By John Merwin

This is an unabashed plug for the Orvis flyfishing catalog. And no, I am not on the Orvis payroll and I have no involvement with their advertising. What’s important here is the catalog space that Orvis devotes to conservation causes instead of product sales, which is very unusual.

By Joe Cermele

Yesterday I received an interesting tidbit from the PR firm that represents Ask.com. If you're unfamiliar with this website, it's a search engine that lets you pose questions instead of just search terms, i.e. "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?" The site is pretty popular and widely used, so it was cool to get an inside look at the top ten fishing questions asked in the last 30 days. I think the info paints a neat little picture of anglers at large.

Top Fishing Questions Asked on Ask.com
1. How do you tie the best fishing knots?
2. When is the best time to go fishing?

By John Merwin

A recent proposal in Washington state to ban certain lead fishing weights has brought a surprising flurry of opposition. Surprising to me, anyway. I live and fish in a state (Vermont) where lead sinkers of 0.5-ounce and lighter are banned. This seems like no big deal. And I’m not sure why it’s so controversial.

By Joe Cermele

In the last episode of "Hook Shots" before Christmas, I told you I'd be rolling out the new season just after the New Year. You didn't think I was going to wait until spring did you? Just last week, I put up with a snot-dripping nose, numb hands, and ice-block feet for steelhead in Pulaski, New York. The pay-off couldn't have been better. There are also some changes I've made to the series starting with this episode I'd like to fill you in on.