Articles

Water, Trout and Politics in Utah

by Steve Zakur - Monday, Mar 24th, 2014

The Provo River in Utah.

In these politically charged times, it's hard for any legislative body to make progress on the most mundane of matters. And when powerful forces that fund the political machine are allied against the public will, elected officials seem even less interested in taking a stand. The fight to restore stream access to the public in Utah is just such a case study.

In 2008 the Utah Supreme Court ruled in Conatser v. Johnson that the public has a right to “engage in all recreational activities that utilize the water”. But this wasn't the controversial piece of the ruling. The court further clarified the public right by saying that the right was not limited to “activities that can be performed upon the water.” It affirmed the rights of sportsmen, including anglers, to wade in public waters even if this meant touching stream bottoms that were privately owned.

William Joseph Outs Five All-New Fly Fishing Packs for 2014

by Marshall Walker - Friday, Mar 21st, 2014

Clockwise from top left: The Release, The Cinch, The Sprint, The Escape, the Path.

Fly fishing accessory and apparel makers, William Joseph Fly Fishing, recently announced the addition five new packs for the 2014 fly fishing season. Each new pack features what William Joseph refers to as an "innovative carrying system," which allows anglers the ability to attach or store the appropriate gear for a variety of fly fishing situations.

The Release is a 1 lb chest pack that offers one hand access to its main compartment, which is intended to prevent anglers from needing to set their rods down. It is also features additional storage for extra gear such as a hydration bladder, an integrated tippet dispenser, and it is equipped with a shoulder harness system with an "easy to use" magnetic closure system. The Release is available for $79.95.

For the Swing: Tying the Chubby Cousin

by Aileen Lane - Thursday, Mar 20th, 2014

The Chubby Cousin, an attractor nymph, was originally tied by Hogan Brown for the Yuba River in California. This pattern, typically swung or fished like a traditional wet fly, has a great deal of movement and action in the water. It is a favorite of many an angler for trout, steelhead, salmon and more. Though most people swing the Chubby Cousin, you can also nymph or dead drift it.

When I fished the Firehole in West Yellowstone in May, this was the only fly I needed.

Smith Optics Adds Two New, Fishing-Specific Lenses to its ChromaPOP Lineup

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Mar 19th, 2014

Smith ChromaPOP Polarized Blue Mirror and Polarized Bronze Mirror

In our Best Fishing Sunglasses of 2013 feature, we sang the praises of Smith's new ChromaPOP lenses, introduced late in 2013. Since that time, we've continued dragging along our favorites of the ChromaPOP lineup along on all manner of watery excursions, and this relatively new technology from Smith has continued to impress everyone we've shared it with. So, we were considerably pleased to learn of Smith's announcement from yesterday which introduces two new ChromaPOP lenses -- the ChromaPOP Polarized Brown Mirror and Polarized Blue Mirror -- both designed specifically with fishing in mind.

And yes, we're well aware that we've beaten the anglers-need-good-eyewear message to the point of dead horse status, but we're going to keep talking about it. For one, it remains crucial to an angler success. Plus, we like it.

The painful, but delicious, stinging nettle

Dreaded stinging nettle isn't just edible, it's a tasty nutritional powerhouse

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Mar 17th, 2014

Now for more than just saying four letter words on the riverbank (photo: Uwe H. Friese / cc2.0).

Some fishermen I know are not only avid anglers, but accomplished amateur entomologists, ornithologists and botanists. I'm not one of them. Sure, I try to know my bugs because doing so has a direct tie to my success on the water, but I'm not much good when it comes to identifying birds or plants. It's not that I don't appreciate them, I do, I just haven't put in much of a study on them.

One plant that I can readily identify, however -- and one that a great number of other anglers can no doubt also spot even at a distance -- is the stinging nettle. Widespread throughout North America and Europe, the stinging nettle is quite often found growing along the edges of rivers and streams, where unsuspecting fishermen accidentally grasp or touch the plant while clambering up banks or sitting down for steam side break, only to be greeted by the nettle's intense, burning sting. As it turns out, though, nettles aren't all bad. Packed beneath those nasty stinging hairs is a great deal of nutrition, and stinging nettles aren't only edible, but delicious.