By Kirk Deeter

As you know, we've been keenly in tune with the issue of the proposed Pebble Mine in the Bristol Bay, Alaska watershed, home to the world's most prolific wild salmon fishery.   Pebble would be an open pit mine of epic proportions that would theoretically store tons of toxic crud behind a 700-foot-high earthen dam, right in the middle of the Bristol Bay headwaters.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a watershed assessment on May 18, which noted the value of the fishery, both in terms of its natural attributes and positive economic impact: 14,000 jobs/$600 million annually. The assessment also factors in the probability of a pollution failure at Pebble. While it doesn't flat-out say that this is one of the worst places on the planet to put a mine like this, it's pretty clear that Bristol Bay should be protected from a project like Pebble. [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano

My friend Geoff Mueller and I will slog a number of miles tomorrow, high up into Rocky Mountain National Park. Our packs will be loaded with underwater cameras, dry suits and snorkel gear. We're in pursuit of some underwater photos, specifically the greenback cutthroat for Geoff's new book about the underwater environment of trout.

Last October we had the privilege to spend a couple days with John McMillian, a fisheries biologist from Washington state. He took us around and showed us some of his secret spots and gave us the skinny on the best ways to try and shoot underwater photography for fish in cold water environments. This video by Shelly Solomon and Leaping Frog Films shows how John physically counts fish individually by hand while drift diving a tiny stream in the middle of winter. Brrrr. [ Read Full Post ]

By Kirk Deeter

These days, a lot of the conservation-focused press for fly fishing revolves around dams; specifically, how removing certain dams has helped to restore migratory waterways for native salmon and steelhead.

No doubt, some dams have taken a major toll on fish populations, and getting rid of those dams is a good thing. But let's call it like it is: Minus a great number of bottom-release dams throughout the country — dams that release steady cool currents year-round that trout and the bugs they eat love so much — and trout fishing as we know it in America simply wouldn't exist. Most of those massive 10-pound trophy rainbows we like to catch and photograph wouldn't be there for the catching. Those 30-fish days in the middle of November? Probably not going to happen.  [ Read Full Post ]

By Kirk Deeter

You know what we don't see nearly enough of in fly fishing these days? Products that actually work better than advertised. We're promised everything from rods that will seemingly cast themselves to waders that wear like footie pajamas, and rarely does the performance really, truly live up to the billing.

SmithFly, an Ohio-based manufacturer of modular fishing gear, on the other hand, over-delivers. From waist packs and vests to boat bags, the best way to describe this stuff is to say it's born of a "tactical" influence: Super rugged and extremely functional. At first glance, they're perhaps not what the "fashionista" angler has in mind. [ Read Full Post ]

By T. Edward Nickens

A little bit here and a little bit there. You keep your eyes open. That’s how you learn. You pick up a new knot from a new fishing buddy, or try a decoy trick you saw in a magazine. You make mistakes. And if you’re lucky, like I was, there will be a mentor along the way. An unselfish someone who cares enough about you that he wants you to know everything he’s ever learned.

That’s the good thing about hunting and fishing and camping: You can never know it all, and you’re never as good as you could be.

Over the years, I’ve learned from the best—mentors, buddies, guides, story subjects, and some of the most dedicated outdoor-skills competitors this world has ever seen. Put them together, and they’ve got a half dozen different ways to shoot a double or cast a fly rod. Here’s the best of what I’ve learned from them, and on my own, in 35 years of hunting and fishing. And this is what all sportsmen should do with such knowledge: Pass it on.

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By Tim Romano

Here's another sweet little bug from our friends at flyrecipes.com. It's called the Banksia Bug (formerly known as the Patchouli Pupa) and was created by my friend and warm water fly fishing guru Jay Zimmerman.

"I began tying this fly to imitate the masses of free-living caddis larva in all my home waters here in Colorado and elsewhere in trout streams all over the West. 

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