Articles

The ship be sinkin', grab a bucket

Sportsmen can make a huge difference when we stand together and speak with one voice

Back when I was guiding fly fishermen on the Henry’s Fork, I saw a sight I may never forget. We came floating around a bend in the river and there, in the distance, was a partially submerged drift boat. It was upright, and sideways to the current, and while the bow and stern were clear of the water, the rest of the boat was below the surface. Even though we were a hundred yards away, it was obvious that the boat was resting on the bottom in relatively shallow water.

Corazon is another Fly Fishing Film Tour highlight

Film is a story of unlikely friendship forged across cultures over a common obsession with tarpon
Photo: Bryan Gregson

Corazon is another in a bevy of solid films on this year's Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T). Directed by R.A. Beattie and filmed by Beattie and photographer Bryan Gregson, the film takes viewers to the tiny island of Holbox, which sits just offshore of the Mexico mainland, in search of tarpon and permit and quite a bit more.

Fly pattern should always be the last thing you change

When the results don't come, it's probably not your fly choice that's to blame
Photo: Uncredited

Fly selection has always been one of the most frustrating aspects of fly fishing for beginning and casual anglers. We all know the old mantra of “match the hatch” but sometimes that approach doesn’t meet muster. So when do you switch it up? At what point do you throw in the towel on the pattern you’ve got on and try something new?

The doldrums (the skunk)

Prime time for musky ain't all that prime
Photo: Matthew Reilly

There’s a curious contradiction in the sport of musky fishing. As I’ve come to understand the pattern here in my native central Virginia, you’re most likely to boat one of these southern coldwater gangsters in the spring and fall months when water temperatures are ideal. The spring’s reproductive mood sparks an especially aggressive attitude, inspiring more fish to chase flies. With the bite of winter, however, comes the rivers’ highest average flows and thus the opportunity for boating truly large musky is bolstered.

Within moments of taking office, Trump pledges to roll back measures of paramount importance to anglers

Sportsmen's groups respond sharply to Trump's targeting of Clean Water Rule
Photo: Gage Skidmore

Within minutes of Donald Trump being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, Trump and his team unveiled the President's new stance on energy issues, which made one of its cornerstones the elimination of the Waters of the U.S. Rule which is, to anglers, likely the single most important piece of legislation in existence. For Trump's detractors, the declaration was little more than a confirmation of fears that they have held throughout the campaign and run up to the election.

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