Megalopsided
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.
2011 Drake Magazine Fly Fishing Video Awards
California Fly Shop
Bay Area fly shops have taken a hit and many hanger-ons have slid off the cliff in recent times. In 2006, after witnessing a flurry of shops fold, current California Fly Shop owners Xavier and Karen Carbonnet made the brazen move to embrace the industry and acquire one.
McGuane, Montana, and Geezer Awards
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.
Tarpon Trackers
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.
Drake Magazine Florida Bay
Water, Florida Bay, and Bonefish
When sight-fishing as a sport debuted in the Upper Keys and Florida Bay, boat-makers modified their hulls, fishing companies developed faster and lighter rods, and tackle shops sprouted up all over the islands. By the 1950s an entire industry was formed around a specific shallow-water grassland habitat dominated by tarpon, redfish, permit, snook, and bonefish.…
Seven Fishing Presidents
George Washington Served: April 30, 1789 – March 4, 1797 America’s Founding Father was not only the Brits’ worst nightmare, he was also a badass woodsman, whiskey distiller, tobacco farmer, and once dabbled in spinning and weaving. We’re excusing the last two knowing that the First Prez also hauled in cash via commercial fishing on…
Trading Up
Can I return this reel? It’s brand new, never spooled up. Sure, do you have the receipt? No. Well, we can’t accept a return without a receipt. Why not?
2013 Drake Magazine Fly Fishing Video Awards
Best Pioneer
category nominees: Iceland by AEG Media Running Down the Man by Felt Soul Media Tarpon by UYA Films Angling Addiction by Beattie Outdoor Production The River Time Forgot by Burl Productions Location X by Howard Films
Havana Affair
HAVANA—Cuban President Raul Castro recently said that his government is willing to mend fences with the United States and sit down to discuss anything. A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. If this means a chance to rap unlimited access to permit, tarpon, bonefish, mojitos, and the mambo… we’re listening.
River Monsters
One of the many appealing aspects of tarpon fishing is that tarpon come up for air, allowing anglers, in most cases, to view their quarry before casting to it. Just seeing a group of 100-pound ‘poons rolling on the surface can be almost as exciting as that first strip-set. So imagine taking the largest tarpon…
Forgotten Coast Invitational
APALACHICOLA, FL—Partnered with The Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, and Dr. Jerry Ault, Director of the Tarpon and Bonefish research center, the Forgotten Coast tarpon tagging tournament is a first of its kind, fly-only event aimed at science and conservation. The placement of state-of-the-art SPOT and PAT satellite tags is the contest’s main objective.
Lionfish—It’s What’s for Dinner
Invasive species poses massive ecological threat Ninety-feet below the surface with a mile of blue oblivion below, I approach her slowly as she stalks her prey. She hypnotizes a small snapper with her crimson mane, but I send my spear through her head before she can strike. I slip her into a bag full of…
Protecting Guyana
Guyana is a heart of jungle habitat clutched between Venezuela and Suriname on the north coast of South America. Its tannin-tinted rivers are home to arapaima, which happen to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. Thanks to Costa sunglasses and crew, these tarpon-like behemoths have become the new posterchild for a project aimed…
IGFA’s Cash for Poons Program
DANIA BEACH, FL—The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) announced today it is awarding a $10,000 cash purse to the angler who successfully docks the Sunshine State’s last world-record tarpon.
Underwater Dogs
The Drake was recently at F3T tour stops in Casper and Fort Collins. Among this year’s line-up of bulls, bones, punk rock scenesters, and arctic char, the lab vs. tarpon footage in Waterline Media’s Riding High was some funny shit. Seems the underwater dog genre is gaining teeth across the interwebs. Chopper doesn’t eat flies,…
Puerto Rico Uncovered
Knee deep in PIT tags and swamp poons Sometimes the best fishing is in uncomfortable settings. Our prey often seeks refuge in difficult to reach areas, areas fishermen eagerly expend high energy to access due to the potential for high returns. This is the sort of location I found myself in during a recent research…
When GoPro Goes Bad
What do you get when you cross aggressive 80-pound dock tarpon with head-mounted camera technology? One of the better eats we’ve seen in recent times.
Costa Donates Fish Art
On ocean flats, backyard ponds, and river environments we typically think of sunglasses first for spotting fish. Costa Sunglasses recently flipped the switch, taking objects of our visual lustings and recreating them out of lenses, hinges, frame arms, nose pads, side shields, and retainer cord segments as mounted fish sculptures—featuring a tarpon, blue marlin, and…
The Angling Company
Long before Occupy Wall Street spawned from the gritty sidewalk cracks of Manhattan, back in the spring of 2009 when the U.S. economy capped its worst performance in 51 years, the sentiment around town—at least for those working in finance—was less about occupying anything and more about evacuating everything.
Streamer Punk
He is guilty. He did it. He confesses. He comes clean. He is a streamer punk.
Pesca Maya Propaganda
True, there’s a ton to be said about fall fishing in the Rockies. Water levels have simmered to fishable levels. Fish were still batting at hoppers on a North Platte in full bloom on Monday afternoon. And big browns are getting horny and ornery. Life is bueno.
Worth the Wade
The water’s surface is oily and shiny and silver and orange. The outgoing tide is tepid, with the current passing between your legs being the only indication that you’re wading, because the water is the same temperature as your shaking, nervous body. “Remember to breathe.” Vision drifting in and out, eyes straining for focus. Legs…
Brown-Chicken-Brown-Cow
Cue the ‘70s porn music because the water is finally dropping and watching fish eat bugs on the surface is dead sexy.
Dispatches: Teva Mountain Games
Team Drake Captures TCC Gold So far I’ve spent most of my flyfishing days chasing new experiences and an outdoor esthetic unattainable from within the confines of a cubicle. The competitive spectacle has long occupied the margins of what I consider important to this equation. That is not to say I don’t compete: racing to…
Barracuda Blues
For every good shot at a tarpon, permit, or bonefish, there’s a cast-per-hour-of-effort ratio that on most days looks like a line graph of the U.S. economy. Then there are those days that you instantly know you’re losing, like a cold February morning when even the boxfish are lurking deep and you’re just hoping for…