Field and Stream - Bass Fishing RSS

Report: Radioactive Fish Found in VT Linked to Weapons Testing, Not Nuclear Plant

Sarah Smith — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:07:44 -0500

--Chad Love

Two years ago the discovery of radioactive fish near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant caused an uproar (and some "Simpsons" jokes. Sorry, Vermont...)

At the time there was speculation that proximity to the power plant was the cause, but in a nod to the old saw that "correlation does not necessarily mean causation" a new batch of radioactive Vermont fish have been discovered - 150 miles away from the power plant.

From this story on wptz.com:

A new report finds fish in the northern part of Vermont are radioactive like the fish living in the waters near the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The significance of this finding is not just that these fish have radioactive elements in their bones, it's that the ones found up north have no physical connection to those in the Connecticut River by Vermont Yankee.

read more

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From January 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:06:52 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of January.
read more

On the Spot: Guide, Author Pat Dorsey

Sarah Smith — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:20:44 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

John Merwin's blog post the other day referenced a book by Pat Dorsey (Tying and Fishing Tailwater Flies). So I thought I'd follow up with an "On The Spot" interview I did with Pat at the recent International Sportsmen's Expo in Denver.

Pat and I are old friends. In fact, back when we were in our early thirties, I was co-authoring a book on fishing guides, and Pat was one of our first "volunteer" subjects. He showed me Cheesman Canyon, the Williams Fork, and Dream Stream section of the South Platte in South Park. And he did it for gas money, despite the fact that we didn't have a publisher committed or anything (it was an excuse to go fishing). The book turned out to be Castwork, which boosted my outdoor writing career. It's out of print now, but you can read excepts at MidCurrent.

read more

Rio Grande Road Trip: The Outtakes II

Sarah Smith — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:45:48 -0500

by Tim Romano

Last fall I had the pleasure of following the entire length of the Rio Grande River, from headwaters in Colorado to the terminus in Texas at the Gulf of Mexico; fishing, rowing, and following two guys on motorcycles the entire way. I was on a Field & Stream assignment with Digital Director, Nate Mathews, and his father, Bruce Matthews, who is the executive director for the North Country Trail. I was following in the chase vehicle with my camera equipment, boats, fishing and camping gear.

The story was published in this month's (February 2012) issue of the magazine. In the mag there were 25 images published. I took over 8,000 images over two weeks. I thought heck--let's show em some more… Here's the second half of the trip. The first batch of outtakes can be found here.

Enjoy.

read more

Old-Time Smallmouth on Lake St. Clair

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:22:48 -0500

by Joe Cermele

I love these old IGFA videos. I hadn't seen this one before. Check out the smallmouth action on Lake St. Clair...old-school style.

read more

Why Wild Game Should Matter in the Mainstream

Sarah Smith — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:51:50 -0500

by David Draper

Last Friday, at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, while waiting for the weekend shift of working girls to deplane, I picked up a bottle of water and some reading material for my flight home. On the rack, there were the usual periodicals that often make their way into my carry-on: The Atlantic (which my swollen head couldn’t fathom at that moment); Surfer (not really the inspiration I needed for a trip home to Nebraska), and Esquire (didn’t want to be seen reading a magazine with a picture of Bill Clinton on the cover).

What I did find was a copy of Saveur, a food magazine whose Jan/Feb issue annually lists their Top 100 people, places, and ingredients for the food-obsessed. The Saveur 100 issue serves as great inspiration in the kitchen and fuels many a daydream for food-related road (and plane) trips should I ever win the lottery. It’s the kind of best-of list where you’ll find meatloaf next to something called mugua ji, or a treatise on the Czech Republic’s microbrews matched with Frito Pie.

read more

Rio Grande Road Trip: The Outtakes

Sarah Smith — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:34:31 -0500

by Tim Romano

Last fall I had the pleasure of following the entire length of the Rio Grande River, from headwaters in Colorado to the terminus in Texas at the Gulf of Mexico; fishing, rowing, and following two guys on motorcycles the entire way. I was on a Field & Stream assignment with Digital Director, Nate Mathews, and his father, Bruce Matthews, who is the executive director for the North Country Trail. I was following in the chase vehicle with my camera equipment, boats, fishing and camping gear.

read more

Domestic Pet Hair Fly Winner Announced

Online Editors — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:40:44 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

After careful thought, I have decided to award the prize (The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing) to Kyle Deneen.

