Articles

Rocky Mountain fly fishing road trip: Gearing up

Everything you'll need and more for a summer fishing road trip

by Todd Tanner - Friday, Apr 1st, 2016

On the road to the Missouri River in Montana (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Fly fishing. Road trip. Montana.

Sounds pretty reasonable, right? There’s something inherently intriguing about the idea of packing your gear, jumping in your rig, and heading out on the road to fish some of the best water in the Lower 48. I’m penciling in Montana as your destination, as the Big Sky state has the best wild trout fishing around ... but feel free to substitute Idaho, Wyoming, or Colorado if the spirit moves you.

On your own on the Maya Riviera

DIY fly fishing south of Cancun's resorts and crowds

by Chris Hunt - Thursday, Mar 31st, 2016

Photo: Chad Shmukler

Away from the constant “spring break” hustle of Cancun, south into the Yucatan hinterlands, there are fish. Lots of them.

And Rhett Schober knows where to find them. Seriously. He knows the Caribbean coastline like a local. That’s because, for all intents and purposes, he is one.

An ex-patriated Coloradan from Vail, Shrober has taken to the southeast corner of Mexico like … well, like a fish to water. He's traded in his little creek rods for stout saltwater gear and his chest waders for flats boots. Just for grins, he jokes about fly fishing the the flats in a thong.

Review: Orvis Hydros SL reel

Orvis' new economical reel offering is anything but economy-grade

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Mar 30th, 2016

The Orvis Hydros SL fly reel battles an Ascension Bay bonefish (photo: Chad Shmukler).

While talking over the finer points of their newest reel with Orvis' Tom Rosenbauer, it was abundantly clear that Orvis was excited about the new Hydros SL, which the company labored over and tested for some time before settling on its final design.

Soul of a springtime evening

Winter draws to an early close in the south

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Tuesday, Mar 29th, 2016

Photo: Johnny Carrol Sain

Winter draws to an early close in the South. I noticed the first spring beauty, an exquisite and appropriately named wildflower, in my yard on January 26 this year. Male spring peepers and cricket frogs feel the pull of hormones and start singing for the ladies around mid-February. But along about the time redbuds are blushing, I start listening for the return of another old springtime friend. This friend is also a singer. His melancholy serenade is the essence of a spring night. He sounds lonesome, and that may be part of the reason he was named Chuck-will’s-widow.

Fish flakes

Snow’s value for hook sets

by Kris Millgate - Friday, Mar 25th, 2016

Photo: Kris Millgate

I’m not a fly tier. I’m a fly flinger. You create it and I’ll cast it. Even if it’s purple. I’m not picky, but I am ancy. I know the ice is off the river, but snow it still on the banks and because I don’t tie, I don’t have a winter timewaster. I resort to staring out the window at my buried boat. I’ve owned my drift boat for seven months. It’s been covered in snow for five of those months. A quick, March thaw is causing the white to recede rapidly and I can see my boat in my backyard again. It belongs on the water. So do I.

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