By Kirk Deeter

We all find hitches and glitches in our casts from time to time. Like the golfer who irons out swing flaws at the practice range, the angler can do himself or herself a huge favor by setting aside some time for practice. And I think the best casting practice happens on flat water. I don't care if you go to a local lake, pond, or the neighbor's swimming pool, casting over flat water gives you a really good opportunity to see exactly how your fly is landing. That splashdown is the first part of the presentation, and sometimes it matters as much as or more than how you get the fly there in the first place. [ Read Full Post ]

By Kirk Deeter

My friend Paul Zabel recently returned from a fishing trip to Costa Rica without his fly lines. You see, some airport security officer decided it was in the interest of passenger safety to ensure that no WF-8-F fly lines (you know, the kind that terrorists have been using to snag 767s out of the sky) actually made it on his plane. Never mind the fact that he flew down to Costa Rica with reels and lines in his carry-on bag, and no one told him about the line restriction until he was headed back through security minutes before his flight. [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano

The title of this post is a little misleading. While in theory these little guys are in a bucket, what you're actually seeing here is 20,000 freshly hatched cut bow trout (a hybrid between a cutthroat and a rainbow) in what's called an egg jar. 

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By Joe Cermele

Last week I spent some time chasing smallmouths up in Buffalo, New York. If you're a smallmouth freak like I am, at some point you have to fish Lake Erie. Even the small fish are footballs and the shear number of bass is insane. One day I shared a boat with Elite Bass Pro Bill Lowen, who proceeded to crush me in the numbers of bass category. It seems every time I fish with a bass pro, I'm like Baby Huey. Case in point, at the end of this video featuring some great jerkbait tips from Lowen, you get to watch Billy yank a treble hook that's buried to the bend out of my hand. It was bound to happen sooner or later while I was rolling a camera. Enjoy.

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Congratulations to Austin Bockwinkel, whose spring Iowa largemouth bass takes top prize in our weekly Catchbook Photo Contest! Austin gets a PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap from Columbia, and also qualifies to win our monthly prize, a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve fishing shirt and his mug in the pages of our magazine. Click here to learn how you can enter this contest by. Click here for the official rules. [ Read Full Post ]

By Joe Cermele

Wall Size: Whether you’re after a landlocked freshwater striper or one cruising along a salty shoreline, the fish anglers covet is that first 40-pounder. Stripers are a slow-growing species, so a fish that size can be 20 years old or older. In that time it almost certainly has encountered plenty of hooks. If you fool a 40, you’ve duped one wise fish.

Special Case: You should score a replica if you can score a 25-plus-pounder on the fly in fresh- or saltwater. If you’re into surf casting, your first beach bass weighing 30 pounds or more should also be considered for the wall.
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