By Kirk Deeter

It's interesting to me how a blog post that was really about human pain management  can evolve (and I use that term loosely) into a debate about the virtues (or lack thereof) of catch-and-release fly fishing. But what the heck, I'll bite on that fly, and you all can decide what you'll do with me later on.

The late, great Lee Wulff articulated the catch-and-release ethic best when he said: "A good game fish is too valuable to be caught only once." I certainly believe that. One of the main satisfactions I find in fly fishing is knowing that I can let a wily old brown trout or a wild steelhead swim free, with the legitimate hope (and it's only a hope) that someone else might enjoy that same fight down the line. I suppose that's why I like fly fishing more than hunting. But I do hunt. And I do catch fish with the sole intent of eating them. I don't think either approach is wrong, as long as the angler/hunter is playing by the rules. [ Read Full Post ]

By John Merwin

Welcome to the fishing-tackle graveyard, a place where old gear goes to die. The photo shows a shelf in my basement with various reels, long out of service, that I can’t bring myself to throw away. And throwing away is the problem. I can’t do it. So stuff accumulates beyond all reason.

This gets pretty silly as I think of it, but that silliness still won’t take me to the dumpster. Someday I might want or need something from that shelf. Or I might decide to refurbish one of those old reels. A little cleaning, some grease, maybe a few spare parts and any one of them would be fishable again. You never know.

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By David Draper

If you were to rank fish in terms of flavor, walleye and halibut would definitely break the top five, if not right into the top two spots. The thing about each mild, white-fleshed fish is they’re great vehicles for all sorts of flavor profiles and preparation techniques. Both get some special treatment this week, one from south of the border and the other from the epicenter of haute cuisine: France. [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano

This past caption contest had quite a few entries and some surpassingly good ones at that. The job of choosing the winner was pretty tough, but I had to award it to sgtsly for the handful of great entries that made me laugh. The one that got me though was, "I got a little ahead of myself with that flopper, hopper, copper, dropper, mopper, stopper, rig." CastMaster25 almost had me with the Johnny Cash reference. God knows I love me some Cash... [ Read Full Post ]

By Joe Cermele

So I'm down in the Louisiana Delta this week chasing redfish around the marsh, and yesterday something happened that I've heard a lot about, but never experienced first hand. I pitched a popping cork and jig up against this cane bank, and all of a sudden there's a wake a lot bigger than a redfish's headed my way. And fast.

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By Tim Romano

Have something to say about your public lands? It could cost you…

My friends over at Trout Unlimited alerted me to a couple of bills that have been introduced to the House that don't sit well with me. I thought I would share.

They went on to say that Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development (SFRED), a coalition of businesses, organizations and individuals led by Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, has been following this set of bills. And so far, the message isn’t exactly “sportsmen friendly.”

Among the provisions:
- A requirement of a $5,000 documentation fee to protest any lease, stifling a process that is currently free and open to anyone who wants to participate.
- Prioritizing energy development over fish and wildlife on public lands.
- A mandate that leases be issued within 60 days of payment regardless of protests or litigation.
- Requires that a minimum of 25 percent of the leases receive minimal environmental review and no protests. [ Read Full Post ]