Articles

Fish and wildlife bullsh*t

For natural history education the internet functions like a sewer system in reverse
Photo: uncredited.

The glut of fish-and-wildlife bullshit on social media is not just infuriating and depressing; it’s dangerous. It hurts fish and wildlife because it dumbs down an already fish-and-wildlife-dumb public, giving it false expectations and rendering it impotent for political influence and environmental activism.

Redington releases new EDC fly rods

A new multi-application rod lineup featuring 15 different models
Photo: Far Bank Enterprises.

Redington has released a new do-it-all fly rod series the company is calling its “most innovative” fly rod ever. According to Redington, the new series — dubbed the EDC or “Every Day Carry” — is built using the highest quality materials the manufacturer has ever used in rod construction. Aimed as a multi-application tool, the new series is fairly expansive, featuring a robust 15 models.

Learning to cast, again

If a cast gets the fly to the fish, is that good enough?
Photo: Jeremy Roberts.

Like my mom did with me, I taught my kids to tie their shoelaces the wrong way. Bunny ears, bunny ears, jumped into the hole, popped out the other side, beautiful and bold. I didn’t teach them to wrap the loop in the wrong direction on purpose, of course. I did it because I didn’t know better. I taught them the way I was taught.

Book Review: Norman Maclean: A Life of Letters and Rivers

The first biography of one of fly fishing's most celebrated authors
Photo: Spencer Durrant.

Norman Maclean wrote A River Runs Through It, the book which inspired the Robert Redford film of the same name. "The movie," as it's known in fly-fishing circles, is responsible for the first big surge in fly fishing’s popularity, and helped bring the sport into the mainstream. A River Runs Through It is one of the best American short stories of the late 20th century, but Norman Maclean remains one of the most unknown authors.

Objective advocacy

Real journalism has an agenda
Morning reflections on the Gibbon River in Yellowstone National Park (photo: Jacob Frank / NPS).

“But did he have to name names?” one of the many editors who have fired Mike Frome plaintively intoned to investigators from the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Well, yes he did.

“He gives ‘em hell,” bragged one of the many editors who hired Mike Frome. Well, no he didn’t. To borrow the words of Harry Truman, he “just told the truth on ‘em, and they think it’s hell.”

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