Beer, Cheese, and Hex Magic
Wisconsin Mayfly-Induced Accidents Wisconsin, the epicenter of all things loaded in hops and lactose, is now also the place to crash your car in an apocalyptic Hex hatch. Reports of mayfly-induced accidents continue to make the rounds after the National Weather Service last week recorded a mega hatch over the Mississippi River between Wisconsin and Iowa…
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Wild Steelhead Action Alert
Well, well… it turns out steelhead hatchery supporters are highly organized, plenty loud, and politically savvy. That’s why the Wild Steelhead Coalition is asking all wild steelhead advocates to rally together and make moves toward tomorrow’s Washington State Senate Natural Resources & Parks Committee hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to discuss the recent Puget…
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Dead Flies Don’t Swim
When tricos bounce like puffs of smoke up and down Montana’s Missouri River, trout line up in skinny water to slurp, slurp, slurp. Mark Raisler, from Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig, is there waiting. Watch It Via Scumliner Media: “Mark Raisler talking about dry fly fishing and the late-summer Trico hatch on the Missouri River…
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Going Bush
According to most Kiwis the term “going bush” has no political or sexual connotations, but instead is a national past time that involves sight-fishing to massive trout in nonsensical settings. Backcountry North Island is Gin-Clear Media’s 7th flyfishing feature film. Check out the trailer. Watch It Via Gin-Clear Media: “The film follows six flyfishers, from different…
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2014 Film Awards Winners
With thousands of votes tallied for Reader’s Choice 2014 and a bevy of knockout films from the industry’s leading cinematographers, the 9th Annual Drake Video Awards in Orlando brought the thunder to the Theme Park Capital. The Wrinkle Neck Mules shook the house. The beers flowed. And generous sponsors made it rain swag all evening…
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Blessed be Thy Boat
It’s once again time to consecrate your honorable vessels with Stealthcraft’s 3rd Annual Blessing of the Boats in Baldwin, Michigan. The blessing starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday, followed by a float down the Manistee River. Then stick around for live music, food, beverages and giveaways from Scientific Anglers of Midland, Ross Reels, Mystic Fly…
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One Step Closer to Killing Pebble
United defenders of Bristol Bay, Alaska, this week applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest “proposed determination” to protect Bristol Bay from large-scale mining interests using Section 404c of the Clean Water Act. “The EPA previously identified the threats posed by massive mining proposals in the region and now has issued some advance guidance that will…
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Knockin’ on the Door
The burning yearnings. Those sweaty, sleepless nights. And that feeling like you were way out of your league. You’ll always remember your first time… with a permit. “Knockin’ on the Door” premiered at The Drake Magazine Fly Fishing Video Awards in Orlando. Check it out: Watch it Via World Angling: “The next generation of fly…
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Idaho’s South Fork
DURING THE WANING DAYS OF SUMMER 2000, guide Dave Deardorff rowed his drift boat one stroke too far. Idaho’s lower South Fork of the Snake had fished well that afternoon. Cutthroat sipped BWOs under tormented skies, while Deardorff storm-jumped his way downstream. Finally, something angry surrounded him and his two clients. He sunk oar blades…
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Intros: YETI Hopper
What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold. And in the past, Yeti has kept it frosty with its “grizzly proof” but somewhat cumbersome-to-carry Tundra series coolers. It’s new soft-sided Hopper is built for canned beverage mobility, and includes 5.2 gallons of capacity wrapped in 840 denier DryHide™ fabric—similar to the material used in whitewater rafts. “The…
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Reader’s Choice 2014
Flyfishing’s best new movie—AS VOTED BY YOU—will be announced on Wednesday, July 16, at 7 p.m., in Ballroom G of Orlando’s Rosen Centre Hotel. As an integral part of the 9th Annual Drake Flyfishing Video Awards, presented by Simms Fishing Products, the Reader’s Choice Award allows you and your friends to vote for your favorite…
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8 Steps to Better Nymph Fishing
Mend it. Set that hook. And admit to yourself you’re not good enough to catch a fish with a dry. If you haven’t yet, please take the next 10 minutes to watch expert guide Hank Patterson’s absolutely on point “8 Steps to Better Nymph Fishing.” “Hank Patterson is back on the river sharing his thoughts, tips,…
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Bring a Boeing to the River Day
