Articles

Evolving Beyond the Dead Drift: Breathing Life Into Your Dry Flies

Question authority

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Dec 10th, 2013

Breathing a bit of life into a tiny dark-winged caddis imitation brought this unexpected Alaskan rainbow to the surface in a hurry.

I don’t consider myself a good dry fly fisherman. Not in the least. In fact, I spend most of my time nymphing, fishing wet flies and underperforming with streamers. Part of the reason my dry fly skills aren’t what I’d like them to be is a result of the fact that I don’t get as much time on the water as I’d like during the spring and summer hatches. Despite Pennsylvania being a wonderful trout fishing state, most of the state’s best fishing is over three hours from my doorstep, and the streams and rivers that exist in between don’t present what you’d call either clockwork or blanket hatches, so hitting them with any regularity takes a considerable bit of effort.

When I do find myself on the water during a good hatch, I do okay. I’m not splashing flies down on the surface and spooking entire pools. But, I’ll easily get outfished by the dry fly aficionado that doesn’t so much as carry split shot or even have a woolly bugger in his box and who spends all year casting exclusively dries, perfecting his reach cast. And that’s fine with me.

Given the above, I’m not typically eager to criticize other fishermen’s tactics for fishing bugs on or near the surface. Yet, whether the other fishermen I observe are obvious veterans or relative beginners, I’m repeatedly struck by the one-dimensional approach the vast majority of those fishermen take when fishing their flies and hoping to entice a trout to rise from where it is holding and snatch up their offering.

Review: Women's Waders - Patagonia Spring River Waders for Women

by Aileen Lane - Monday, Dec 9th, 2013

The Spring River Wader's front pocket and a monster trout.

As finding women’s waders that fit and function the in ways that make sense for women has always been a challenge, I was very excited to learn that Patagonia was “joining the women’s wader party.” Patagonia's Mark Harbaugh, in an interview with Midcurrent, stated that these waders were designed from the ground up “by women for women.”

Unfortunately, when the time rolled around to put Patagonia’s new women’s waders to through their paces, Patagonia did not have available my size to review. However, my friend and fellow fly fisher, Rachel, was the perfect candidate for these waders. So, we both headed out, working together to test the Spring River Wader -- both in and out of the water -- to give our assessment. The following review is a compilation of our thoughts and findings.

Artist Helping to Support the Henry's Fork Foundation

by Marshall Walker - Sunday, Dec 8th, 2013

Moving Water Poster

Artist Dave Hall has released the first poster in his Moving Water series to support the efforts of The Henry's Fork Foundation.

The first poster is titled "Dawn on the Henry's Fork", and it depicts a fog-laden Henry's Fork with the caption "If you're lucky, there are places you go back to."

In an interview with MidCurrent, Hall said he chose the image because most people will never have the chance to witness Henry's Fork at dawn.

"Anyone who's walked the Henry's Fork at dawn and any number of other rivers around the country knows that scene. It's gone when the sun's up and the air warms. It's ethereal and an experience I find extraordinarily beautiful."

Umpqua Founder Dennis Black Passes Away

by Marshall Walker - Friday, Dec 6th, 2013

Dennis plying the waters of Thailand (photo: David Lambroughton).

Umpqua Feather Merchants has announced that its founder Dennis Black passed away this morning.

Black is known as a pioneer of fly fishing who revolutionized the industry by working with over 150 expert tyers to increase the production of quality, hand-tied flies. Black's efforts throughout the years helped to reduce the negative stigma associated with flies tied overseas. Part of this accomplishment was driven by Black convincing American expert tyers to allow young women to tie their designs at his factory in India. Dennis is also known for rewarding the creativity and skill of professional tyers with his own unique royalty payment system.

In over 40 years, Black has worked with expert tyers, like Dave Whitlock, Mike Lawson and Randall Kaufmann, to build five separate fly-tying factories in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Today Umpqua Feather Merchants is known for having some of the best fishing flies constructed of the best materials on the market. Black is also a commercial tyer himself and has been credited with launching the careers of many talented amateur and professional fly tyers.

Best Fishing Sunglasses of 2013: Part One

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Dec 5th, 2013

A few of the test subjects from this year's field.

See our updated for 2015-2016 list of best fishing sunglasses.

As we’ve noted in previous “best of” features, that term should be taken with a grain of salt. Even though the internet is flush with lists of the best of this or that, the reality is that few -- if any -- of the outlets that publish such lists can claim to have sufficiently tested the field well enough to declare any one item the best.

What you’re reading is more accurately described as our favorite fishing sunglasses of 2013. That said, what follows represents a year of on-the-water testing of dozens of pairs of fishing sunglasses -- including offerings from a diverse array of manufacturers -- in a wide variety of circumstances and environments in which one might find themselves when pursuing their fishy quarry.

It’s also worth noting that we’re changing the format this year a bit. While we’ve previously highlighted specific pairs of sunglasses that we consider standouts amongst the crowd, this year we’re selecting the best lenses across a group of categories. The reality is, virtually every sunglass manufacturer offers a select set of lenses spread across a number of frames and, when it comes down to it, it's the lens that matters. Frames are not without consequence however, far from it, and given such we’ll be listing recommended frame choices for each of our selections.

Finally, if you're still making light of your fishing eyewear, stop. We've heard fishing guides describe high-quality, polarized sunglasses as equally important on-the-water gear as your rod, line and flies. Being able to see the fish you're after is often significantly more than half the battle. Even if it means stealing from your rod or reel budget in order to be able to head to the stream with high-quality sunglasses, doing so should be done without pause.

Enough housekeeping. On with the list.