to…
Zack, Sam, and Travis of the Montana Wild crew take their drift boats on a journey down southeast Montana’s Bighorn River, where the goal is to fish and explore a remote 50-mile stretch that cuts through the Crow Native American Reservation. Thunderstorms, rising trout, and rugged landscapes join them in their search. Via Smith Optics.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is still accepting comments on “Wild Steelhead Gene Bank” selection in three Puget Sound regions: 1) North Cascades, 2) Central/South Puget Sound, and 3) Hood Canal and Strait of Juan de Fuca. Remarks must be received no later than 5 p.m. Pacific time on August 13, 2015.