Articles

2015 Dates for The Fly Fishing Show Announced

by Ben Kryzinski - Wednesday, Apr 16th, 2014

Show goers inspect the Patagonia booth at this year's Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, NJ.

Though it seems like this year's Fly Fishing Show tour just finished up, the folks at The Fly Fishing Show have already gotten their ducks in line and put together next year's show calendar. This year's shows were said to be the most successful in the show's history, with record attendance and a great deal of positive feedback from show goers on the excellent floor displays, guest presentations, the IF4 film tour and more.

Locations for the 2015 shows are unchanged from this year and the schedule also remains roughly the same, with the one exception being that the Denver show will be held a week later this year to avoid conflicts with New Years Eve/Day.

Here are the dates for the 2015 Fly Fishing Shows:

Hucked

by Mike Sepelak - Tuesday, Apr 15th, 2014

Huck Finn

I cut me a good straight sapling, ‘bout half-ag'in tall as Pap.

Decided to go with the Predator - graphite, 7’10” 6wt. It’s sturdy in the backbone and fast enough for big flies and a good strong hookset. Slotted on a mid-arbor Battenkill III, the perfect compliment. Good drag and quick retrieve.

Found some old string behind Widow Douglas' place.

Spooled up a 7wt bass taper, overlining the Predator a step. Heavy front end punches the breeze and carries wind resistant bass bugs well while the stiffer coating doesn’t go noodley in warm waters. Added a six-foot 1X knotless tapered monofilament leader, stout enough to turn over the big stuff.

Taking the plunge

Tips for fishing waterfalls and plunge pools

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Apr 14th, 2014

Photo: Chad Shmukler

The areas below waterfalls, both big and small, can be great places to seek out big trout. This should come as no surprise. Typically referred to as plunge pools, the water that sweeps over falls and into these pools continuously delivers all manner of food to fish waiting below. In areas where the plunging water is pinched or otherwise funneled by the structure of the stream, falls not only deliver food that has swept down from above but also produce a concentrated, high density stream of that food. The turbulent nature of water on the surface of a plunge pool serves to obscure and conceal everything below, providing excellent cover from predators. And despite the turbulent, often violent currents at the surface of these pools, the deep, sometime boulder-filled recesses below offer respite from strong currents.

Don't Pass Them By

Bigger trout push smaller trout out of prime lies. That's the way it goes. So, the fact that these pools offer up a bounty all of a trout's most important needs: cover, food and protection from currents, makes them prime lies. This, in turn, means that they will commonly hold some of the best trout in the stream. Still, I've seen many a fisherman pass them by or ply them only momentarily, put off by the chaotic nature of the water's flow or unwilling to strap on 14 pieces of split shot in order to get their fly down to the fish hiding below.

Review: Sage METHOD Fly Rod

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Apr 10th, 2014

The Sage METHOD at work on the flats. (photo: Chad Shmukler)

There are distinct advantages offered by fast action rods that don't come in slower packages. They allow for easy and authoritative line pickup, have the ability to toss heavy lines and tips, are much more adept at casting in the wind, allow the caster to throw tighter loops, generally help increase aim and accuracy and -- of course -- pack more power than their slower bretheren, allowing for longer and quicker casts. Despite all of these advantages, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not generally a fast-action rod fan.

I've criticized rod makers for taking the fast-action trend too far and many a fly fisherman for buying into the idea that fast action rods are the best rod for virtually any job. Though the advantages of fast-action rods are numerous, those advantages have always been accompanied by tradeoffs, tradeoffs which have come in the form of decreased responsiveness or feel, poor performance in close and increased difficulty of casting. All of these tradeoffs, for the most part, are symptoms of the same characteristic of fast-action rods: their stiffness and tendency towards tip-flex.

Yet Another Blow to Pebble Mine: Rio Tinto Pulls Out

by Ben Kryzinski - Tuesday, Apr 8th, 2014

A Bristol Bay rainbow trout. (photo: Chad Shmukler)

The proposed Pebble Mine project received yet another blow yesterday when majority owner Northern Dynasty's (NAK) remaining partner, mining behemoth Rio Tinto (RIO) announced it would withdraw from the project and donate its 19% stake to regional charities.

After losing major partner Anglo American in September of last year, the Pebble Mine project has seen its prospects continue to dwindle in 2014. The EPA announced in March, after the release of its final assessment of the potential impact of large scale mining in the Bristol Bay region, that it would undertake a detailed review of the "potential adverse environmental effects of discharges of dredged and fill material associated with mining the Pebble deposit. The review delays the issuance of permits necessary for the project to move forward and may result in the EPA leveraging veto powers its is granted under section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to permanently block the project.