Latest Blog Posts

Catch & Release Fishing: 10 Tips for a Successful Release

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, May 6th, 2013

The ranks of the catch and release fisherman, whether fly or otherwise, are growing. Even if you're not a no-kill fisherman, it stands to reason that if the fish you're targeting isn't intended for your dinner plate, it is wise to take care to insure that fish is released safely. Not just released, mind you, but released in a manner that takes all reasonable measures to insure that -- once released -- that fish will survive and live on to be caught another day and hopefully spawn. The fact of the matter is that simply releasing a fish does little to insure it's survival if that fish isn't played and handled correctly.

Following are 10 tips for insuring that your catch makes it back into the water for another angler to pursue. While these guidelines are written from the perspective of the trout and salmon fisherman, virtually all of these guidelines apply to other species as well.

Didymo in Our Streams: It's Worse Than You Think

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Mar 27th, 2013

With spring coming to the east and many a fisherman itching to shake off this year's long winter, it seems like a good time to call attention to a wonderfully informative short film about didymo, released last year by Jason du Pont. Most, if not all, of you have heard about didymo, and many others may fish or have fished in waters that have become infected with didymo. For those of you unfamiliar with Didymo, Didymo (Didymosphenia geminata), commonly known as "rock snot", is an invasive algae that thrives in some cold water habitats, forming thick mats on river and stream bottoms.

Despite familiarity with didymo and the threats it poses to the rivers we all hold dear, how many of us have seen didymo first hand? How many of us have experienced the impact of a didymo outbreak? Though we bear in mind the didymo threat and take precautions to avoid helping it spread to water bodies currently not infected but that remain under constant threat because of their proximity to infected streams or rivers, how sincere and extensive are those efforts, espeically for those of us that have no personal experience with the algae itself?

Kickstart 'The Fishing Gods'

by Chad Shmukler - Friday, Aug 17th, 2012

Kype Magazine's George Douglas, steelhead and salmon fishing guide and prolific author, is seeking support for a new book project he's dubbed 'The Fishing Gods'. The book, which seems to be already complete, features sixteen of the world's most prominent fishing guides who reveal their stories, techniques, approaches and favorite flies. The flies featured in the book have been photographed and the book includes step-by-step tying instructions from Dec Hogan and Marty Howard.

Douglas has put together a video introducing the project and providing some excerpts of the book. While I don't know George personally, the one immediately obvious takeaway while watching the video (other than that I wish he'd burn that hat) is that he is passionate about the project. And it seems rightfully so. The idea of fishing knowledge from some of the world's best fishermen compiled into a single resource is a compelling one. The idea of one that's written in such a way as to also be entertaining, and there's no reason to assume otherwise given's Douglas' other writings, is even more intriguing.

Douglas cut his teeth on upstate New York's Salmon River, an excellent salmon and steelhead fishery upon which hordes of absolutely wretched individuals descend annually to participate in a ritual some call fishing, but that no one in their right mind seriously calls fly fishing. Peppered among these masses are a handful of excellent fishermen and dedicated guides who manage to extract the best out of a complicated fishery that should be one of the nation's true gems. Since his time on the Salmon River, Douglas migrated to Washington State and has since returned to the Great Lakes region, now guiding in Ohio's Steelhead Alley.

MFC Yellowstone Hoppers

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Jul 25th, 2012

After seeming like a trip that would terminally remain eons away, we find ourselves less than a week away from traveling to Yellowstone National Park for 5 days of fly fishing in Yellowstone's backcountry. There are plenty of obvious reasons to be as giddy as a child at the thought of fishing the park's waters: large, beautiful, wild and/or native trout, stunning scenery, peace and solitude, etc. One of the most intriguing ideas about fishing in Yellowstone and on other western waters this time of year, especially for fly fishermen from the lesser East who all too often have to do the whole match-the-hatch thing, is the opportunity to fish large terrestrial and/or attractor patterns.

In much of the West and especially on the Yellowstone's Lamar River, which we'll be fishing on the tail end of our upcoming trip, this means hoppers and big attractors like Chubby Chernobyls. True, we're a bit late for the salmonflies and the big salmonfly and attractor patterns that go along with them. And, we're a bit early for prime hopper season, though I have heard that the season is progressing a little quicker than normal. Still. Hoppers.

It's Official: Albright Thinks You're an Idiot

by Chad Shmukler - Sunday, May 13th, 2012

This isn't the first time I've taken time to mention Albright's seemingly perpetual 70% off sale. I'm also not the only one to take notice, as Bjorn Stromsness over at Bonefish on the Brain has also taken the time to alert his readers to Albright's everlasting closeouts. Still, I thought it worth pointing out at least one more time. Albright, maker of what we only know to be rods and reels of reasonable quality, obviously thinks you have a preposterously short memory and shamefully poor math skills. What else could explain the fact that Albright continues to try to lure customers in with "limited time" high percentage discounts that suggest to the unsuspecting shopper that they're staring at a deal that's seemingly too good to be true.

Of course, that's because it is. As I explained in my original article on the matter, Albright -- a tackle manufacturer with, to my knowledge, no brick-and-mortar product placement -- habitually sets very high MSRPs for their rods and reels, MSRPs at which their products are seemingly never actually sold (I'd welcome eating humble pie on this point, but I've yet to hear of anyone that actually paid anything close to MSRP for any of Albright's rods or reels). The products are then sold at price points that are only a fraction of these MSRPs, making the products appear to be deeply discounted.