Cohutta Fishing Company began life in fall 2009 high on aspirations… a little short on ceiling space. For three years operations were dwarfed inside an 8-foot high, 1,400 square-foot box—which made selling 9-foot fly rods tough. The shop has since relocated, ballooning its square footage, expanding inventory with stocked shelves of top gear, and planting…
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One minute and forty-five seconds of unadulterated Dean River. More than enough to know we want more.
Winter flyfishing wouldn’t be right without a quaff of the ruckus juice to jumpstart the senses now and then. The brown comes in many forms and it’s no surprise that one of our favorites, Maker’s Mark, is in increasingly hot demand. So much so, the company announced plans last week to kill all sales of…
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While known more for work in the rafting and kayaking community, American Rivers and its Anglers Fund initiative puts fishing and habitat preservation first. Its focus includes: blasting outdated dams, protecting rivers through Blue Trails and advocacy programs, and working with power companies to improve hydro operations—virtually all of it benefitting fishing.
[There is some irony that a blog about the best photographers in the business is shot with a busted up iphone and a lens that came out of a crackerjack box.—WR] Surface Film is a fundraising event that showcases the work of some of the best established—as well as new—flyfishing photographers in the country. The…
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Efforts to bolster conservation and management of Florida’s bonefish, tarpon, and permit fisheries are in jeopardy, with a vote due at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb. 13). Whether you live in Florida or you travel there to flyfish, BTT is urging all anglers to support new Sportfish and Gamefish rules…
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH—Utah Stream Access Coalition is holding a Press Conference and Rally to fight the proposed House Bill68 and to support a new bill (yet to be numbered) sponsored be Rep. Dixon M. Pitcher to offer a Compromise. It will be meeting at the Utah State Capital on Friday, February 15 at 10…
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Showcasing the stories and images behind well-used gear that stands the test of abuse in the river, on the mountain, et cetera—is rather brilliant. So much so we thought about running a similar thread featuring Drake readers and their high-mileage back-issues, but there’re only so many sitting-on-the-can-in-midshit shots we can handle. Vetoed.
Drake contributor Steven Hawley recently reported on Stanford University’s useless, dangerous, and longstanding Searsville Dam: an impoundment that produces no hydroelectric power. Provides no flood control and potable water benefits. Has been labeled “high-hazard” by the State of California. And stretches across San Francisquito Creek—once home to coho and chinook salmon, and still cradling a handful…
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The meal. Lentils the color of cocoa. A piccalilli of summer beans in deep gold mustard. An emerald drizzle of pureed Turkish parsley. And, in the center of it all, a six-ounce fillet of steelhead. In a new article from Seattle Met, author Allecia Vermillion details the journey of Hoh River steelhead from tribal gillnet…
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We like Utah’s Green River for many reasons. Sight-fishing. Bug-blankets of spring baetis and midges. Ridiculous trout numbers. And the fact that until now, meddling flow-spongers have been unsuccessful in their efforts to suck it dry.
The flyfishing public became aware this week of a new bill aimed at crippling our public stream access rights. And we’re respectfully urging YOU—those entrusted with upholding our simple civil liberties—to take a stand for the sake of Utah waters and its passionate devotees.
Tusheti is a mountainous nature preserve that squats on the border of Georgia and the pseudo-independent Russian state of Chechnya—far, far off the trout fishing radar. In the fall of 2012, Drake contributors Matt Hansen and Dan Armstrong traveled to the region to breath the culture and to learn a few river tricks from their…
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Are Washington State’s wild salmon on the upswing? The short answer is yes. And no. According to salmon recovery reports data varies from one watershed to the next. But generally speaking, salmon will not be going the way of the Twinkie anytime soon, with numbers better than they were a decade ago.
Scandinavians continue to rocket some super classy fish porn to the next level, as evidenced by this totally NSFW photo spread from Genusfotografen.
The Fly Fishing Film Tour 2013 (aka F3T) is roadtripping the country and about to hit a theatre near you, with tickets available online today and selling fast. Join The Drake and the crew at Trout’s Fly Fishing this Saturday night, Jan. 26, for the world premier at Denver’s Oriental Theatre. Beers, anyone?
Back in the fall, during the second presidential debate, President Obama and Mitt Romney got into a somewhat spirited exchange on the topic of energy. It began by Romney saying that “oil production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas production is down nine percent. Why? Because the President cut in…
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I rarely keep trout—let’s get that straight right away. I have no ethical objection to killing them when done responsibly, I just prefer to leave them in the river. Plus I’ve never really enjoyed the taste of trout, which my wife still regards as “strange,” given the amount of time and effort I spend chasing…
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Across the continent, 2012 was a bad year to be a climate- change skeptic, but a much worse year to be a fish. Before you bid a tepid au revoir to this torrid 12 months, consider: According to 350.org founder and climate raconteur Bill McKibben, June broke 2,132 high-temperature records across the country. May was…
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The pilgrimage to my perceived Mecca took 22 years, 11 months, 16 days, and 20 hours. I arrived fresh out of college, riding a 2.7-liter American-made Japanese chariot, complete with three-inch lift kit and the white silhouette of a blitzing Montauk striper across the back window. I was hell on wheels and ready to set…
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Sneaking onto a golf course to catch a few unguarded bass is one of the most time-honored traditions in flyfishing, especially if you’re a golfer. Who among us hasn’t walked down some random Sun Belt fairway (or rough, more likely) only to peer upon a hungry four-pounder lurking in a water hazard along the way?…
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Following the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission’s barbed hook ban on the Lower Columbia and Willamette Rivers, the Native Fish Society is launching its “Crush the Barb” campaign to expand the boycott—specifically to include all Oregon streams in the Columbia basin, as well as all coastal streams.
The Greenbacks and Trout Unlimited are putting the final touches on their 3rd annual Surface Film event, showcasing top professional flyfishing photography from across the country. Framed prints will be available through a silent auction to benefit the Greenback’s work to conserve Colorado’s coldwater fisheries.
Buying land in Grand Teton National Park is a spendy proposition, but one worth the bank when it comes to securing TR’s dream of conserving public lands in perpetuity… free from the hands of development. The National Park Service recently spent $16 million on the cause, acquiring 86 acres of “school trust lands” within the…
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What winter 2013 will mean for singed fins across the country Two years ago winter delivered. Snowpack stacked at 100-, 200-, and even 300-percent levels—depending on where in the West it dumped. A year later, La Nina bitch-slapped us with one of the worst droughts in recent winter memory. These massive swings look a lot…
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The New Year is a time to reflect. Get smashed and forget. And to consider the benefits of horrifying exercise to trim the post-Christmas fat. The good news is on the brink of 2013, we’re still here. And almost 130 years later so is Salmo Trutta, the badass import that outlived apocalyptic outcries from the…
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The Columbia River below British Columbia’s Arrow lakes is a slice of tailwater that rivals Calgary’s Bow River as one of the country’s best. It’s also home to a notorious, shit-spewing polluter known as Teck Cominco (or Teck Metals Inc.). The Canadian mining company, which has for years dumped millions of tons of smelting waste…
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