Another year is in the books, our thirteenth. As has become the custom, each year we look back at which Hatch Magazine stories captivated readers the most. In a typical year, the most read stories are a healthy mix of gear-focused coverage, tips and HOWTO pieces, conservation journalism, and plain old fly fishing stories. This past year was no exception with reader favorites ranging from talk of fly rods, fly lines, and tippet to drought, fish hatcheries, and river etiquette.

1. Whither the double taper

Renowned casting instructor and author John Juracek explores the advantages, disadvantages, and construction of double-taper fly lines and asks the question: why are so few anglers fishing them these days?

2. On a mission to build the world's most accurate fly rod

Tim Schulz visits the Orvis rod shop in Manchester, Vermont and gets into the nerdy details of Orvis’s ongoing mission to build the world’s most accurate fly rod.

3. River Rules

School of Trout founder Todd Tanner offers a bevy of advice on how to avoid “unforced errors” while on the water. Topics including drift boat etiquette, low-holing, music, drones, dogs, and more are covered.

4. Fishing the popper-dropper rig

Practically all anglers have heard of the hopper-dropper rig, but what about something with a bit more gusto?

5. Let's stop the tiny tippet nonsense

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• Ask the instructors: A fly fishing Q&A
• Cutting back

Welcoming naysayers and shade throwers, author Chris Hunt makes the case that the use of lightweight tippets is very rarely warranted and is detrimental to successful catch-and-release.

6. The 10 Commandments for beginner trout anglers

There’s no shortage of fly fishing advice and tips out there and beginner trout anglers are often unsure which advice they can trust and which they can’t. For those that are new to the sport, these 10 bits of assembled from the amazing instructors at the School of Trout are as good a place to start as any.

7. More evidence that releasing hatchery-reared native fish is harmful

An up close look at research that reinforces claims that augmenting or attempting to rescue native fish populations with hatchery raised additions is a recipe for failure.

8. 50 years of research overwhelmingly shows hatcheries are harmful to trout, salmon, char and more

A new study entitled “A global synthesis of peer-reviewed research on the effects of hatchery salmonids on wild salmonids” evaluated over 50 years of scientific studies from around the world which investigated the impacts of fish hatcheries on wild salmonid populations. The study’s results were resounding, revealing that 83 percent of all published research determined that hatcheries had an adverse impact on wild fish populations.

9. Heavy snowpacks to offer relief from 1200 year Western drought

The last time the West was as dry was at the beginning of 2023 was over a millenia ago. But, heading into the 2023 fishing season, thanks to heavy snowpacks, things were looking up.

10. Fly rods for beginner and intermediate anglers

In another offering from School of Trout founder Todd Tanner, we explore guidelines for beginner and intermediate anglers searching for the latest addition to their fly rod quiver.