DEQ-Authorized Mud Slurry Suffocates Shoshone River
Last week workers pulled the plug to a decaying diversion dam on Wyoming’s Shoshone River, near Cody, unleashing a trout-suffocating slurry careening 20+ miles downstream toward Bighorn Lake.
Flyfishing Grind: How to Turn Passion into Pay Dirt
Scoring a paycheck to fish incessantly seems like a savvy career move—if you can find the right mix of employer (preferably a company churning out badass gear) and locale (somewhere near steelhead, or poon flats, smallies ponds, tidal redfish… a carp ditch). Insatiable flyfisher Russell Miller began the process in Boulder, CO, in the late…
DetailsVideo Daze: Xplor Andros, Ch. 2
Xplor Andros is a multipart series from C1 Films, chronicling the adventures of Frankie Marion, Jeff Rybak, and flats guide Solomon Murphy as they embark on their first expedition to the Andros Island backcountry. In this second installment, tents are staked, tarpon are jumped, and it’s snapper for supper. Read more about the crew and…
DetailsVeins of America Map
Saying, “Hey, Siri…” will get you from point A to the local tavern and back. But if you’re searching for every stream spanning the 48 states of the contiguous U.S., look no further. The new river basins of America map, created by Imgur user Fejetlenfej—a geographer, GIS analyst, and the world’s most prolific hotspotter—shows the…
DetailsVideo Daze: This is the Lowcountry
What is the Lowcountry and why is it special? Ryan Griffin, Paul Puckett and Doug Roland go straight to the source for answers, where they explain how the sight of a tailing redfish can take over your life. “This short film is about flyfishing for redfish in the salt marshes around Charleston, SC, “the Lowcountry.” Shown…
DetailsWashington Steelhead Plates Set to Hit the Streets
Washington legislators made steelhead the state symbol in 1969. But as contributor Jonathan Stumpf writes in “Chrome Plated” (Summer 2016), over the ensuing years anglers haven’t had a design to compliment their steelhead whips en route to the Olympic Peninsula and elsewhere. In March, Governor Jay Inslee changed that when he signed a law to…
DetailsVideo Daze: Xplor Andros, Ch. 1
Xplor Andros is a multipart series from C1 Films, chronicling the adventures of Frankie Marion, Jeff Rybak, and flats guide Solomon Murphy as they embark on their first expedition to the Andros Island backcountry. The rules are simple, and the supplies are scant: limited fuel, water and power, and all their protein must come from the…
DetailsHow will Salmon Survive the Big Deluge?
The bad: Fall storms continue to hammer the Pacific Northwest, leaving 100,000 Oregonians in the dark and producing isolated incidents of flooding from northern California to western Washington. The good: Salmon like water. But how much is too much? New research published by the journal GlobalChange Biology provides a glimpse of how salmon rivers might…
DetailsOne Ticket to Copenhagen
Denmark is in for an unexpected, exceptional fall steelhead run. A cargo ship crashed into an ocean net pen this week dumping as many as 80,000 rainbow trout, averaging six and half pounds, into the Baltic Sea near the island of Funen.
Flyfishing Friends Helping Friends
Kenny Price accident. Earier this month, Tempe, Arizona-based angler Kenny Price sustained serious burns to his left hand while trying to keep a friend from falling into a campfire. You can help Kenny cover medical costs by making a donation to his GoFundMe page. “With Kenny’s bills stacking up and him not being able to work, we…
Details#FreeTheSnake
Feds ask for public input on breaching Snake River dams Back in May, a U.S. District Court judge in Portland sided with anglers, conservationists, the State of Oregon and the Nez Perce Tribe, ruling that the latest in a series of impotent federal plans for protecting endangered Northwest salmon was just as dubious as the…
DetailsSay It Ain’t So, Trudeau
B.C. salmon and steelhead advocates prepare to battle for Skeena River safekeeping When Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected he was on a breakaway, staring down an empty net for the win. This Wednesday he shot wide right.
DetailsVideo Daze: A Look Into Patagonia River Guides
If Pautzke egg-colored pant suits and Mr. Sniffles memes have you searching for a quick exit, Patagonia’s here to help. This 4-minute clip from Patagonia River Guides covers three regions, dozens of rivers, several lodges and, not to be too braggadocios, one of Argentina’s premier flyfishing programs.
