Articles

Review: Skwala Fusion 3/2 Puffy jacket

Is newcomer Skwala's puffy jacket offering the best option for anglers?

by Spencer Durrant - Thursday, May 12th, 2022

Photo: Skwala

Skwala Fishing, the recently launched, Montana-based apparel company staffed by a veritable horde of industry veterans, isn’t just another new kid on the fly fishing block. And I doubt they’ll be a flash-in-the-pan company. Yes, they opened up shop in Bozeman, Montana, home to other fly fishing apparel industry giants. Yes, Skwala’s products are built to compete with the best in the industry.

Fly fishing through a western drought

Navigating yet another devastating drought year on tap for the American west

by Chris Hunt - Tuesday, May 10th, 2022

Lake Powell, seen half full in this 2014 Landsat satellite image. Today, Lake Powell is considerably lower, hitting its lowest recorded levels (photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / cc2.0).

We’ve all watched and read about the record low water levels for iconic western reservoirs like Lake Powell and Lake Mead on the Colorado River, but the ongoing drought isn’t unique to the American Southwest. From New Mexico to southwest Montana and west across the Rockies to the Sierra-Nevada of California, some of America’s most-storied trout waters are in real trouble.

Untying

I don’t tie flies, but when the situation calls for it, I have no hesitation in untying

by David N. McIlvaney - Tuesday, May 3rd, 2022

Photo: David N. McIlvaney

As I wrote in “Little Black Shit”, I don’t tie flies. I need it said up here again for the end of this to make sense.

I was back in California and heading north from San Francisco to fish Hat Creek and/or the Fall River as I wanted to do some dry fly fishing. On the way, I reached out to my friend, Max Fink, and told him of my plans. He paused for a moment then said, “Dude, don’t be an idiot. Go to the Pit. And get a wading staff if you don’t have one.”

Review: FENIX HM65R rechargeable headlamp

Is Fenix's HM65R the ultimate guiding light for outdoor goers?

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Saturday, Apr 30th, 2022

The Fenix HM65R rechargeable headlamp (photo: Johnny Carrol Sain).

Wars and rumors of wars. Pandemic. Supply line failure. Shifting climate.

The Four Horseman of the current apocalypse (how many have we had now?) vary a bit from their Biblical forerunners, but uncertainty is certainly in the air nowadays. And though fear is the mind-killer, uncertainty is fear’s dark and unfathomable mother. You’d think we’d be more comfortable in her presence nowadays. She’s only been here since the beginning.

How to make your own killer fly

You don’t need to be a fly designer to come up with your next great pattern

by Spencer Durrant - Friday, Apr 29th, 2022

Photo: Spencer Durrant

The wind howled from the West and snow fell sideways, which made trout fishing rather pointless. It was the kind of spring weather that you just can’t fish through; you have to wait it out. So I stayed home for the better part of a week, tying flies and filling boxes full of patterns I’ll need when summer rolls around. I kept looking out the window, hoping for a break in the weather and warm enough temps to coax a blue-wing hatch into existence.