by Kirk Deeter

Most of you who follow FlyTalk might realize by now that Romano and I are both shameless streamer junkies. We'll pound the banks from a boat, trying to turn big fish with blind casts, but we also like to wade and sight-fish streamers in low, clear water. Big flies catch big fish, to be sure. Yet in clear water, you have to make the right presentation for streamers to work well. While I've learned many valuable tips from streamer gurus like Kelly Galloup, who said, "You have to dictate the action, and not wait for something to happen," the greatest streamer lesson I ever learned didn't happen on a trout river, and it didn't even involve a true streamer fly.  [ Read Full Post ]

by Bob Marshall

Are they crazy or brilliant?

That's a question Trout Unlimited and a growing number of sportsmen are asking about the House leadership after it launched yet another attempt to block a proposed new wetlands guidance that could restore protection to millions of acres of wetlands, including headwaters of trout streams across the West.

The latest effort comes from the House Appropriations Committee, which voted along party lines for a measure that would prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from spending any money to implement the guidance, expected to be issued by the Obama Administration in the next few months.

Two House GOP budgets previously contained similar policy directives, neither of which made it through Congress. But the fact this try came so late in the game – and from a different vector – makes many conservationists nervous. [ Read Full Post ]

by Kirk Deeter

Take a close look at this photo Tim Romano took of Oliver White battling a small tarpon. You'll notice something is missing... the reel. That's because there isn't one.

We just came back from a gonzo jungle expedition (in a place I'll tell you about later) where we literally caught hundreds of trout- to salmon-sized tarpon every day. So to make things even more interesting, we decided to catch some on a Tenkara rod (Yamame). We landed over 50 tarpon on Tenkara, the largest weighed about eight pounds. [ Read Full Post ]

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

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being a guest of the Friends Of The Upper Delaware River (FUDR) at their fifth annual "One Bug" Fly Tournament. This event raised over $30,000 in just a few days for spawning habitat improvement on what I consider my home river, and part of that money also went to starting a fly fishing program at the local elementary school in Hancock, NY. Though the team entry fee to actually fish in the tourney was a little rich for my blood, it was fun hanging out (and partying) with the guides and teams that came from as far as California and Oregon to help a good cause, win cool stuff in auctions, and earn serious bragging rights.

[ Read Full Post ]

by Kirk Deeter   

I carry a lot of "atypical" things in my fishing vest. I mean stuff you don't normally find at a fly shop. For example, I always carry Super Glue and dental floss, in case I have to fix a guide on my rod; Holly Twist yarn to make strike indicators; and nail clippers, in case my fancy nippers fall off the zinger.

But perhaps the most interesting thing I carry is a baby comb. (Okay, I hear the jokes from those of you who know me well enough to have seen what's underneath the hat. What would you need with a comb, Deeter?) [ Read Full Post ]