By Jonathan Miles

Here’s a primitive but fantastic way, from Finland, to “grill” a fish: Butterfly it, then nail it to a board and cook it by the reflected heat of a campfire. The meat derives flavor from the woodsmoke as well as the blistering, blackening board onto which it’s nailed. Even better: no pan to clean. [ Read Full Post ]

By David Rose

There wasn’t much of a bite going for avid angler Bruce Sederberg on January 16, 2013, but the last fish he hooked that day ended up being the world’s largest lake trout ever landed with a pole and line and released through the ice.

Sederberg was ice fishing White Otter Lake, just northwest of Atikokan, Ontario, Canada—as he’s done that time of year every winter since 1983—when the 46-inch goliath engulfed his jig in 58 feet of water. “I had no idea the lake would ever produce a lake trout this large,” says the 57-year-old Duluth, Minnesota, resident.

The moment Sederberg set the hook he knew it was a fish of huge proportions. “I felt the hit, set the hook and… nothing happened. The rod doubled and the line just sat there as if I had hooked a boulder,” he added.

Sederberg was using a 1/2-ounce Super-Glo Perch Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon tipped with a real minnow head. Linking his jig to his 25-inch medium-action Jig-A-Whopper rod and 4000 Shimano Symetre spinning reel was 20-pound-test PowerPro superline for main line and a short leader of 10-pound-test fluorocarbon.

While fighting the fish, it... [ Read Full Post ]

By Steven Hill

When Phil Colyar realized he had a potential state-record lake trout in his boat, the angler knew exactly where to head: the ER. Stat! [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau

The day my grandfather died he said he was going fishing, but he only made it as far as the bathroom. It was the best he could do.

I was supposed to go out with him. “C’mon, Friend!”

That’s what he called me. Like this: “Friend! Get me a beer!” and “Friend! Come hill my potatoes!” He also called me “No Friend.” Like this: “No Friend! What’sa matter with you? You got a screw loose?”

Anyway, I knew he wouldn’t make it. But I suspected he wanted once more to drive his putt-putting red Omni to the Dyke Road—a gravel lane where he’d lately been pulling to a stop in the middle of the road above the culvert, opening the car door, and casting from the driver’s seat into the pool below.

It was, like I said, the best he could do. [ Read Full Post ]

By Kirk Deeter

For starters, I have to admit that I'm stealing this idea from my friend Brennan Sang, who posed that question on Facebook a few days ago, prompting a string of responses I find very interesting. 

I wanted to throw it out there for the Fly Talk nation, because fishing, to me, is as much about the people with whom you share the experience as it is about the fish themselves. It strikes me that so many people respond to this question by saying that they'd like to fish one more time with a family member or friend who has passed away. I feel the same way. [ Read Full Post ]

By Tim Romano

The fine gentlemen over at Gink and Gasoline brought up an interesting topic the other day in regards to using lights when fly fishing for trout at night. While many saltwater anglers have known about the benefits of lights for years—utilizing docks, jetties, highway overpasses, etc. to create fishing hotspots—trout anglers to my knowledge don't seem to use this tactic very often.  [ Read Full Post ]