Drake Magazine Daily Fly Fishing News and Blog
90 miles is the physical distance between Cuba and the US. Culturally, and in many ways from a fisheries management standpoint, the two countries are lightyears apart. WorldANGLING’s “90 Miles” explores the relationship between the Florida Keys and Cuba—from a flyfishing POV. “Flats fishing for tarpon, bonefish, and permit is big business in the Florida…
Proving once again that Europeans are some of the biggest pervs we know, behold the Carponizer 2015 Calendar. According to Google Translator: “From the photos available shows that the formula is more or less the same, (fine cover with minnow peeping caressed by the model, for the ‘ occasion dressed in a swimsuit that says…
Watch the latest drizzly, bleak, and bright-at-the-same-time short from the kick-ass filmmaking contingent at BloodKnots. And stay tuned for more from the making of steelhead conservation feature, Our Two Hands.
Drop a few extra bucks on salmon conservation plates in Oregon, and you’d expect the money you invested was going toward the fish. But according to The Oregonian, a state agency that promised to use the cash “exclusively to undo roadblocks impairing salmon streams across Oregon” has failed to deliver. “Instead, drivers have paid the salary and…
Martin Litton, legendary Colorado River outfitter and the conservationist involved in some of the 20th century’s biggest dam-busting battles, died on Sunday. He was 97. In addition to vehemently defending his beloved Grand Canyon, Litton pioneered wooden dory use on the Colorado and helped inspire the river subculture that spawned Kevin Fedarko’s award-winning book: The Emerald Mile:…
We interrupt this Cyber-Monday spending spree—holster the Bitcoins—to bring you two minutes of inspiring, unadulterated tarpon. Enter the Florida Everglades and meet Leviathan!… courtesy of Chris Bamford and Captain Jeff Legutki.
In “Salt 365”, two lifelong surfers living in Orange County California forge a strong friendship through their shared passion for saltwater flyfishing. Peek behind the Orange curtain into the Southern California ocean lifestyle through the lives of Capt. Vaughn Podmore & Keith Munemitsu. SALT 365 is a collaboration between Tight Loop Media & Paul Pryor…
Kevin McKay of maineflyfish.com started Flies for Kids to get more kids stoked on fly tying. Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop has since joined forces and, in 2014, the project raised enough money to buy 30 kits that were donated to young, aspiring bug twisters. How it works: Fly tiers from around the country donate flies…
Filmmakers Travis Rummel, Ben Knight, and Matt Stoecker have been nominated for some stoke-worthy stuff lately. From academy-award consideration—wait, what?!—to National Geographic Adventurers of the Year contention, the trio and their award-winning enviro feature, DamNation, continue to kick ass. Vote for NatGeo’s People’s Choice Adventurer of the Year, 2015, here. >
From its headwaters in the Rockies to its terminus in the lonely delta lying just short of the Sea of Cortez, the Colorado River, as described by award-winning photographer and filmmaker Pete McBride, is a system with “too many straws in the drink.” McBride’s film Delta Dawn chronicles his mission to reach the sea via the…
OLYMPIA, WA—At its mid-Dec. meeting, Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will explore regulations that would require steelheaders to bonk all hatchery steelhead caught on the Klickitat, Walla Walla, Snake, and Grand Ronde rivers. The proposed rule expansion is designed to reduce the negative impact hatchery steelhead have on local populations of wild steelhead—i.e. diluting gene…
Featuring new footage from Mongolia’s Eg and Uur rivers, two taimen strongholds, this short from Beattie Outdoor Productions and Simms explores the budding culture surrounding this explosive fish. “With only a small window of time to pursue one of the world’s most elusive fish species, the taimen, anglers have no choice but to fish through the…
One minute of proof why poppers rule, via “Just for Paul” by Lowcountry Journal.
