Drake Magazine Daily Fly Fishing News and Blog
The history goes something like this: In 1972 CalTrout fought to restore Hat Creek—winning it a wild trout designation. By 1983 it supported more than 5,000 trout per river mile. And as recently as 2011 those numbers have sunk to less than 1,000 due to a steady deterioration of habitat that’s led to what’s been…
No guides, plans, itineraries, or rules, the Provo Bros hit AK for blower pow capped with chrome. Check out the latest 18-minute edit of Steelhead and Spines after the jump.
For those following Casting For Recovery’s annual holiday-online-autction-a-thon—with proceeds destined for its quality of life programs for breast cancer survivors across the country—you officially have two days left to get in on the bidding. Of course, featured in this year’s mix is the stellar collection of classic Atlantic Salmon flies and original art from the…
The magazine, the forums, 5 favorite species with two-word descriptions, and a future filled with more fishing. Read more about the life and times of The Drake as it approaches a 15-year milestone in the business. Interview by Monte Burke at Forbes:
Three minutes of mind-bending footage for your morning interweb commute… via the sending-it-large trailer for Into the Mind. Because Buddha once said, “The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
This week marks the start of Casting for Recovery’s annual holiday auction, with proceeds earmarked for its quality of life retreat program for breast cancer survivors across the United States. Auction items range from vacation destinations and guided trips to rods, reels… and special to this year’s mix: the “final conflaguration” of the Drake Classic…
Come watch a killer film and save some fish. If you’re in Denver next week join us and the Greenbacks for the Colorado Premiere of Low & Clear, an award-winning documentary by Tyler Hughen and Kahlil Hudson.
Idaho guide Ken Bitton recently ran face first into an errant cast attached to a No. 5 AJ. Bitton survived. His battle wound… badass.
Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife stakeholders this week agreed on recommendations that would phase out the use of commercial gillnets by non-tribal fishers on the mainstem lower Columbia River by 2016. The move would prioritize selective recreational fisheries—offset by hatchery-bolstered commercial fisheries in off-channel areas.
Tarpon continue to beat humans into submission no matter where they roam—including Cuba. A little megalops edit from the forbidden land to fuel the stoke. Enjoy.
The “greenest” president of all time? You’re looking at him. A totally unscientific report in Scientific American reports that Republican Teddy Roosevelt takes top spot over fellow green weenie Richard Nixon.
According to the polls, steelhead are still a lot more fun than elections. Check out prime swing state action via the SuperNatural Tailout teaser.
An Irvine resident—representing PETA—is requesting that the city install a sign to memorialize “the hundreds of soles killed” in an October smash up. The truck carrying 1,600 pounds of live fish and several tanks of pure oxygen crashed with two other vehicles. The oxygen was used to keep the fish alive as they were being…
SEATTLE—Washington’s state fish? None other than the iconic, and threatened, steelhead. Pay tribute through November 15 at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum, where “The Magnificent Steelhead” exhibit includes works by Andy Anderson, Jeff Bright, Keith Douglas, Brian Huskey, Brian O’Keefe, Jonathan Marquardt, Dave McCoy, Ken Moorish, Tim Pask, Steve Perih, Mike Savlen, and Bob…
The Tongass 77 campaign is a TU- and fishermen-led effort supported by scientists that would require the Forest Service to manage the Tongass’ top 77 salmon-producing watersheds open to development… for fish first. Current threats to the Tongass National Forest include the Timber Task Force’s plan to carve out two million acres for clear-cut logging…
When stamp collector/fly-guide extraordinaire Hank Patterson pisses in his waders, rest assured it’s all part of the plan. Check out Part III… and don’t forget to snap it and slap it.
In August, the Bagley wildfire took aim at California’s iconic McCloud River. The blaze consumed more than 46,000 acres before it fizzled, including old growth forest within an unburned river canyon. CalTrout’s Craig Ballenger reports on the effects of the fire on angling and the fishery.
The male angler fish is born puny, weak, and useless. His female counterpart in comparison is massive, an adept predator, and possesses the ability to fuse with multiple sperm donors for sexy time.
Author Tom McGuane will be honored with the Emeritus distinction of the High Plains Book Awards on Saturday in Billings. It’s something that he jokes sounds a lot like a prize for geezers.
Recently ran into this beauty while fishing out of Oceanside Marina in Key West. Don’t know what life you’re living, but some seriously have it dialed.
Drake contributor Tim Romano recently spent several days on Utah’s Green River, documenting one of the West’s most beautiful trout rivers. Hit the link to view the gallery, which is nothing short of awesome.
Marshall Bloom—aka Dr. Trout—has a less-than-casual day job by most standards. When he punches the clock as associate director for scientific management at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, he throws on a positive-pressure suit and strolls into a “Biosafety Level 4” lab, where he works with the planet’s deadliest diseases—some of which could be exploited by bioterrorists.…
They come. They go. They eat and retreat. But for some reason they never show up in Colorado. A little Tuesday tarpon footage for those who’d rather be fishing the flats today.
Orvis and the Wild Steelhead Coalition are auctioning a one-of-a-kind McKenzie-style driftboat, hand-built by master craftsman Ross Duncan. Bidding starts at $5,000 and all proceeds go toward WSC habitat restoration and steelhead research projects on the Skagit River. So bring the cheddar.
If you’re into crappy dancing, and bad singing, and really drunk islanders, and Euro-dudes dressed up like Gilligan… this one’s for you, holmes. Oh, there’s always a banger bonefish or two in the mix, as well, with Peter & Rolf on Aitutaki.
What does southern Louisiana’s fishery look like 15 days after Hurricane Isaac makes landfall? Less post-apacolyptic than you might think. Fishing’s good; but different. Shallow Water Expeditions scopes out the scene in this sweet, sweet edit.
Even AK—contemporary bastion of wild salmon in big numbers—is not immune to the ills of habitual habitat degradation. The Tongass National Forest, for instance, is a prime example of salmon bearing waters in need of a little extra lovin’. They’re now set to get just that thanks to a $1 million partnership between The USDA…