Yellowstone Reopened. Maybe $12 Million Richer
The Yellowstone said “good to be back” last week as Montana reopened 17 miles of prime trout water upstream of Livingston. The Emigrant to Pine Creek section was the last to see fishing reintroduced following the August 19 closure of 183 miles of river due to the microscopic fish parasite that wasted thousands of whities during…
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The Adirondack Experience
A few years ago, I was sitting on the porch of a house I no longer live in, venting to a friend about “too much work, not enough fishing.” I told him I wanted to fish again, and said I knew just the guy to get me back on the water. The porch had great…
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Minnesota Fatties
“I THINK THE BEST TIRE is the spare in the trunk,” says Pete, handing me the keys. The other four tires vary in brand and age but seem to be holding air. I drop onto the seat and close the sagging door with a little extra encouragement. Amy does the same on the passenger side.…
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The Reunion
FOR MANY YEARS after I met Jeff Cottrell, I would have said that SoCal’s Bear Creek was the best small stream I’ve ever fished. A secretive tributary of the San Gabriel River not far from the troubled sprawl of the L.A. basin, it was the kind of place only fishing kids knew about.…
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Seeking Refuge
CHAD BROWN, the Navy veteran who spawned the Soul River Runs Deep brand, looks like he’s just fought the battle of his life. And it’s no surprise he’s beat. A glance at my watch shows 3 a.m. Alaska time and Brown, along with his squad of vet volunteers here to herd a posse of bedraggled…
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Forecasting Fish
IT STARTS AROUND THE SAME TIME every year, in late June or early July. And on a day that you should be fishing, you’re instead making furtive mouse clicks and talking in hushed tones with your buddies, always reminding yourselves that it’s still too early to say anything definitive. Then, as trout fishing ebbs into…
DetailsVideo Daze: Flyfishing Chilean Patagonia
Beetle mania is a season-long phenomenon on the glacial rivers feeding the river/lake systems of Chile’s Region XI. In large part thanks to a proliferation of cute Cantaria beetles (picture a crossbreed of Steve Buscemi and a scorpion). Here, a look at the dry-fly opportunities in the surrounding areas of the Cinco Rios and Estancia del…
DetailsOh Canada, Let’s Not Kill the Skeena
Trudeau to make final decision on dangerous Skeena River development British Columbia’s Skeena River is a globally important wild fish stronghold home to some of the largest chinook and steelhead ever recorded. A liquefied natural gas cooling and export facility at the river’s mouth is currently awaiting approval. And by early October, Canadian Prime Minister Justin…
DetailsVideo Daze: Tailers and Drones
Sir Paul Puckett and Capt. Lawson Builder dodge rainstorms to find a few tailing reds in Charleston, SC, on the flood tide. “Just a few snippets of footage and a whole lotta fun.” Via: Flood Tide Co
Another Smith, Another Bullseye Target for a Mine
We’ve heard a lot about this one lately. Montana’s Smith River is the edenic trout fishery that could turn cesspool if copper-hungry Tintina Resources gets a “please do” from DEQ to tap the mother lode and belch acid mine drainage into the system.
Video Daze: Providence
Filming for Confluence Film’s new Providence project took place in the fall of 2015 with the FlyCastaway crew on Providence Atoll in the Seychelles. The soon-to-be released full-length movie chronicles FlyCastaway’s first trip back to Providence Atoll since the waters were closed to anglers and boats more than six years ago—due to the threat of pirates…
DetailsThe “Nigiri Project”—Rearing Salmon Over Rice
Nicknamed the Nigiri Project (AKA salmon over rice), the Managed Agricultural Habitat initiative aims to demonstrate that California can have both its fish and its farms—all in one place. And in a state where wildlife abundance has been historically hammered by agricultural abundance, CalTrout has been busy working to put nature back on the menu.
Video Daze: Chinook—British Columbia
Skeena system chinook. On the swing. This should be good. Via T-Motion theater: “The anglers on camera include none other than the talented Adrienne Comeau, who guides for Skeena Spey Riverside Wilderness & Lodge and Steve McPhail, owner of Nass River Steelhead Company out of Terrace BC. This tech-infused video includes some great insight on flyfishing…
DetailsUpdate: FWP Opens Select Yellowstone Stretches and Tribs
Two sections of the Yellowstone were reopened last week due to improving environmental conditions following the parasite-caused fish kill that led to the shuttering of the river on Aug. 19. FWP crews will float the ‘Stone this week to asses damages and will decide whether fishing can resume throughout the river.