From annual angler migrations to electrifying interruptions in the swing-step-swing dance, a world without wild steelhead would be a soulless expanse. That’s why this month Trout Unlimited is launching its Wild Steelhead Initiative, with the goal to protect and restore an iconic species and the fishing opportunities provided throughout its native range. “The heart of the…
Watch Colorado’s Browns Canyon come alive on the façade of Denver’s McNichols Building. The recent event, called “Browns Canyon Live,” was sponsored by Sportsmen for Browns Canyon, a grassroots group committed to preserving this habitat-rich area on the Arkansas River. Check out the event recap. “Browns Canyon, on the Arkansas River between Buena Vista and…
In Sept. 2013, along the east-side gateways into Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, the power of water pocketed a decisive win. Biblical floods that fall gutted highway corridors, uprooting families and demolishing infrastructure. Trout in rivers such as the Thompson and St. Vrain didn’t stand a chance—other than pinning hopes to a river rehabilitation process…
Browns, flannels, corkless grips, and Greenland’s mid-summer tundra all make appearances in this new short from ArcticSilver. Check it out.
BRISTOL BAY, AK—The Pebble Partnership, according to its latest lawsuit, is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over nefarious actions that may lead to actually protecting the environment. “An Oct. 14 filing in U.S. District Court alleges that the EPA collaborated with anti-Pebble organizations as it prepared to evaluate the proposed gold and copper mine…
Fresh from the lens of current Drake cover contributor Russ Schnitzer, Wild Fish Works explores the importance of native salmon and steelhead runs as they pertain to social, cultural, and economic connections up and down the Oregon coast. Check out the teaser and stay tuned for a full-length feature slated to drop soon. Watch it “Over the…
In his new book Everglades: America’s Wetland, award-winning conservation photographer Mac Stone showcases the natural beauty and resilience of the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. In this behind-the-scenes vid, we see what it takes to capture the hard-earned cover image in a place where nature doesn’t always care to cooperate. “There is hardly a bird more…
Keep Keys guides keeping on, and throw down for bonefish, barracuda, and permit at the catch-and-release Sugarloaf Showdown at Sugarloaf Marina on Nov. 13 to 15, 2014. The inshore tourney, hosted by the Lower Keys Guides Association, is a fundraiser for the Guides Trust Foundation. The trust provides emergency means for fishing guides in the…
California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill this week banning commercial production of genetically modified, hormone-juiced salmon. AB 504, authored by Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, prohibits the spawning or cultivating of “transgenic salmonids” in the Pacific Ocean to all waters of the state. The hatchery production and stocking of such fish is also off-limits. “The…
FYI, “OMG” is a FTW baby tarpon video by Dan Decibel that will SRSLY make you say WTF. YW. Watch it Via Dan Decibel: This a baby Tarpon Video that I submitted to the “Poonfecta Fishing Tournament and Film/Art Festival” that was hosted by BARFLY SAFETY HARBOR. I ended up winning the film festival with…
Flyfishing has “gone snowboardin” this season courtesy of Union’s Kassmaster snowboard binding. The Danny Kass (aka Mayor of Mt. Weird) signature model features fish scale team highbacks bedecked with a cutthroat flank and a retro-ish looking fishing dude. “Hook into a pair now, because this elusive, limited edition Pro Model won’t be available for long.”…
Three weeks ago someone set fire to the house where flyfishing filmmaker Rolf Nylinder and his girlfriend were living. The young Swede escaped through the balcony. Minutes later everything he owned was engulfed in flames—including camera gear and all the footage he’s filmed over the last 10 years. “I got out in my underwear, and…
Fly-tying iconoclast Jack Gartside passed away in 2009 after a hard-fought battle with lung cancer. Chuck Kraemer of PBS’s Greater Boston profiled the legend and his ultimate deceptions in “Forever a Boy”. Well worth a second glance. Via Jack Gartside: “I think the desire to deceive is very much a part of the human make up.…
“Last days of a trip are a strange thing. Reaching down for the last bit of magic in a strange and wonderful place. Closer to home with every step and being in the moment feels crowded by all of yesterday’s footprints.” Check out this ethereal Iliamna, Alaska, edit from the LC Journal. And may your…