Crews today are working to remove three Boeing 737 fuselages that tumbled from derailed train cars into the Clark Fork River west of Missoula, Montana. The cargo, including complete fuselages of six single-aisle 737s, fuselage panels for a long-range 777, and wing parts for a jumbo 747, was en route from Wichita, Kansas, to plants in…
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9th Annual Flyfishing Video Awards
The 9th Annual Drake Magazine Flyfishing Video Awards, presented by Simms, will be held on Wednesday, July 16, at 7 p.m., in Ballroom G of Orlando’s Rosen Centre Hotel. This true “Best Of” event includes multiple categories and nominees, with winners being announced live, onstage, in Orlando. Polling for the Reader’s Choice Award, in which you…
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Big Year: June’s in the Bag
Congrats to Big Year contestant Cory Wheeler for dominating all challengers during the month of June. From peacock bass to creepy snakehead and common snook, Wheeler tallied 11 IGFA-certified species and walks away with an epic swag bag from RIO, Sage, Redington, and William Joseph. Stay tuned and keep the fishy dream alive. More winners to…
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Our Two Hands
Our Two Hands is a crowdfunding project set to investigate the complex and intimate relationships between flyfishers and salmonids. It asks: How did we arrive at this crossroads of conservation and sportsmanship and what are the creative alternatives to flawed management practices for salmon and steelhead? Watch it Via Bloodknots Flyfishing: “Welcome to our primary…
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Great Big Minnows
For “destination” carping, Michigan is a great place to get trashy. “Great Big Minnows” inflicts Beaver Island fever, with a healthy dose of sight-fishing shots at big lips and wiggling hips. Watch it “This is a premier Carp fly fishing destination, and the flats, fish and community of Beaver Island are incredible. When I asked the…
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Matching the Batch
WHEN MY PARENTS SHIPPED my sister and me off to college, they didn’t expected to receive a craft brewer and a flyfishing writer in return. But we’d both seen enough of corporate America to realize that a lifetime spent living in it might not be worth the paycheck. A collaborative effort between the two worlds…
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Girls Night In
EVERY TIME A GIRLFRIEND COMPLAINS about her husband or boyfriend going fishing again (insert big sigh), I bite off a small chunk of my tongue. I’d love for my husband to go fishing. A week in Montana? Hmmm- That doesn’t seem far away enough-or long enough. I hear there are big fish in Kamchatka. And…
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The Flies of Enrico Puglisi
I WAS A LITTLE SURPRISED when Enrico Puglisi told me that his favorite permit fly was not his EP Crab. Nor was it his lifelike Descendent Crab, or his Palometa Crab, or even the fly he named after the fish itself, the Permit Crab. It’s a shrimp pattern. More precisely, his Spawning Shrimp, #4, in…
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The Anti-Artist
THERE WAS A TIME when skateboarder-turnedgraphics- creator Dave Hartman excelled at the art of being aimless. Bucking the law and generally lacking purpose, Hartman bounced from home to home in suburban Arizona and California, rural Alabama, and southern New Hampshire. Until fishing intervened. He found a fly rod and carried it to Montana. And there…
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Clyde: Naked Gun
CLYDE HAS A FLAT. I can see it from the boat ramp of Montana’s Bitterroot River. The front of the old Merc is sloping toward the passenger side, and while I’m happy to discover that there’s a spare in the trunk, I’m unhappy to discover that the jack is missing its handle. I’m unhappy again…
DetailsThe Hex Talk
At some point in every young angler’s life, you’ll have to sit them down and have “the hex talk.” Conversation timing completely depends on the person. Some may not be ready, some will, and others are already experimenting with hex—without you even knowing. Here are a few key points to remember when it’s time for…
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Belize Tarpon Tagging
El Pescador Lodge is hosting the Belize Tarpon Tagging Expedition this August. Group leaders include marine biologist, Dr. Jerry Ault, tarpon fishing legend, Stu Apte, and Chicago-based angler/conservationist, Adam Marton. Check out the teaser, and explore the $64,000 Question: “Are our fish their fish?” Watch it “This is a rare opportunity for folks who dream…
DetailsNorthern Gateway’s Big Gamble
On Tuesday the Canadian federal government approved Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline, setting the stage for an ambitious $7 billion export artery that would shuttle 525,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta to a super-tanker port on B.C.’s northern coast in Kitimat. Enbridge, a company that tallies about 73 hydrocrabon spills per year, would bore…
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