Articles

Review: Thomas & Thomas Contact II fly rod

The second incarnation of T&T's Euro-nymphing specialist is like no other rod on the market

by George C Costa - Monday, Nov 2nd, 2020

Photo: George Costa

Thomas & Thomas introduced the Contact series of Euro-nymphing rods a handful of years ago and they almost immediately garnered a cult-like following, with many an experienced nymph angler raving about their performance and build quality. Those ravings were well warranted, given that the original Contact was a superb example of what a thoughtfully designed Euro rod could be. So when T&T announced the Contact II, it inevitably begged the question: could the second incarnation of the Contact series provide a marked upgrade from its well-loved predecessor?

Chasing the scourge

In 30 years, the invasive Eurasian collared dove has expanded its range to cover much of the North American continent

by Chris Hunt - Tuesday, Oct 27th, 2020

The Eurasian collared dove (photo: Becky Matsubara / cc2.0).

The gravel crunched beneath my boots as I walked the lonely road down the hill toward the Snake River, my shotgun cradled across my left arm, and my tired old mutt wandering slowly by my side.

Casting accuracy: When less can be more

Is it ever desirable to cast less accurately?

by John Juracek - Monday, Oct 26th, 2020

Photo: Fishing the Madison River in Montana (photo: John Juracek).

Here’s a brute fact: Accurate fly casting catches fish. Everywhere and of all kinds. The more accurately you place your fly, the more and larger fish you’re going to catch (over time, of course, and assuming other presentation factors are equal). Few, if any, of the expert anglers I know would quarrel with this concept.

But is it possible to cast too accurately? Is it possible that placing our fly too precisely can actually hamper our success? These are questions that, in my experience, rarely get asked or even considered.

The future of the Republican party can't be rolling back regulations to own the libs

Increasingly, conservatives are speaking up for action on climate change

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Friday, Oct 23rd, 2020

Members of the group Young Evangelicals for Climate Action demonstrate in front of the White House (photo: Luke Overstreet).

On February 26, 2015, Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, walked onto the floor of the U.S. Senate toting a snowball as a prop. According to Inhofe, the mere existence of the snowball was proof that climate change was a hoax.

Since Inhofe’s stunt, science denial has flowed from the mouths of Republican leadership, flooding news outlets, and social media with nonsense while hundred-year storms have flooded the heartland and wildfires have charred the American West.

Deer Christine

A tale of wild harvest gone wrong

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Wednesday, Oct 21st, 2020

Photo: Adrian Scottow

In all my bowhunting years, I’d never killed a Halloween deer before. But at 7:57 a.m. on October 31 a mature whitetail doe lay expired at the end of a short blood trail in the Ozark Mountains of Newton County. This is the same Newton County that’s nested the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) outbreak in Arkansas.