Recently I went fishing for the first time with an old friend who has just recently gotten into fly fishing. After his first time with a fly rod in his hand he was hooked on the sport. He was so enamored that he dove into the deep end of the pool without dipping his toes [click here to read more]
The little lake was not much larger than a stock pond. It is a Mr. Peanut shaped sliver of brackish water, non-descript from the thousands of other pothole ponds and lakes that dot the Katmai tundra. What makes the lake different is that it was built with a truly evil purpose by the Devil himself [click here to read more]
Mel had a fake hip. Steve had a fake knee. Sandy was cold. Adventure fishing for giant Rainbow trout had lured this somewhat typical group of fly fishermen to Katmai. They were huffing and puffing as their felt bottomed wading boots slid across the frosty tundra some thirty yards behind me. The dim, almost dark [click here to read more]
When Ross Reel's Animas was introduced in 2015 I was more than curious about how it would fish compared to the classics Ross reels that I have owned over the years. I purchased my first Ross Gunnison Fly Reel over half a lifetime ago and have since acquired four more over the last 25 years [click here to read more]
Steelhead, or I should say catching a steelhead, makes everything bad in the world go away for most fly fishermen. I have seen adult men and women almost reduced to tears, swearing they will never go fishing again after standing for three days in 40° water without a tug. Then, usually on the fabled “last [click here to read more]
Macks Canyon is literally at the end of the road and was typically where I started my steelhead seasons on The Deschutes River. The road to the campground was a tire eater consisting of dust and the sharpest basalt known. After a certain trip that included two flats and the sun pummeling me with [click here to read more]
Probably the most asked question we get these days is; “What is a great fly rod for a price that won’t drain my bank account?” So the crew at Stillwater got together and cast several rods, well more than several, that fall into the mid-priced range that lies between $395 and $495. At the end [click here to read more]
Nautilus has given us some of the best fly reels ever. The Nautilus X Series reels arrived onto the fishing scene with more mystique and hoopla than Prince Harry’s first baby after winning the 2015 IFTD/IFTA Best Of Show Fly Reel. This mid-priced, fully machined aluminum fly reel with its SCF-Teflon fully sealed drag has exceeded [click here to read more]
The AM radio crackled in from Boise as the steam from the coffee rose into the predawn hues of blues and grays that painted the inside of the cab of my old 56 Chevy pickup. River sounds were mixing with the wake-up calls from chukars, softly seeping through the gap in the side window that [click here to read more]
Late summer is a confounding time for most fly fishermen who chase trout in lakes and rivers. The water tends to be low, clear and warmer, which doesn’t make for the best fishing or catching conditions. On top of this, the poor fish have be pounded on all summer by us as we flog the water [click here to read more]