He wrote: My cat Schizmak, (I just wanted to put his name in there because its cool) is a long haired Russian Blue, when the winters are around I take his under coat and use it for some of the best dubbing I have ever used. A cats undercoat will make the best "hairs ear nymph" but I guess we should now call it the "cat hairs nymph." Also my buddies and I from Fat Guy Fly Fishing found out that my back hair makes great dubbing after my wife shaves my back.

read more

How to Tie the Clouser Minnow in 4 Easy Steps

Online Editors — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:12:57 -0500

Here's a simple method for tying this effective fly.

Breaking News: B.A.S.S. Outlaws the Alabama Rig in Elite and Classic Tourney Events

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:35:32 -0500

by Joe Cermele

If you follow trends in the bass world, you've surely heard of the Alabama Rig (left). If you don't, this controversial "lure" is a play on the classic saltwater umbrella trolling rig, simply made compact and castable. A weighted head sprouts five wire arms with snap swivels on each end. To those swivels you can pretty much add any soft-plastic you'd like. Bass pro Paul Elias used an Alabama Rig in a tourney on Lake Guntersville back in October and won. Now, as companies scramble to make and sell their own versions of the rig, B.A.S.S. has taken another look at them and decided, you know what? This isn't going to work for us.

From the B.A.S.S. press release:
Rules Committee members believe the rig eliminates some of the skill that should be required in tournament competition at the highest level. “It doesn’t matter how you work it,” said one of the anglers. “The fish can’t help themselves...”

read more

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From 2011

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:15:14 -0500

The 60 best photos submitted by readers in 2011.
read more

Field & Stream's Best Photo Galleries and Blogs of 2011

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:53:52 -0500

The 25 best online stories from F&S in 2011.

Put Down The Rubber Duckie if You Want To Fish Well

Sarah Smith — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:21:06 -0500

by John Merwin

“You’ve gotta put down the duckie if you want to play the saxophone.” That’s a line from an old Sesame Street song that’s rolling around in my head this morning. Maybe by using it in a blog post, I’ll get rid of it. It also has a lot to say about fishing.

Concentration and focus are essential to successful fishing (with one exception. See below). The more of those things you bring to the game, the more you’ll catch. If you’re thinking or worrying about family issues or job problems, the fishing is not going to go well. So put down the duckie, and you’ll fish better.

read more

KS May Nix Hunting and Fishing License Exemption for Seniors

Sarah Smith — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:56:57 -0500

--Chad Love

In an age of reduced funding sources, declining hunter participation, and increases in the average age of hunters, can cash-strapped state wildlife agencies afford to continue offering exemptions to hunting and fishing licenses? That's the issue facing Kansas as its wildlife department prepares to ask the state legislature to eliminate the state's senior citizen exemption for hunting and fishing licenses.

From this story in the Wichita Eagle:
Kansas senior citizens could be required to buy hunting and fishing licenses after this year. For decades, residents 65 and over have been exempt from the annual permits that currently sell for about $18 each. Chris Tymeson of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission said Thursday that the agency will ask the Legislature to remove the exemption.

read more

Favorite "Non-Fish Fishing" Photos

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:46:14 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

I've always said that the best aspects of fly fishing are the 360-degree views around you and the people you share them with, rather than the fish themselves. I certainly respect and admire a strong focus on the mission at hand. But in my book, if you aren't looking around, you're not really getting the most of your fishing.

As such, I've been taking a lot of photographs (Romano is coaching me) in recent years. Curiously, most of my favorite fishing images don't have any fish in them at all. I call them non-fish fishing photos. Clouds that look like iron and light hitting the canyon wall just so--those things.

read more

Welcome to the Little River Princess

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:21:53 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

It is with great happiness that Uncle Deeter announces the arrival of Mabel Romano, who entered the world at a healthy 8 pounds 2 ounces a few days ago. She, along with her mom, Ellie, and dad, Tim Romano (my Fly Talk partner) are all doing just fine.

