Articles

Redemption for the 'failure fish'

Native fallfish deserve our attention and respect

by Stephen Sautner - Wednesday, May 7th, 2025

Photo: Jim Leedom.

Let’s say you get your hands on Kip’s time machine from Napoleon Dynamite. You insert the proper number of crystals but instead of going back to the halcyon year of ’82, you choose to travel 500 years back in time to the banks of the Delaware River for some casts. The river would undoubtedly churn with fish — stripers, shad, river herring, bowfin, mighty Atlantic sturgeon. In a slow glide, a pod of risers casually sips hatching insects. You approach, make a cast, and immediately hook what feels like a decent fish.

Second round of NOAA firings put fish species at risk

The latest cuts may impact the federal agency's ability to regulate overfishing, salmon hatcheries, and much more

by Dawn Attride - Saturday, May 3rd, 2025

Photo: USFWS.

Hundreds of climate workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were fired for the second time after the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision on an initial dismissal.

Shad camp

As the last days of April blossom into May, a section of the Delaware River gleams like the center of the universe

by Stephen Sautner - Tuesday, Apr 29th, 2025

A migrating Delaware River American shad (photo: Jim Leedom).

In the Northeast, as the last delicious days of late April blossom into early May, a certain section of the Delaware River gleams like the center of the universe. No, it’s not the Upper Delaware’s wild trout section, smothered by too many drift boats and wade anglers (yeah, I’m one of them). To reach these less fashionable waters, head south into the 40-mile-long Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area — sometimes called the Middle Delaware. Swap out your five-weight with a stout six or a forgiving seven. And don’t forget the stripping basket you used last fall for stripers.

New fly fishing gear: Spring 2025 roundup

A massive roundup of new rods, reels, lines, apparel, accessories and more

by Hatch Magazine - Saturday, Apr 26th, 2025

The Ross Reels x Coors Banquet Cimarron fly reel (photo: Ross Reels).

It’s just past tax time. In parts of the country, trout season is underway — with the redbuds and the dogwoods come the Appalachian brook trout and, even in the upper Midwest, warmer water has trout bums wandering the waters between the Driftless area and the Upper Peninsula. If you’re a closet carp junkie, it’s about time to start looking for big carp moving into the shallows along the Snake River Plain. South, along the Gulf Coast, spring reds and specks are in the backwaters and eyes are open for those first migrating tarpon.

4 underrated Western trout towns

These fishy gems are too often overlooked by traveling anglers

by Chris Hunt - Friday, Apr 25th, 2025

Lower Green River Lake near Pinedale, Wyoming (photo: Bridger Teton National Forest).

I spent a beautiful spring week on Montana’s Bighorn River, one of those western gems that gets fished aggressively come summer. And, on a glorious April day when the mercury tickled 80 degrees, the river saw its share of anglers. The good news? The ‘Horn is one of those rivers that just keeps on delivering big fish, no matter how many boats and how many anglers find their way to its chilled waters below Yellowtail Dam.