Latest Blog Posts

Catching bonefish and tarpon, for science

Yet another reason to hit the flats

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Oct 6th, 2015

Catching bonefish during a Belizean rainstorm (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Catching a bonefish or a tarpon is reward enough in itself. Both fish are elusive. Both are amongst the angling world's most impressive fighters. Both are beautiful specimens to behold. Should you, however, require additional motivation in order to land yourself on a sunny tropical flat or the bow of a skiff patrolling tarpon-friendly waters — then do it for the good of science.

Stand up paddle board fly fishing

The virtues of fly fishing from a SUP may leave you hooked

by Mike Hodge - Monday, Sep 21st, 2015

Fly fishing the mangrove on the BOTE Drift.

I admit it. I’m a sucker for fool’s gold. If there’s a gadget, I’ve got it, which is why my garage is always full of stuff. For me, more has been better. I’ve gone through more fly rods, canoes and kayaks than the average angler. I swore I would stop hoarding after I got a kayak, a Native Ultimate, but I didn’t. I recently added a paddle board to the fleet. For years, I had resisted buying one, because I figured I was too stiff to stay upright, even against the weakest of tides. While casting a fly rod? Not unless I took Pilates.

A different reason to improve

Catching more fish is a sound reason to become a better caster, but is it the only one?

by John Juracek - Thursday, Sep 17th, 2015

Casting on the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park (photo: John Juracek).

When most fishermen decide to improve their fly casting skills, they generally share a similar rationale for doing so. Better casting, they reason, will make them better fishermen, which in turn will lead to their catching more fish. And in my experience as a teacher, this is exactly what happens. Better casters do catch more fish. So that’s a perfectly sound reason for wanting to improve. But is it the only one? Not for me. Not by a long shot. I’d like to offer up a different reason for improving—one rarely talked about these days—but which I believe is equally valid.

Terrace Chrome

A short film looks at chasing bright chrome in northern BC

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Sep 16th, 2015

Closer to Juneau than Vancouver, Terrace lies in the far northern reaches of British Columbia, not far from Ketchikan, Alaska. The storied Skeena River, known for producing some of the most wild and most beautiful steelhead in the world, flows right through town, with more than 75 miles to go before it dumps into the Pacific Ocean after coursing through BC's old growth forests and coastal mountains. Also nearby is the Kitimat which, though less well known than the Skeena, boasts amazing runs of spring steelhead.

Let's stop the stupidity on the Snake

It's time to bring salmon and steelhead back to 5,000 miles of Rocky Mountain streams

by Chad Shmukler - Friday, Sep 11th, 2015

Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River (photo: Bonneville Power / cc2.0).

What costs taxpayers $150 million each year, no longer serves the purpose it was designed to serve, has its usefulness in continuing decline and — through its blockage of passage to over 5,000 miles of pristine, high elevation habitat — has been identified by the best available science as the primary force behind the destruction of the west's wild salmon and steelhead population?