Apparently, we have another Fly Talker (well, for the time being, a Fly Goo-Goo/Coo-er) in the fold. And I can tell you that Tim has transformed flawlessly into a proud father. For the foreseeable future, Fly Talk posts might be a little heavy on the Deeter side. I hope you understand.

read more

The Best Field & Stream Reader Photos From December 2011

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:44:10 -0500

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of December.
read more

The Latest Pending Records from the IGFA

Sarah Smith — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:47:09 -0500

Check out new potential record catches submitted to the IGFA the past few months and over the past two years.

Tis The Season for Sporting Expo's

Sarah Smith — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:18:17 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

When I can't actually be out on the river fishing, the next best thing is to be with thousands of like-minded outdoorsy people talking about fishing. And that's exactly what I'll be up to in the next few days, when the International Sportsmen's Exposition rolls into Denver January 5-8 at the Colorado Convention Center.

I'll actually be hosting the Fly Fishing Theater, introducing the likes of Pat Dorsey, Kelly Galloup, Landon Mayer, and April Vokey. I'm going to be giving a couple talks myself, focused on "Stillwater Fishing for Trophy Trout" at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

read more

A Project for 2012

Sarah Smith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:59:58 -0500

by David E. Petzal

A little while back I spent an hour at the range helping a friend of mine mount a scope and get a rifle sighted in for his young son. Everything worked, and dad took the boy to Pennsylvania to hunt deer. As it turned out, they didn’t get one, but the father was nice enough to send me a photo of the kid in his stand, and the expression of joy on his face is unmistakable. I e-mailed my friend that whether or not his son goes on to be a serious hunter, that deer hunt will be pure gold for the rest of the boy’s life.

Small contributions like this can make a very big difference. If you are a hunter/shooter with some experience, there is a beginning hunter/shooter out there who can use your help. These are not easy sports to break into; there is an immense amount to learn. Questions lead to other questions, and the number of people who have the answers is shrinking.

read more

First Shots Photo Collection

Online Editors — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:59:48 -0500

A collection of jaw-dropping hunting and fishing photos from Field & Stream's "First Shots" magazine section.

Fly Fishing Video: Bulls On Top, Salmon Flies and Fly Shop Time-lapse

Online Editors — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:38:16 -0500

by Tim Romano

After my usual slogging of the inter-webs I thought I'd share three entertaining videos today with the fly talk faithful. The first is called "Bulls on Top" from Shallow Water Expeditions. It's a season's worth of insane top-water Louisiana redfish eats, the second is a very strange, but gorgeous video of classic salmon flies from Ukraine and the third is a humorous look in time-lapse of fly inventory day at the Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig, Montana.

Enjoy

Bulls on top

read more

Conservation Report: Less Mercury, But More Damage by Invasives

Online Editors — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:42:40 -0500

by Bob Marshall

New Mercury Rules Good News for Fish, Wildlife and People

The Environmental Protection Agency this week issued the long-delayed and debated "Mercury and Air Toxics Standards(MATS)" for power plants. The standards will require reductions of air emissions of mercury and air toxins harmful to humans as well as fish and wildlife habitat. It means that 40 percent of the nation's 1,100 coal fired power plants not using advanced pollution controls, will be required to upgrade to meet the new standards over the next three to four years.

Power plants are the largest remaining source of toxic air pollutants (mercury, arsenic, cyanide) and are responsible for half of the mercury and 75 percent of the acid gas emissions in the United States. When fully enforced, the new rules could reduce the presence of those air pollutants by 90 percent.

read more

Virginia to Begin Charging Non-Hunters, Anglers for Access to Public Land

Sarah Smith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:12:02 -0500

--Chad Love

read more

Tebowing Reaches the Fly Fishing World

Sarah Smith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 10:20:23 -0500

by Tim Romano

You know a celebrity, professional athlete, or any variation thereof has reached fever pitch in the media when their very name works it's way into your everyday lexicon.

I have no idea how many times I've uttered the word Tebow and gotten down on one knee in solidarity and in jest the past few weeks. It's been a number of times for sure. I thought there was no way possible I could work him into a blog post though. Trust me I have tried.

Then I received this email and photo from good friend and carp slayer Will Rice yesterday.

Subject: So I Tebow'd this carp...

"...on the bank of the DSP (Dirty South Platte) less than a mile from the Stadium on game day... and the Pats still won. What the hell?"

read more