“I really think it’s important to show the public how these streams can come back so well if we just give them a chance and make them stable and design them correctly. If you build it right, the wildlife will come back.” Sometimes, a stream just needs a little plastic surgery to help it get…
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While British Columbia is battling its worst wildfire season on record—more than 3,000 square miles of forest, brush, and grassland burned since April 1—anglers on the Dean River, and the businesses catering to them, have been scrambling with logistics, following flight cancellations and road closures into and out of the province’s Central Coast region.
I met Ross White at a bridge over Denver’s South Platte River. We were equally hip, both riding fixed gear bikes and sporting cordura canvas packs. The only difference was that White made his backpack. As we rode along the river, I realized he had strapped his 8 weight to the frame of his bicycle, out-hipping…
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I met James Thull in a stuffy room on the second floor of Montana State University’s library. Shaved head, goatee, Gandhi glasses–he looks as though he just stepped off the set of a white-washed kung-fu flick from the 70s. He would have been cast as the gatekeeper of a secret-holding shrine in some mythical land.…
DetailsThe 8th Annual Heber Valley Fly Fishing Festival kicks off this weekend in Midway, Utah. Join Allen Fly Fishing and Streem Outdoors for the free event that invites anglers of all skill levels to participate in clinics and demonstrations from local and industry experts.
It doesn’t taste like trout—but in the case of Three Barrel Brewing’s latest craft-beer release, Trucha Grande, there’s certainly a juicy cutthroat swimming somewhere near the source.
Bristol Bay, Alaska this summer has seen a hulking sockeye return, with total run estimates set to eclipse the 51 million salmon mark. In the meantime, the EPA Version 2.0 continues its plans to dismantle the July 2014 Clean Water Act Proposed Determination that would have tightened restrictions on toxic discharges associated with the proposed…
DetailsUnlicensed carp fishing in Washington State is not a crime. And mirror and common varieties are your fully sanctioned targets at the First Annual Carp Jamboree hosted by Emerald Water Anglers on August 11 to 12. All you need is 60 bucks (for the entry fee), plus a camera and tape measure to record the evidence.
Earlier today, Pacific NorthWest LNG—the controversial $11.4-billion gas export project looking to set up shop in British Columbia’s Skeena River estuary—was deemed dead in the water by the Malaysian state-controlled oil and gas giant Petronas.
Feelings are part of it. That’s because our cherished fly rods, whether impatient laser throwers or deep-bending noodles, stroke emotions. When they feel right, we’re remarkable anglers. When something’s jacked, it’s a slippery slope from elitist to self-defeatist. Idaho-based Waterworks Lamson, with its new Center Axis Rod/Reel, is banking on recalibrating the way we feel…
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The other week I spoke with Charlie Piette, the fishing manager at Tight Lines Fly Fishing Co. in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And when I brought up a certain semi-secret river, he gave me this response, “Our biggest rule, for years, has been don’t name the river. We don’t talk about this river, we don’t write…
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SO YOU’VE DECIDED to fish green drakes this summer. On a western river, preferably. Good for you. It’s an incredible hatch that too often gets overlooked for the more glorious salmonfly. Is your significant other coming along? Does he or she fish? Wait, a better question: Does your partner like to do anything other than…
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Brought to you by another year of high-caliber flyfishing films, The Drake’s 11th Annual Video Awards in Orlando last week saw the crowds pour in to celebrate creativity, sharp storytelling, and gripping fishing footage across a spectrum of honored categories.
Whether that D loop’s looking a little deflated or you’re searching for a proper summertime bash, the 5th Annual Klickitat Two-Hander Day, on August 12, offers a full spey-casting curriculum followed by a feast under the stars. The free gathering is for those who’d like to learn not only how to cast the two-hander better…
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Episode #6 of The Drake‘s new flyfishing podcast takes a darker turn. We stumble around a mosquito-filled farm field in search of bugs, beers, and big browns. We find most of them. And just a heads up, this episode contains some language that may not be suitable for all audiences. If you’re listening with kids, feel…
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Episode #5 of The DrakeCast takes us to a gigantic dam in the great state of Kentucky. While there, we learn about the Cumberland River that flows out of that massive wall of concrete, the trout that call that river home, and the fishermen that chase those trout. This is the story of one dam and…
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Mike Dawes has a fishing problem. He’s been wading saltwater flats since the impressionable age of seven. He’s a veteran player on the permit tourney circuit. He’s even starred in couple of film tour flicks. But perhaps the biggest struggle he’s had to overcome in his flyfishing career didn’t involve a dour fish or a…
DetailsJoin us next week in Orlando, Florida for another legendary party celebrating the hottest flyfishing films from the past 12 months at The Drake’s 11th Annual Flyfishing Video Awards.
Episode #4 of The DrakeCast traces the beginning of an infamous car’s adventure from Wisconsin to Texas. We’re going to Ride with Clyde. Along the way we’ll meet a state trooper, a few unique motel owners, and hear some behind the scenes audio recorded on Clyde’s bench seat when no one was looking. We’ll also learn…
DetailsFrom Tight Loops, the flyfishing collective with a soft spot for old Volkswagens, Northern Exposure follows Chase and Aimee Bartee as they chase a phantom cicada hatch on Maryland’s Savage River and then reconnect with their Northeastern roots. “Don’t expect to see any geotags of these rivers on Instagram, the folks up there keep it pretty…
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Facing ripping winds and tarpon of the hard to find variety, podium experience proved to be the key ingredient for top anglers grinding it out at the 54th Annual Invitational Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament in Islamorada, Florida, with the three winning teams having all been past Grand Champions.
Episode #3 of The DrakeCast follows guide Donnie Richards down Michigan’s Pere Marquette River. Along the way, we learn the history of the river, challenge a Michigan DNR fisheries biologist, and discover what makes the Pere Marquette River great.
CTRL + ALT + PUT-IN FishViews, a startup based in Wimberly, Texas, is adding new features to your summer “river float” plans—providing anglers, rafters, government agencies, and conservation organizations with interactive 360-degree digital maps of a growing list of American and worldwide waterways. Similar to the Google Street View platform you use to spy on…
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Episode #2 of The DrakeCast searches through the ashes of the fire that ravaged Great Smoky Mountains National Park this past November. Give ‘er a listen.
Episode #1 of The DrakeCast follows the band S. Carey through Northern Wisconsin as they chase for illusive Wisconsin Wintertrout. Their melancholy music fills the background as we uncover the band’s rise to fame and subsequent quest for solitude.
Frustrated that The Drake Magazine only comes out four times a year? Well now there’s more. Introducing The Drake’s new weekly flyfishing podcast, The DrakeCast. Just like the magazine, we’re bringing you stories–some fun, some serious. Every Friday you’ll get reporting, history, humor, and flyfishing. The first two episodes of The DrakeCast are available below.
This week, Utah Stream Access Coalition (USAC) will shift back into courtroom mode, once again arguing for a favorable conclusion to the longstanding legal wranglings over constitutionally-bound public fishing access rights in the Beehive State.