Field and Stream - Trout 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

Day One: Exploring Colorado’s Upper Dolores River

Sarah Smith — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:00:32 -0500

by Kirk Deeter

The Upper Dolores River in southwestern Colorado is one of those special places in the West where the story doesn’t revolve around memories of what the flyfishing or hunting was like “back in the day.” The “prime time” experience—when wild, lightly pressured trout attack gaudy dry flies with almost reckless abandon, and massive elk herds roam aspen-lined mountains and valleys—is happening right now.

The Dolores is a home river of sorts for me. I have fished its upper branches and small tributaries for 25 years, and I don’t think these waters have ever fished better than they do at present. I feel the same way about the hunting. That’s partly because the region’s relative isolation from big cities like Denver, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City keep it just out of reach for most weekend warriors, and partly because those hunters and anglers who have discovered this region have worked to maintain its pristine value.

read more

Tie Talk: Tying a Stimulator in 19 Steps (With Photos)

Online Editors — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:30:57 -0500

by Tim Romano

We're going to start this week with--what should in time become regular updates for Tie Talk--a hand picked selection from my friend and flyrecipes.com founder Joe Mathis.

This week, Joe picked a fly that in my opinion, all trout fisherman should have in their box at all times: The Stimulator. This specific submission to flyrecipes.com was submitted by Juan Ramirez, a guide and tying instructor here in Colorado.

Juan's keen insights and notes on the "Stimi" are below. Click here to see the step-by-step instructions and tying steps with photos.

read more

Step by Step Photo Instructions on How to Tie "The Stimulator" Fly

Online Editors — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:17:00 -0500

Learn how to the tie one fly all trout fishermen should have in their box at all times.
read more

Tying Articulated Streamers with the Fish Skull Shank

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:34:43 -0500

by Joe Cermele

You may recall a few months ago I ran a post about how much I just adore articulated streamers. They're pretty much all I use for trout these days. Well, after the Somerset Fly Show, I now also adore Fish Skull's Articulated Shanks. Check out the video. Fly tyers...this one's for you.

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

Hipster Fishing: The Trout Slip-On

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:46:00 -0500

by Joe Cermele

read more

Food Fight Friday: International Edition

Sarah Smith — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:22:10 -0500

by David Draper

Mongolian Elk vs. Turkey Curry

What I like about Wild Chef readers is they’re not afraid to get creative in the kitchen. It’s good to know there are some wild-game cooks out there playing hooky from the cream-of-mushroom-soup school of wild game cooking. We’ve got a couple great examples this week, as readers Chris Johnson and Levi Banks weigh in with a couple of mouthwatering dishes, both which offer some international flair.

Personally, I’m a bit torn on which to vote for, but I can probably predict how readers are going to swing this. That turkey curry looks and sounds delicious. Plus, any photo featuring both a bottle of Sriracha and a sippy cup of milk has got to be a winner. Still, you love your venison, which is usually a lock on Food Fight Fridays. But maybe you’ll surprise me this week.

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

Write the Best Caption: Win Gear and Fly Fishing Film Tour Tickets

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:21:28 -0500

by Tim Romano

It's time for another caption contest. Hopefully, you all know how this little game works by now. We put up a goofy photo and you write your best captions for it.

Next week's winner is going to win a pile of goodies, courtesy of our friends at the Fly Fishing Film Tour. We will announce the winner next Thursday, Jan. 26.

The winner will receive two free tickets to the Fly Fishing Film tour (in the city closest to him or her), a gift certificate for ANY Scientific Anglers fly line he or she wants, two F3T and Upslope Brewery Pint Glasses, two Film Tour hats and a Scientific Anglers Waterproof System X fly box. Not bad, eh?

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.

Review: Flying Pig Liquid Series Fly Rod

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:14:27 -0500

by Joe Cermele

Not long ago I posted a trailer for a film called "Reverb" that follows the die-hard flyfishermen members of legendary Chicago punk band Pegboy from the dirty clubs of the city to the majestic Driftless area of Wisconsin. Well, not only can Pegboy's lead singer, Larry Damore, work a crowd into a frenzy by night and make a perfect cast to a sipping brown by day, he also builds his own rods under the brand name Flying Pig. I recently got the chance to take one of his sticks for a test drive, and I must say it impressed me more than some rods from companies that have been in the game a long time.

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

Cooking Whole Trout Over A Fire

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:56:57 -0500

Simple, effective and delicious.
read more

Canadian Whiskey: The Camp Comeback

Online Editors — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:12:32 -0500

The quality of Canadian whiskey is rising past mediocrity.
read more

When It Calls for a Cigar

Online Editors — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:01:24 -0500

If you smoke the occasional stogie at camp, here are four cigars to try.
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