Articles

Middle Lake

That bright memory is tangled with another, darker one

by Tom Davis - Wednesday, Jul 25th, 2018

Photo: Big Windy Complex / cc2.0 / edited

Below Elizabeth Falls, where it thunders out of Black Lake, the Fond du Lac du Nord relaxes. The river sprawls across a boulder-studded delta, braiding into pools and riffles and narrow chutes before losing velocity and spilling into a mile-wide bowl. The roar of whitewater becomes a murmur, the murmur a sigh. A tall, flat-topped esker, so perfectly and symmetrically formed that it might have been engineered by an ancient civilization, cradles this widening on the far side. The near shore is lower, a gradual rise through willows and alders to the lance-like crowns of spruce.

That guy

On most fishing trips, there's one

by Chris Hunt - Tuesday, Jul 24th, 2018

Photo: Chad Shmukler

As the tropical rain continued to beat down atop the minivan, we waited. Five of us, all soaked to the bone and spent after hours casting fruitlessly over foot-deep water to anything that looked like it might be a bonefish, had congregated at the car, done for the day.

Review: Waterworks-Lamson Speedster HD reel

A look at Lamson's ultra-large arbor update to its Speedster line

by Joseph Albanese - Monday, Jul 23rd, 2018

Photo: Christopher Dickey

“A fly reel’s job is to just hold line.”

You’ve probably heard that a thousand times. In most cases, that’s true. If you fish mountain streams where a nine-inch brookie is a trophy, playing fish from the reel isn’t a common occurrence. And you’ll never see your backing. But if you play in the salt, or anywhere else fish are measured in pounds and not inches, having a capable drag system can mean the difference between landing fish and burnt palms.

Book him, Dano: Words for a rainy day

Thoughts on three stellar fly fishing books

by Todd Tanner - Friday, Jul 20th, 2018

Artwork by Deanna Camp, from The Search for Elusive Trout.

One of the perks of being a fly fishing writer is that I occasionally receive books from other folks looking to share their work with me. Sometimes those books are anthologies, or “how-to” efforts, or guide books, while other times they’re filled with essays or personal observations or humor. Regardless, it can be a real treat to see how different people view the world of fly fishing. So here, without further ado, are three worthy titles that have crossed my threshold and caught my attention.

A legit way to fish

Getting bit by the wading bug

by Kris Millgate - Thursday, Jul 19th, 2018

Photo: Kris Millgate

“I bet that guy is staring at you because you’re pretty,” says my son.

Since I haven’t brushed my hair, I bet that guy isn’t staring because I’m pretty. He’s staring because we’re minorities. Woman with child. No man among us. There’s no way we know what we’re doing.

But we do.

I efficiently back in my truck with the only Idaho license plate on this dirt road. Locals lose the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River to tourists in the summer. I’m parked between Utah and Washington. Texas two rigs over.